Comparison Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

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

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.

Many literary works embody the concept and elements of symbolism. It can evoke striking feelings and communicate prominent ideas through its symbolic language. A profound author, Zora Neale Hurston, known for her use of symbolism in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, conveys symbols to communicate the experiences of a beautiful yet determined, black woman named Janie Crawford. Janie endeavors to find her euphoria and her perception of self-recognition and love. What comes with her journey of her womanhood is her undying struggle in discovering her aspirations from many marriages to realize her true love that completes her. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses the horizon, the pear tree, and the bee and blossom as symbols

“Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.” (Hurston 226) The book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is told from Janie’s point of view and she is telling her story to her friend Pheoby. She grows throughout three marriages and the hardships she faces. She learns what she wants from life and how to become an independent individual. Throughout the story of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie is on a quest for self-fulfillment and individuality. This is shown through the changes she endures in her relationships and can cause the readers to take control of their own lives.

Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God recounts the life and loves of a bi-racial woman in the racially charged South during the 1900s. After the death of her third husband, Janie returns to Eatonville amid judgment and gossip, prompting her to share her life’s lessons with dear friend Phoeby. As Hurston’s protagonist relives her turbulent loves, she embarks of a journey of self-discovery, her voice transforming from suppressed to empowered over the course of her marriages.

In this global era of evolving civilization, it is increasingly difficult to ignore the fascinating fact about love. Love is a feeling of intimacy, warmth, and attachment. Love is inevitable and it plays a vital role in human life as Janie uses her experience with the pear tree to compare each of her relationships, but it is not until Tea Cake that she finds “a bee to her bloom.” (106).

The struggle for women to have their own voice has been an ongoing battle. However, the struggle for African American women to have their own voice and independence has been an ongoing conflict. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie struggles a majority of her life discovering her own voice by challenging many traditional roles that are set by society during this time. Hongzhi Wu, the author of “Mules and Women: Identify and Rebel—Janie’s Identity Quest in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God,’” recognizes the trend of African American women being suppressed by making a comparison between animals throughout the novel and Janie. Wu argues that there are ultimately two depictions of the mule that the reader remembers and compares both of these interpretations to Janie’s transformation throughout the novel. While Wu’s argument is sound in the fact that it recognizes certain stereotypes African American women faced during this time, Wu fails to recognize Janie’s sexuality in depth as her major push away from the animalistic pressures she has faced.

     “’…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.

People are constantly searching for their voices. A voice gives someone independence and the ability to make her own decision. The First Amendment ensures that all United States citizens possess the freedom of speech; however, not all people are given the ability or opportunity to exercise that right. When a person has no voice they rely on others to make their decisions. Throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Are Watching God, Janie constantly struggles to find her voice. Her marriage to Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake help her discover and utilize her voice in different ways. During Janie’s first marriage to Logan she has no voice, Joe silences Janie’s tiniest whisper and controls her similar to a slave; in contrast to

Love is different for each and every person. For some, it comes easy and happens early in life. For others, such as Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, it happened much later in life after two unsuccessful marriages. Janie’s grandmother, Nanny raised Janie to be attracted to financial security and physical protection instead of seeking love. Nanny continually emphasized that love was something that was bound to happen after those needs were met; even though Nanny never married. Janie formulates her ideal of love while sitting under a pear tree as a teenager; one that fulfilled her intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically. She was then informed that she was to have an arranged marriage to an older

Each and every individual faces obstacles and limitations unique to their own circumstances, and the way that those obstacles are met and overcome ultimately determine the fulfillment and happiness that person is able to acquire. Perhaps one of the most influential but commonly looked over influences on one’s development is the attitude of others, in addition to one’s own attitude. While a kind, strong, responsible, driven attitude can empower one to lead a fulfilling life, the positivity of others is equally as effective. Whether it be despite perseverance and optimism of the individual or in junction with the two, the attitudes of others’ have the ability to influence one’s life in significant ways. The

A husband should be hardworking, try to make his wife happy often, and always have the best interest at heart for her. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie is a naive, immature teenage girl that is forced into marrying an older man who she does not love. She later runs away with another man, looking for love and freedom from her marriage. After her second husband dies, she meets Teacake, who lets her be free and have equal part in the relationship. Although Logan is hardworking and Joe is successful while both having the best interest at heart for Janie, Teacake is a better husband to Janie because he let her have her freedom and made her happy.

“They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God. (p. 160)” Zora Neale Hurston prophetically embodied the awe of the Divine and His infinite sovereignty in relation to His creation. This novel explores the complex awakening of Janie Crawford as an African- American woman in the southern Florida during the twentieth century. The protagonist is on a quest to find self- awareness and love due to a troubled childhood and broken home. Along this spiritual and personal journey, Janie finds herself in malicious relationships in which she is dominated and subjugated by male counterparts. However, it is not until she slowly grows spiritually independent of her physical situations that she is able to overcome adversity and truly love herself. Hurston contrasts the use of boisterous characters and colloquialism with Janie’s inherent silence to effectively illustrate the protagonist’s gradual independence in relation to language. The importance of personal fulfillment through self-awareness over power serves as a source of

In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie’s understanding for struggle allows her to empathize for another and fix the problem. Zora Neale Hurston writes, “Janey is displayed by Starks as a 'lady'? Just as he displays the retired mule”(Hurston). Janie's treatment by Jody has caused her to feel the struggle and hatred towards the people that only make life harder than it should be. When Jody saw this mule getting abused and treated the way it shouldn’t be, she was able to feel empathy for it and do something about it.

Their Eyes were Watching God was one where every time I read a line where Janie was inferior or under the tyrannical rule of a male, I face palmed myself for her helplessness out of disbelief and anger. I am strong believer that women can do as much as men can or even better, but both are needed equally. I believe that women do not need only men to survive and that a woman, who is without a man can find happiness and peace in her freedom. Throughout the Novel, Zora Hurston allows Janie to undergo three different marriages with each relationship bring short-lived to emphasize Janie’s growth after each man and how in the end she is satisfied with only herself. In Their Eyes were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston explores the relationships