All of this takes place in a rural town of West Florida called Eatonville in the early twentieth century. I was amazed at the story, symbols and images that this novel creates. The symbolism and metaphorical language used also brought interest and an urge to want to read more. In the novel Their eyes were watching God by Hurston Zora, Janie Crawford is a black middle aged woman who has an intriguing story to tell. She has been away from her home town for few years and comes back to be welcomed by harsh and barely near factual gossip and criticism. In life, criticism is inevitable like death, whether it’s positive or negative. What I found interesting is how Janie brushes off and takes no offense to the harsh gossip from her neighbors when she returned. The reason for that is because Janie left and found herself, she has lived life, got married a couple of times and know what life is outside of her town. She knew what love was and also knew what it felt like to be happy and hurt. Janie Crawford experienced things that any of the females who gossiped about her hasn’t. The story of her life begins to unfold as she sits with Phoebe Watson, her friend for decades that brought her some mullato rice. I think Phoebe shows signs of hypocrisy because although she defended Janie when the other women spoke badly about her, prior to Janie’s arrival she accompanied these women daily as they gossiped about other people. Sheep don’t stay in the presence of wolves for too long. “Well, nobody
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.
“...you got tuh go there tuh know there (ch. 20).” In this phrase Janie is referring to the knowledge and experience she has gained by going through her past endeavors. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie discovers,“Two things everybody’s got tuh to do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves (ch. 20).” These morals of Janie’s are depictions of the book’s entirety. Although the two lessons may be laid out plainly, this quote can be shaded into various depths of meaning. Regardless, through several incidents and relationships in the book, the interpretation of the statement and the applicability to Janie’s story is revealed.
Throughout the Novel Janie struggles with handling the opinions of others and allowing them to affect how she sees herself. For instance Hurston writes “some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships. Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon- for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you- and pinched it into such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter’s neck tight enough to choke her” (Hurston 89). Here Hurston demonstrates that others will always see things differently from one's perspective and Janie’s ongoing internal conflict with doing what would make her happy or doing what will satisfy those around her. However at the end of the novel Janie ultimately departs from the beliefs of others and displays self empowerment by disregarding the opinions of others over her actions. Similarly Hurston states “so she was free and the judge and everybody up there smiled with her and shook her hand. And the white women cried and stood around her like a protecting wall”(Hurston 188). This quote from the novel indicates that Janie displays self empowerment throughout the course of the novel and individual progress. This quote also shows the ideal of equality because although Janie is mixed she has always made her African
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).
Janie Crawford from Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, were both two women who lived in America during two different time periods, with contrasting backgrounds and beliefs. Hester Prynne, a Puritan who came from England to Boston in the 1600’s, and Janie Crawford, a woman of color living in the deep South in an all Black community post civil war. Janie and Hester are both two outliers in their communities, and were both harassed when there actions differed from the others around them, yet neither of them rebelled and emerged above everyone else in the end.
Three women. Two out of the three were slaves for several decades and was able to obtain their freedom before the Civil War. The third woman, however, was never a slave since they were around after the Civil War. First, Sojourner Truth was born into slavery, later leaving her master in 1926 before she was legally emancipated in 1927 by the law of New York (Gates 245). Truth was also a Civil Rights and Women’s Rights activist (Gates 245). Next, Elizabeth Keckley, who was also born into slavery and stayed enslaved for over 30 years (Gates 365). After she had legally bought her and her son’s freedom, Keckley had established herself as a dressmaker and provide service to political figures, such as Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis (Gates 365). Lastly, is the author, Zora Neale Hurston, who had written Their Eyes Were Watching God and Mules and Men (Gates 1019). In Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist, Janie Crawford, undergoes a journey of self-discovery while overcoming obstacles. Truth was fighting for equal rights for women, while in Keckley’s text, she informs people of her years as a slave, the purchasing of her freedom, and her time at the White House. Therefore, between Truth and Janie there is an overlapping attitude of gender differences amongst men and women which can cause male dominance, whereas with Janie and Keckley, the overlap occurs in their struggle for freedom and the experience of being married then leaving one’s spouse.
Through her use of southern black language Zora Neale Hurston illustrates how to live and learn from life’s experiences. Janie, the main character in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a woman who defies what people expect of her and lives her life searching to become a better person. Not easily satisfied with material gain, Janie quickly jumps into a search to find true happiness and love in life. She finally achieves what she has searched for with her third marriage.
Most directly, Janie was alienated by her Grandmother. Janie sought after a natural and passionate relationship with a man from the beginning, believing that marriage was the only option for a young woman such as herself. Throughout her journey she desired a perfect relationship. She thought that a mutual love would quench her desire, while her grandmother sought for her merely a good man, which caused resentment to arise inside Janie. “Please don’t make me marry Mr. Killicks… Lemme wait, Nanny, please, jus’ a lil bit mo,” ( Hurston 15). Her Grandmother forced upon her a marriage she did not want. “Neither can you stand lone by yo’self,” a statement that her grandmother made quite evident (Hurston 15). It is from her grandmother that she
Throughout life we realize the impact of just words have on our life. There’s many events that have come out of people’s gossip, rumors, or judgmental attitudes. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston, the effects of words had an impact that led to major events in Janie's life, both positive and negative ones. Gossip and rumors was a reoccurring event throughout the book which had major outcomes.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Hurston, is a novel that mostly takes place in Florida during the early 1900s. Hurston, a member of the Harlem Renaissance, grew up in Eatonville, Florida. In the novel, Janie Crawford, a black and white mixed girl, is encouraged by her grandmother, Nanny, to get married to a wealthy man. This is her pear tree dream. Janie spends time under the pear tree and realizes what true love is. She notices the transformation of the pear tree and begin to notice a change in herself. Janie’s relationship begins with Logan Killicks, but it soon ends when she gains the bravery to run away with a man named Joe Starks. Shortly after they marry, Starks and Janie’s relationship starts off as great as she is treated with love and they relocate to Eatonville.
Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a work of fiction based upon true events of her childhood (Jones). The novel was written in just seven short weeks, and is set in early twentieth century Florida. Throughout the novel, Janie Crawford embarks on a quest for love that comes to dominate her life, allowing Janie to persevere through the judgement of others and become a self-actualized woman in a time when African-American women were the “mules” of society (Hurston 14).
Love may blind some but for others it opens eyes. In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Kneale Hurston, the main character Janie, lives an arduous life of trying to find what love really is. Throughout her three marriages, Janie develops into a strong woman due to her own ignorance, being submissive, and love.
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.
Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891 and was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist. She is known for her contribution to African American Literature during the Harlem Renaissance. Their Eyes Were Watching God, one of Hurston’s best well known works was published in 1937 and it revolves around the journey of an African American woman, Janie Crawford. Hurston and her character Janie have a lot in common, they both struggle with their identities as light-skinned African Americans. Zora Neale Hurston’s use of symbolism, irony, and metaphor develops the theme that people typically live unsatisfactory lives as they are unable to liberate themselves from oppression social norms.
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.