She Sent Her Face To Joe's Funeral Quote Analysis

Hurston uses the narrative consciousness in Their Eyes, to characterize those who are silent and lack their own voice, by doing this Hurston gives depth, to those whose voices, are heard. Throughout the entire novel, the development of the male voice seems to parallel the development of Janie's. The men in Janie's life have voices, and it is by her relationships with these men, that Janie's voice gets stronger. Janie becomes more self confident with each relationship she endures. Hurston, by using the consciousness narrative, is actually speaking for Janie; the narrator and Janie are like one. This might be the reason that Hurston gives little voice to Janie's character. Janie is not silenced in the novel, she is expressed through the narrative. Which if the reader does not close read, the reader will not comprehend this aspect of Hurston's novel.

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

In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist Janie Crawford has experienced and had interactions with the nature around her. These interactions symbolised Janie’s quest for love, her own independence and personal freedom through each endeavor. Janie’s quest for her womanhood was directly influenced by the natural environment around her. For instance, the novel states that Janie “Saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a blossom” (11).

Joe constantly felt the need to make Janie feel horrible about herself. He would take control of everything she would do and Janie couldn’t do anything but feel sad. Hurston says, “The years took all the fight out of Janie’s face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul. No matter what Jody did she said nothing” Saying nothing showed her husband that she let this mistreatment happen to her without speaking up for her rights. Being gone from her sole shows that Janie didn’t even know who she was anymore because she couldn’t even make simple choices for herself. This becomes a problem because Janie couldn’t even find happiness in her relationship, which is far from self-actualizing. These two quotes both show Janie’s passivity through silence and the feeling of worthlessness. This may be an example from Janie’s life, but this became a problem for many women whose husbands follow gender hierarchies to feel like they have more power over their wife. Society always views men to have more power and to be a more powerful figure than women which causes uncomfort in relationships. This strive of power stops people from reaching self-actualization because they are always looking for others to be better than instead of looking to reach their fullest potential. Reaching self-actualization is a big goal for many people because you

Janie Crawford is surrounded by outward influences that contradict her independence and personal development. These outward influences from society, her grandma, and even significant others contribute to her curiosity. Tension builds between outward conformity and inward questioning, allowing Zora Neal Hurston to illustrate the challenge of choice and accountability that Janie faces throughout the novel.

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

Janie’s outward appearance and her inward thoughts contrast following Joe’s death. She finally frees herself from his control only after he dies as she, “…tore off the kerchief…and let down her plentiful hair” (87). In freeing her hair, Janie begins to free herself from others’ control and social norms. However, she chooses to keep it tied up until after Jody’s funeral in order to keep appearances that she is grieving his passing in front of the townspeople. However, on the inside, Janie doesn’t really feel any sorrow and “sent her face to Joe’s funeral, and herself went rollicking with the springtime across the world” (88). It is only after Joe’s elaborate funeral that Janie shows her first act of freedom by burning “every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist” (89). She chose to let her hair be free from his domination, thus freeing herself from him overall and allowing herself to move onto the next journey in her life.

Instead of treating Janie like the beautiful woman that she is, he uses her as an object. Joe was a man who “treasured [Janie] as a posession” (Berridge). Joe’s demanding nature suppresses Janie’s urge to grow and develop, thus causing her journey to self-realization to take steps backward rather than forward. In Janie’s opinion, “he needs to “have [his] way all [his] life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let [him]self heah 'bout it” (Hurston 122). It is almost as if Janie loses sense of her own self-consciousness due to the fact that she becomes like a puppy being told what to do by her master. The death of Jody is actually a positive thing. Joe’s controlling nature stifles Janie’s inner voice. While married to Jody, Janie became closer to others, however, she did not become closer to herself. Being on her own again gave her another chance to embark on her journey and realize who Janie Crawford really is.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie goes through three marriages, discovering herself along the way. At one point in her life, Janie marries Joe, an important leader for the town of Eatonsville, a large contributor to the town and well respected by many. Afterwards, she marries Tea Cake, a younger man but also well respected by his fellow workers. While both of their funerals may have the basic similarities of being funerals themselves, having many people, and being somewhat fancy, upon a closer look Joe’s funeral is an outreach of his being controlling others, while Tea Cake’s funeral is a memorial to him created by his friends and family, which reveals how much better of a husband and friend Tea Cake was.

Throughout the novel, Hurston describes Janie as a young woman with a compelling desire for seeking unconditional love. As Janie searches for her inner self, she begins life not knowing who she is. Janie endures harsh judgment from many people throughout the novel, which help build the qualities of independence and strength. Throughout everything she has learned, she matured and transitioned from a defiant teenager, to a woman in complete possession of herself. Janie 's quest for the “horizon” of herself finally lead her to a place in which she is defined, despite the society who denies her power because of her black ethnicity. The “horizon” demonstrates the distance one must travel in order to distinguish between illusion and reality, dream and truth, role and

The passage from Joe’s funeral exemplifies how she puts on an act outwardly to present herself a certain way to the community. The short fragments, “Finish. End. Nevermore. Darkness,” are representing what she displays to the citizens. She does what is expected of her, but she hides her true feelings behind the required mourning attire. In section 3 the jewel acts as a metaphor for what Janie went through with Nanny. “But she had been set in the market-place to sell. Been set for still-bait.” In this case, Nanny wanted Janie to do as she insisted. Nanny always believed she knew what was best for Janie. Janie typically went along with her grandmas wishes because it was the correct way to act. However, Janie really felt as though she wasn't able to shine; she was being covered with mud and not able to reveal her true worth. Outwardly Janie doesn’t necessarily seem to reveal what she is feeling on the inside. Due to what society expects and insists, Janie has to act a certain way regardless of her internal emotions.

What I attempt to show in the above quotation is that through free indirect discourse Hurston is able to effectively express the inner and outer voice of Janie. This voice is the voice of a woman who is

Janie’s hair first acts as a symbol of defiance of trifling community values. Her defiance begins at the start of the novel, “What dat ole forty year ole ‘oman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her hair back lak some young gal?” (Hurston 2). This quote represents Janie’s defiance against the people of Eatonville. The inhabitants of Eatonville begrudge Janie for not fitting into a perceptible class. Since she is beautiful and defiant against the community standards, the porch gossips

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

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