Their Eyes Were Watching God and Invisible Man Essay
Life has never been easy for African-Americans. Since this country's formation, the African-American culture has been scorned, disrespected and degraded. It wasn't until the middle of the 21st century that African-American culture began to be looked upon in a more tolerant light.
This shift came about because of the many talented
African-American writers, actors, speakers and activists who worked so hard to gain respect for themselves and their culture. Two writers were on the front lines of this movement, Zora Neale Hurston and Ralph Ellison. Their novels, Invisible Man and Their Eyes Were Watching God, probed deeply into the life and culture
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At the end of each novel, neither Janie nor Invisible Man are as happy as they'd like to be. But, both novels focus not on the bittersweet end, but rather what the characters learned before they reached the end. Janie realized that her strength was in herself and her pride, with or without Tea Cake. And Invisible Man realized that "My problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own" (pg. 573), and so took to hibernation, to "shake off the old skin" and start living a life he could be proud of." In the end, despite some dissatisfaction, both characters knew who they were and how to pursue the happiness they craved. By using these two themes, both Hurston and Ellison took a dramatic leap of faith. These themes add the uniqueness and non-conformism of the stories themselves.
Neither Hurston nor Ellison hid any part of their culture to be politically correct; this fact is especially visible in the authors use of diction in their novels. In Their
Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston employs slang and colloquial language throughout the novel. In fact, almost half of the novel is in this form. An excellent example of this writing style is found on pg. 87 when Janie says "Ah'm gone tuh de house. Lemme know when dat ol' pee-de-bed is gone and Ah'll be right back." Ellison uses some colloquial diction and slang, but not nearly so
Many people wonder what it would be like if they were to be invisible; stealthily walking around, eavesdropping on conversations, and living as if nothing is of their concern. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, is centred on an unnamed fictional character who believes himself to be, indeed, invisible to the rest of the world. He is not invisible in the physical sense, but socially and intellectually. As the book develops, readers are able to experience an authentic recollection of what life is as a black man living in a white man’s world. This man wants to achieve so much, but is severely limited by the colour of his skin. This novel, which has become a classic, addresses the themes of blindness in fighting stereotypes and predestined
In a modern society, race is no longer the determining factor of one’s place in the social hierarchy. Instead, the wealth and fame a person possesses captivates the world’s attention. However, race is still a controversial topic in the United States. Thus racial tensions continue to exist in certain sections of the country. The literal and metaphoric foundation of this currently powerhouse of a nation is built on slavery, the backs of immigrants and people of color who received little to no recognition for their efforts and contributions. The barbarous treatment of African slaves, especially in the South with its large cotton plantations further embedded hatred and hostility between colored people and white people. It took over a decade and a Civil War between the North and the South before the slavery was abolished. However, slavery was merely replaced by Jim Crow laws and segregations that continued to divide the colored from the white. Finally, the Civil Rights movement urged citizens to evolve from racist views. Yet even still racism plays a big part in our culture and is still heavily discussed; our current political climate only fuels the discussion. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, both racism and colorism are touched on both a symbolical level as well as a literal one through the trials and tribulations of the protagonist, Janie. Despite not having a theme centered around racial issues in the novel, Hurston highlights them throughout the
The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston explores the life of an African American woman from the south who is trying to find herself. The protagonist of this novel is Janie Crawford. She is trying to defy what people expect of her, and she lives her life searching to have a better life. Zora Neale Hurston’s life experiences influence the book in many ways, including language, personality, and life experiences.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, is a novel about Janie Crawford, a “light” african american woman living in the 1930’s. Janie’s life is chronicled as she tells her friend her story: a pear tree, a dead mule, three marriages, and a hurricane later the reader and the listener, Phoeby, feels they had “‘done growed ten feet higher from jus’ listenin’’” (192) to her story. However, overall Hurston wants the reader to understand that they have to find out about living for themselves by following their own expectations and not the expectations of others for them. The use of the stylistic elements: symbolism, motif, and imagery enhances the message of this novel about finding one’s self amidst a world where everyone
This story also uses appeal of pathetic to grab the reader’s attention. Throughout the story the author, Ralph Ellison, struggles to attempt to uncover the invisible man’s identity that is buried beneath oppression. It is important to understand that the invisible man is an African American male who sates that he is only looked down on because of his skin color (Ellison). Ralph Ellison goes in detail by showing us how lies can be seen as an obstacle to anyone’s journey of finding himself and his true identity. These obstacles are expressed in Ralph Ellison’s usage of symbols and imagery portrays those obstacles. The man is faced with these obstacles of deception in his ability to make his own life, but instead is confined to live the life in white men’s society. The purpose calls for action to the public to open their eyes to realize that racism is a problem that will not go away; it is something that must be forced to an end whereby men are willing to be themselves in the process.
Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character Janie’s development as a woman is quite impressive compared to other women during that time when Racism and Sexism were still a big problem in the society of America due to three of her relationship with three man that help her to develop into a strong independence African American woman. Although during the 1920’s women had achieved a modicum of success, Zora illustrates through her character Janie that this instead was a complicated process.
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston describes the life of Janie Mae Crawford, a mixed black and white woman living in the South during the early 1900’s. Due to her mixed heritage and her gender, Janie struggles to find her place in society, but she becomes determined to find true love. Throughout the novel, Janie develops relationships, both healthy and toxic, that lead her to achieving her ultimate goal of true love. Hurston uses Jamie’s quest for true love to enlighten the reader on the importance of gender equality, the insignificance of social status, and the vile nature of jealousy.
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in the late nineteen hundreds and early twentieth century, Zora Neale Hurston portrays the life of a black woman trapped by patriarchal society, to make known the oppression and sexism imposed on Janie. During this time a women gained power through their outer beauty. The duties of women shown as submission to aggressive, manipulative, and power seeking men. Janie, however, had no power and is viewed as a memento and for sexual purposes. Through the substantiation of women, the men take away their power. Dominated by the rich white males, the black men have their power taken away by a racist society. The white man empowers all population and black women were force to bottom
In the novel, Their Eyes Are Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston lays bare the many faces of feminism and patriarchal ideology. Janie’s relationships show how feminism ideals and patriarchy thinking were normal within the African American culture in the slavery era. In many instances, Janie worked against the very ideas that an oppressive patriarchal society represents. The life dreamed of does not become a reality for most women. Although Janie saw a different future for herself. Those closest to Janie influenced her decisions and actions as she succumb to the patriarchal thinking. She was also empowered by those same influences.
Many different controversial topics like racism and sexism are seen throughout Zora Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. For example, critics show that sexism is shown by rebellion in Janie 's life. According to Caldwell, Janie rebels against her grandmother’s beliefs and wishes and leaves her chosen husband for someone who she thinks is going to give her a better life(2). According to Curren, Janie and Tea Cakes go through racism all through life until their last move towards the horizon. They move into a new community in Florida in the Everglades where color does not matter(1-2). Because the elements of sexism and racism are so strong throughout the work, many times the themes overshadow other themes. For instance, Tracy Bealer theorizes that Their Eyes Were Watching God represents the concerns of African American love(1). Surprisingly, she is not alone in her belief. Many critics are beginning to demonstrate how Hurston’s novel can be read as a work that explores different aspects of love: fake love ,abusive love, controlling love, and true love. The relationships between Janie and her husbands demonstrate this idea that love is a driving theme of the work.
An effective and personable author resolves to construct a realistic cast of characters, rather than a company filled with pigeonholed characters, each serving a specific purpose. In the fashion of the compelling writer, Zora Neale Hurston refused to put her people down and victimize them, a controversial move at the time when African-American authors seeked to raise awareness to the blatant discrimination against their communities. Instead of simply making her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, a story about the continual presence of racism against black people in America, she creates a dynamic cast of characters that are human, rather than vehicles for an agenda. At the heart of this group of people is Janie, a biracial woman, who goes on a journey to find herself. Through each of her three romantic relationships, she further unpeels the layers of her identity. At the end of the novel, she meets Vergible Woods, who goes by Tea Cake, with whom she settles down to a simple but fulfilling life. However, when Tea Cake gets rabies from a dog and threatens Janie’s safety, she kills him out of self-defense. Knowing Hurston’s realistic views of the world, she made Janie racially mixed for a purpose — to demonstrate how abstract and undefinable race and racial issues are. Instead of simply using the trope of the victimized black woman to further her message, she humanizes her characters by giving them complex personalities and identities. In the same way, at other moments in the
Johnson concludes her critique with a brief synopsis of Zora Neale Hurston’s main imitative into writing Their Eyes Were Watching God. She explains that according to her, “there is no message, no theme, no thought; the full range of questions and experiences of Janie’s life are invisible to a mind steeped in maleness as Ellison’s Invisible Man is to minds steeped in whiteness.
“Their eyes were watching god” a novel that looked how societies view on women, written by Zora Neale Hurston, portrays a society where “nigger women” are considered a “mule”. Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Janie Crawford, strives to find her own voice but struggle to find it because of the expectation in the African American community. Each one of her husbands play a big role in her life long search for independence and her own voice.
In the society and world we live in we all want to be accepted and feel like we belong. Zora Neale Hurston goes through trials and tribulations as being a twenty-century African American such as slavery and feeling like she belongs. Imagine every time you think you are finally happy with whom you are and it turns out that wasn’t the case. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie embarks on journey in search for her own identity where each of her three husbands plays an important role in her discovery of who she is.
Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, can be described as a novel of its time, for it reflects many historical moments, but could also be regarded as a novel of all time, for it is about people, love, tradition, culture, hate, politics--it is about what it means to be a human. This classic novel follows the life of a mixed woman by the name of Janie Mae Crawford. Set in the early 1900’s, this book follows the hardships that Janie must endure while not only being an adolescent, but by also being of a mixed race. Many themes are apparent throughout this novel, but the ones that seem most prevalent would be that of freedom and confinement. Hurston so beautifully depicts a world after the turn of the nineteenth century into the twentieth century--a world dealing with racism, identitarian politics, and the legacy of slavery. A world in which we might still live today. Freedom and confinement play a large role within this work in that they are what started it all. For centuries, humanity has decided who is worthy of power and who is restricted in power, and minorities have more often than not been subject to abuse in this power struggle. Throughout the course of this novel, the development of the male voices within Janie’s life seem to parallel the development of Janie’s voice--her voice seems to evolve into a stronger one as her relationships improve.