Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Hurston

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

It’s amazing that one state can have within it places that differ greatly in all aspects—people, surrounding, weather, and feeling. Zora Neale Hurston exemplifies this phenomenon in Their Eyes Were Watching God. There are a multitude of differences between Eatonville, FL and the Everglades; each place represents a certain theme or feeling to Janie (the main character) and their differences each contribute to the meaning of the novel as a whole.

It is strange that two of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance could ever disagree as much as or be as different as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Despite the fact that they are the same color and lived during the same time period, they do not have much else in common. On the one hand is Hurston, a female writer who indulges in black art and culture and creates subtle messages throughout her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand is Wright, who is a male writer who demonstrates that whites do not like black people, nor will they ever except for when they are in the condition “…America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.” Hurston was also a less political writer than

These strong female characters are able to portray their independence. Hurston’s fictional Character, Janie, sets a standard for women and proves that she does not need to rely on anybody. Janie is in an abusive and controlling relationship with her second husband, Jody. He would never let Janie do what she wanted, made her wear a cloth on her head so other men would not admire her, and always spoke for her. When Jody gives a speech at his welcome party for his new store,

Hurston makes it possible for Janie to achieve her dreams because she focuses on how people’s journeys “[take] shape from [the] shore it meets” (191), paralleling the imagery associated with ships that have “every man’s wish on board” (1). Thus, Hurston focuses on how people’s metaphorical roads can collide with another’s and influence how a person achieves his or her dreams. Significantly, Janie meets Jody Starks and Tea Cake when they run into her during their travels on the road, and they both influence Janie’s growth as a character. Through her experiences with others, Janie becomes self-empowered and grateful for the memories she created with her community. Thus, Hurston puts more emphasis on the experiences gained throughout life that leads to one’s dream, rather than the rewards of the

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston describes the horizon as possibilities and opportunities. When the story starts out Janie’s perception of the horizon changes first from desire for love to the need of love, and ultimately the feeling of contentment towards love to show Janie maturing throughout the novel.

Janie shows the issues African Americans faced during this period and the their newfound confidence but also shows differences from the beliefs of this era. Hurston uses these departures and similarities to allow the reader to further understand the novel and the time period in which it takes

Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, there is an ongoing story of how Janie, the main character, grows up and deals with the many challenges life throws at her in her quest for her “Horizons”. A horizon is a metaphor for one’s ambitions, hopes and dreams. To be truly happy, one must conceive their own horizons, explore them and embrace them. Janie’s “horizons” evolve throughout the novel, starting as limited and socially determined, moving towards being expansive, individualized, and fully realized.

Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, multiple accounts of imagery are present. This imagery includes the use of nature to illustrate how people in the book see themselves and each other. Nature is universal and powerful, so the author cleverly uses nature as another way to emphasize the important points she is trying to make. The way Hurston uses imagery through nature symbolizes the evolution of identity, importance and self appreciation.

After years of quiet suffering, Janie finds the strength to confront Jody on his deathbed, " ‘But you wasn’t satisfied wid me de way Ah was. Naw! Mah own mind had tuh be squeezed and crowded out tuh make room for yours in me’ ” (86). Angry and finally motivated to speak her mind, Janie articulates her value as a woman and a wife, blaming Jody for being too self-involved and egotistical to appreciate her worth. Ironically, Joe’s attempts to stifle Janie during their marriage only serve to amplify her voice at its end. In stark contrast, Hurston’s heroine comes full circle to discover a peaceful inner-voice with soul mate Tea Cake who treats Janie as an equal and encourages her to express herself. Reminiscing with Phoeby, Janie explains, “ ‘Talkin’ don’t amount tuh a hill uh beans...you got tuh go there tuh know there...find out about livin’ fuh themselves’ “ (192). Janie had to endure the unhappiness and abuse of two failed marriages to discover her voice and find the courage to use it, eventually leading her to love and happiness with Tea Cake. Certainly each of Janie’s relationships, whether a failure and success, lends clarity and volume to her voice over the course of her

It’s no wonder that “[t]he hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a famous one and [that] other writers have used it in an effort to signify on Hurston” (Mills, “Hurston”). The final, climactic portion of this scene acts as the central metaphor of the novel and illustrates the pivotal interactions that Janie, the protagonist, has with her Nanny and each of her three husbands. In each relationship, Janie tries to “’go tuh God, and…find out about livin’ fuh [herself]’” (192). She does this by approaching each surrogate parental figure as one would go to God, the Father; she offers her faith and obedience to them and receives their definitions of

     “’…but she don’t seem to mind at all. Reckon dey understand one ‘nother.’” A woman’s search for her own free will to escape the chains of other people in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston portrays the religion of black people as a form of identity. Each individual in the black society Hurston has created worships a different God. But all members of her society find their identities by being able to believe in a God, spiritual or other. Grandma’s worship of Jesus and the “Good Lawd,” Joe Starks’ worship of himself, Mrs. Turner’s worship of white characteristics, and Janie’s worship of love, all stem from a lack of jurisdiction in the society they inhabit. All these Gods represent a need for something to believe in and work for: an ideal, which they wish to achieve, to aspire to. Each individual character is thus

The main character, Janie Woods, is unlike any other character throughout the novel, being 75% white and 25% black. For this she was not only looked up to but also looked down upon. She was an outsider within her own community while from the male perspective, she was a prized possession to anyone that could gain her affection. It is important that Hurston told the story about how Janie reached her full potential because it clearly demonstrates how anyone can gain happiness if they simply try. The women on the porch who judge her have hopes and dreams like anyone else. However, Janie is different than them by the way she risks everything she has to chase after her dreams. She encountered many difficulties with this approach at first, involving her marriages with Logan and Joe. Although, she overcame such challenges stronger than ever. Her ending may seem melancholy with the death of Tea Cake, but it is actually tragically perfect. Everything Janie dreamed of as a child was true love and this is exactly what she ended up with. She gained a voice in her life which was masked in her previous relationships. At the end of the novel, Janie is quite content with where her life stands and it is clear to the reader that the problems she endured were actually quite necessary. Although it was sorrowful to see Janie grappling for her dreams, Hurston uses each obstacle to

Hurston’s main way of inspiring a sense of feminism in her novel, is through the relationships of Janie including her Nanny, Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake. She addresses Janie’s role differently in each of these relationships using motifs and stereotypes. Janie begins her journey of self-discovery following the dreams of her Nanny to becoming a strong, independent woman who makes her own decisions. All of the roles that Janie obtains stem from the distinct