Throughout the novel, the theme of self-honesty appears many times, especially in parts where Janie is faced with challenges about love, conflicts with her feelings, and what her partners think. In the beginning of the novel Nanny forces Janie to try to be something she is not. In this instant Janie is too young to realize that she is choosing to be someone other then herself, and it takes a little while with Logan to realize this. When Janie realizes she is not being honest to herself and who she wants to be, she begins to doubt her relationship with Logan and almost looks for a way out. Luckily for her Joe Starks makes his entrance to the novel here, and he presents Janie with not only a way out, but a way out that would make her happy. Janie realizes that being true to herself was more important than her husband Logan, and she decides to run off with Joe Starks and move on to something she thought was what she wanted. Unfortunately for Janie, Joe Starks proves to be even more controlling of Janie, and I think the only reason why Janie stays is because running away did not work the first time, so she might believe that if she runs away from it this time, she will not be any better off. Janie ends up forcing herself to be a person she never wanted to be, and locks all of her true qualities away to let Joe Starks be the husband he wants to be and make her be the wife he wants her to be.
When Joe dies, Janie for the first time since her early adult hood has the ability to be the woman she wants to be. She starts talking to the men of the town and speaks her mind and does what she wants to do. When she first meets Tea Cake she is hesitant to move on, but eventually overcomes her fears. Even when the town thinks she is making a mistake, Janie stays true to her heart because of all the lessons she has learned since her childhood about being honest to your self and what you want and realizing your life is yours and you should live it to your full potential.
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