Janie’s hair was a symbolic part of her identity.  Janie is a very adventurous woman and her beauty is usually admired in part by her hair.  It was long, vibrant, and full of life, just like her personality.  But her personality changed when Joe told her to tie her hair because she could not find her identity if she was restricted.  Her tied hair symbolized the identity restriction she was going through when married to Joe Starks. In this part of Janie’s life, it seems as if she had lost her identity even further by being married to Joe because he was keeping her constricted.  He also “exercised” his control on her by hitting her when he feels she is not in her place (Hurston 71).  When Joe dies, it is not until Janie finds her identity again, by letting her hair down as an expression of freedom, after Joe’s funeral.  Her old personality and her sense of freedom to search for  purpose reentered her life when she untied her hair.

Now, Janie is of old age and is almost coming to a full circle in her life because of experiences that life threw to her.  She now grew from a girl to a woman who has experienced the natural world, being independent, stronger, and wiser (Kauder par. 6).  The only thing that she has yet to experience  is true love.  The only person that caught her eye was much younger man named Tea Cake.  The reader could now sense for the very first time of Janie being fully comfortable with her significant other.  Their relationship was true because the reader could actually visualize for the first time how Janie naturally responds to the item she has searched for all along, which is love.

Janie’s life came to a full cycle when Tea Cake died from a bullet she had to shoot because of rages and hallucinations caused by an untreated rabies.  When he layed lifeless in her arms, she cried, thanking him for letting her know how true love feels.  The symbolism of “thank you” now completed Janie’s identity.  She never said thank you to her grandmother, Logan, or Joe because they did not aide her in achieving her purpose in life.   With Tea Cake, she has experienced the love she is looking for. She now felt comfortable and secure with herself (Kauder par. 4) and because of this achievement, she had to thank Tea Cake .  Experiencing life with Tea Cake now enabled her life to come to a full circle.

By the end of the novel, Janie is a new woman.  Within herself, she is powerful, articulate, and self-reliant (Kauder par. 5).  It literally took her whole lifetime to identify who she truly is.  She discovered she is a person of worth that should be respected and loved (Dilbeck par. 2), no matter what color or gender she is.  Now, no one will take that perspective away from her.  Symbolism enabled her to be a wife with security. Her grandmother wanted her to be a wife with security.  Logan Killicks wanted her only for labor.  Joe Starks  wanted her to be a subservient wife.  And Tea Cake just wanted her.  Aside from Tea Cake, everyone tried to label her an identity, partially because she was a young, vulnerable black woman. In the heart of her story was a woman (Laney par. 3).  But through them, she has completely found her own.  Now she has called in her soul to come and see (Hurston 193).  In the very ending, it is revealed for the very first time that Janie now understands and acknowledges that she has an everlasting soul that no one else can possess but her and God.