The Hurricane

They sat in company with the others . . . They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God. -Chapter 18
It is within this quote and the surrounding chapter that we find the climax of the novel. Laced throughout the novel is the presence of a struggle with unseen forces. Janie, a black rural woman from the south, is forced by her status to live in a world, which by its nature ostracizes her. Janie is unable to change the forces that surround her. This struggle is painted symbolically as we watch Janie and Tea Cake fight for survival amidst the hurricane. Neither can control the storm but must learn to survive within it. Janie is unable to control the ‘storm’ constantly raging around her but she must decide how to live within it. Janie does not see suffering in a negative light but instead she realizes that through endurance and acceptance of the bad with the good one is truly able to experience the fullness of life. This concept of struggle against the unseen, this idea of human nature when compared to God leads to the powerful title given to the book.