Frame
The story Their Eyes Were Watching God, is set up in a frame. This Frame is a story within a story where Janie is telling her life's tale to her best friend Phoeby after returning home from her long journey of finding herself.
- In the beginning of the book, Janie is coming back home from her journey. No one knows where she's been or what she's been up to. Curious to find out, Janie's friend Phoeby goes over to Janie's house and asks what has happened to her. Janie then begins to tell her life story in first person as though she is remembering the story of her past.
- After Janie begins her tale, the narrative switches to third person, with the narrator removed from the text. This occurs when Janie starts to recount her first kiss over the gatepost right before chapter 3, after which Nanny yells at her, marking her loss of innocence.
- At the end, still in third person, the story is concluded by bringing Janie back to the present day, tranquil, content, and at peace with the closure of her journey.