Examples Of Motifs In Eyes Were Watching God

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, she utilizes an array of symbolism such as color, the store, and her husbands to solidify the overall theme of independence and individuality. Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered by many a classic American Feminist piece that emphasizes how life was for African Americans post slave era in the early 1900s. One source summarizes the story as, 1 ”a woman's quest for fulfillment and liberation in a society where women are objects to be used for physical work and pleasure.” Which is why the overall theme is concurrent to independence and self.

Throughout the book “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (written by author Zora Neale Hurston and published in September 1937) multiple motifs (a recurrent image, symbol, theme, character type, subject, or narrative detail that becomes a unifying element in an artistic work or text) have appeared amidst the chapters. Furthermore, motifs have played an excruciatingly important role overall throughout the book, whether it be a place, a person, the weather, or simply just a personʻs possession(s). Therefore, in this prompt I will explain the various motifs exhibited in the passages.

Janie is beginning to realize who she truly is and has been awakened through the scenic vision of the nature around her, presenting her womanhood in front of her eyes.

She ended up living a life full of manipulation and mediocrity. While living with Joe, she had to tend to many different tasks as his wife.  She wasn't independent with him either.  She was Joe's tag-a-long.  'She went through many silent rebellions over things like that.  Such a waste of life and time.  But Joe kept saying that she could do it if she wanted to and he wanted her to use her privileges.  That was the rock she was battered against.' (Hurston, 51)  Janie always had to wear her hair a certain way, always up in a head rag, in order not to attract attention to other men and women. She was always in a state of loneliness with herself.  While married to Janie, he would not allow her to attend the people's gatherings believing that she does not belong to such a group of lower class people.  Joe was depriving Janie of her independence and sanity.  "Naw, Ah ain't no young gal no mo' but den Ah ain't no old woman either.  Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too.  But Ah'm us woman every inch of me, and Ah know it.  Dat's uh whole lot more'n you kin say.  You big-bellies round here and put out a lot of brag, but 'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice.  Humph!  Talkin' 'bout me lookin' old!  When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life." (Hurston, 75)  This quote spoken by Janie proves that she was getting sick and tired of being pushed around by Joe and his stuck-up ways.  This was a slow

Janie Crawford: Janie is the most significant character in the novel, as the plot revolves around her and her marriages. She longs to find true love while also maintaining her independence. She undergoes two poor marriages, one to Logan Killicks, and one to Joe Starks, before finally marrying Tea Cake, a man she truly loves.

Through the novel The Eyes Were Watching God, the author Zora Neale Hurston helps portray a message of the importance of independence and self-expression to the reader. She conveys this message through the use of rhetorical strategies, best exemplified in the excerpt where Janie goes on to kill Teacake. Hurston accomplishes conveying this message by using symbols to help relay the message to the reader. Symbols that represent the different ways Janie demonstrates this independence, and ways she is able to express herself. Furthermore the author also utilizes the point of view the novel is written in and specific details to help again further connect the reader to Janie and help the reader understand how Janie found independence and an ability

Janie struggles with her marriages with Logan Killicks and Joe Starks throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, but finds a good man and husband in Tea Cake. Logan goes to marry Janie because Janie’s grandmother forces her to marry him because Nanny wants her to have a good marriage and thinks Logan can give it to her. While Joe comes in and shows Janie he has authority and is loving, but later tries to control her and what she does. Tea Cake on the other hand show Janie love and is willing to let Janie be herself and do the things she likes to do. Janie doesn’t love Logan or Joe because they try to change and control her, while Tea Cake loves her for who she really is.

People spend their whole lives pursuing and trying to define the topic "happiness". In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, portraying the story of main character Janie Crawford with her three marriages, she brings significant changes in her understanding of happiness. In her first marriage with Logan Killicks, Janie learned that she desired more passionate love than material needs. She ran away from Logan Killicks with Joe “Jody” Starks to Eatonville and spent around twenty years with Jody until Jody died from sickness. Janie’s relationship with Jody was toxic and abusive, Jody restricted Janie’s freedom and mistreated her in many ways.

All through the novel Janie travels through valuable life experiences allowing her to grow as a woman. Janie at first has a difficult time understanding her needs rather than wants, but as she continues to experience new situations she realizes she values respect. Janie’s first two marriages turned out to be tragic mistakes, but with each marriage Janie gained something valuable. When Janie is disrespected in her second marriage with Joe Starks, he publicly humiliates her, disrespecting her as a wife and woman. This experience forced Janie to come out of her comfort zone and stand up for herself.

Zora Neale Hurston The Illusionist The novel Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is full of figurative language. Hurston uses allusion in most of the chapters of the novel. An allusion is an expression that indirectly mentions something.

In 1791 Thomas Paine wrote the book Rights of Man, in which Paine illustrates his thoughts on the unity of the American people. Walter Russell, however, says America "has always been a division of man. There has always been the conqueror and conquered - the master and slave - the ruler and the ruled - the oppressor and the oppressed. There has never been content nor unity. There has been only discontent and disunity". While in the United States there are people similar to Thomas, who believe and strive for freedom and diversity, there are also those who Walter Russell illustrates that promote racism, violence, and disunity. I mostly disagree with Thomas Paine because, while there are times of peace; justice; and concord, there are far greater instances of oppression, privilege, and riots.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the town of Eatonville and the Everglades play a very important role in the story. The two settings contrast against each other in a sense of meaning and representation. Eatonville represents a life of not being true to oneself, while the Everglades represents freedom and true love. In the story the main character, Janie, moves to Eatonville with her second husband, Jody Starks, and later to the Everglades with her third husband, Tea Cake. These two settings seem to solidify Zora Hurston’s theme of a search for true love and freedom (Shmoop Editorial Team).

Another example, where Janie struggles to find her voice is with her second husband Jody Starts, a man who starves for power and the mayor of Eatonville. Jody rarely allows Janie to speak her mind, participate in social

In conclusion, the use of motif in this novel through the use of this motif we learn, through indirect characterisation, about Papa’s untraceable source of rage towards his family. Also we learn how Jaja come to defy his father and how Kambili’s character alters by living in Nsukka. Adichie’s use of the motif nature depicts very many key themes such as abuse or punishment, defiance and

Symbols in literary works can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Symbols can appear in a novel as an event, action, or object. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Neale Hurston, uses the symbols of the gate to show Janie’s transitions to womanhood, independence from oppression, and realization of what love is to Janie.