Following Tea Cake's tragic demise, the concept of faith recycles in Janie's brain as she questions the compassion of God.
As the folks watch the hurricane roll through the 'glades, "They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God. (160)
Thoughts of bewilderment, foreboding, terror flush Janie's and Tea Cake's mind alike. Immobility, stagnant is their action, due to their misplaced faith. Misplaced faith in the lake dyke, misplaced faith in each other, misplaced faith in their God, whom they blindly believed would not forsaken them, would not send their shoulders beneath the rushing white waters.
Sight and God are two prevalent symbols. Though this should be at least minutely obvious, concerning the title of the novel. However, their interaction is vicious. Whenever Zora Neale Hurston mentions sight, it is sight of one of two things; terrible, atrocious acts or behaviors occurring, or eyes fixed on God.
A central theme of the novel is the concept of God's benevolence. With each tragic event that occurs in Janie's life, she looks to God for answers, for comfort, for rectification. And He, or other circumstances, seem to rectify her grief each time. When her first husband died, another well off man was ready to take her as his wife. And after his death, another, and another after that. When one husband croaks, another seems to appear mystically. To some, this may be seen as a blessing, a compassionate God pitying and aiding a lost sheep. To others, it may seem a curse. With each husband's passing, a new wave of sorrow envelops the poor woman. Though a stream of suitors may seem to be a blessing to some, the grief that each new husband causes her is truly a series of unfortunate events, a long line of manic episodes of bliss, followed by storms of sadness, of heartache.
No one knows truly knows if God is non-fictitious or fact. That each event that occurs is merely one's next step in some pre-ordained destiny, or some random string of events pulled together haphazardly. Though this gray area of uncertainty will likely exist nearly infinitely, until definitive evidence proves God one way or another, I recommend making your own luck, having confidence in yourself, not a concept cloaked in obscurity.