A Comparison of Community in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Morrison's Sula

Firstly, Janie views the horizon as an opportunity for something great to happen in her life. For example, in the beginning paragraph in the novel, it illustrates how harboring ships give people hope for the ships to be carrying cargo that they need the most: “[s]hips at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never

“The double jeopardy of being black and female in a racist and sexist society may well make one less afraid of the sanctions against success. A non-subservient black woman is by definition a transgressive - she is the ultimate outsider.” This quote was written by Mrs. Mamphela Ramphele, a South African politician, who identifies the pain and troubles of Black women. Black women for centuries have been treated unfairly and belittled by their race and sex. Black women are the outsiders of America. They are a minority inside a minority. Black women are mistreated by individuals of society in social media and the workplace.

Of Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Alice Walker says "it speaks to me as no novel, past or present, has ever done."  Though 45 years separate Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Color Purple, the two novels embody many similar concerns and methods. Hurston and Walker write of the experience of uneducated rural southern black women. They find a wisdom that can transform our communal relations and our spiritual lives. As Celie in The Color Purple says, referring to God: "If he ever listened to poor colored women the world would be a different place, I can tell you."

Patriarchy’s Scapegoat: Black womanhood and femininity – A critique of racism, gender inequality, anti-blackness, and historical exploitation of black women.

This idea of perception is also presented in Hurston’s Their Eyes were watching God. At the beginning of the novel we see Janie coming to the realisation of her skin, ‘”Aw, aw! I’m coloured!” ‘Den dey all laughed real hard. But before Ah seen de picture Ah thought Ah wuz just like de rest.’ Janie’s lack of awareness about her skin can be seen to be the result of her surroundings; she grew up with a white family, went to a white school, and lived in a white area. This becomes one of the few times what we are aware of her mixed heritage, as her race is replaced by the significance of her hair. The repeated images of Janie’s hair becomes her identifier; it is her hair that attracts men, and it is her hair, which also places her outside of the

By expressing this with the African American society of women who are continuously torched by the demanding words of men, McLune appeals strongly to all American women’s intellect of equality and respect. Women should not have to be judged by men and expect to be treated as if they owe anyone something, let alone have to be mistreated and belittled, if that were to be the case then men should be treated the same, therefore McLune’s audience, should understand that that is not how you define a black woman in any terms.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s ultimate desire is to find the perfect marriage with a man she loves. However, the desires of her community hinder her ability to find love. In the novel, Hurston uses the motif of the horizon – characterized as a place where ships with “every man’s wish on board” (1) sails – to symbolize ambitions and desires, and she uses the motif of the road to represent the journey it takes to achieve one’s dreams. Through the symbolism of the motifs, Hurston expresses the vanity of materialistic desires, the value of living life, the impact people have on each other’s dreams.

Several scenes from Seraph on the Suwanee parallel scenes from Their Eyes Were Watching God. The scene beginning “The gun came up…” on page 183 of Their Eyes Were Watching God and ending “…pried the dead Tea Cake’s teeth from her arm” on page 184 echoes the scene in Seraph on the Suwanee beginning “She flung her hands up…” on page 145 and ending “ ‘…just as fast as you can’” on page 146. The premise for each scene is identical. The prime female character is forced to defend herself from a close male family member who has gone mad and is threatening her life. Even in the face of death, she is primarily concerned with his well-being and becomes the only person

How should one develop from youth to maturity? Will we actually find our true place in this world? In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston’s main character, Janie, sets out on her own quest for true love. Janie realizes she has to shoot Tea Cake, someone very dear to her, in order for her to develop psychologically, and to achieve self-realization; this deepens the work by bringing out the theme of morality.

Nature Themes in Hurston’s Novels, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Seraph on the Suwanee

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is an exquisitely written coming of age novel. The story centers around Janie, a mixed African American woman, who finds herself through her relationships with men, nature, and God. Using motif and symbolism, Hurston creates the beautiful and threatening world, in which Janie lives in.

At some point in any person’s life he or she will be the victim or victimizer of stereotyping. This all too familiar aspect of society is one of the most unfortunate occurrences in life. For many, the harsh generalizations that stereotypes are based on crush the spirit of free will. Yet there are some brave people who choose to counter these stereotypes and live life as they choose, despite what judgments may come. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character, Janie—an African American woman of the 1930’s, struggles with accepting the stereotypes that affect her life. She tries to fit in with them at the cost of her happiness and self-expression. Through her revelations and life changes that defy these

Hurston’s introduction depicts how Janie came back to Eatonville, Florida and many neighbors are talking amongst each other to see where she was for a long time. Her close friend Pheoby visits her and tries to figure out what has happened. Janie started to explain to her how she had felt from her experiences in the very beginning. She begins to tell how her grandmother raised her, and how she wanted to marry Logan Killicks, who owns 60 acres of land, which can provide an economic status for Janie. She was miserable, and ended up running away with a man named Joe Starks. They traveled to Eatonville, and they expanded the land. She wished she was part of the social life, but Jody wouldn’t let her talk with the people of the town. 20 years later,

While one may use crippling language to perpetuate endless mental and physical imprisonment upon others, the utilization and knowledge of language allocates for personal freedom and empowerment.

These explanations analyze factors such as fear of dividing the minority community, lack of knowledge of feminism, the focus on male liberation in the black social movement in the 60’s, and the idea of matriarchy (Simons). Overall, black feminist, on the other hand, believe that racism, the major factor, hinders the development of feminist awareness among minority women and other problems that seem to arise within the feminist movement and community (Simons).