Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

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.

Topic 2: Compare/contrast Janie in Hurston 's Their Eyes Were Watching God & Edna in Chopin 's The Awakening in terms of conformity within a male-dominated society. (four page minimum)

Richard Wright and Alain Locke’s critique on Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God reveal the common notion held by many of the time, and still today, that there is a right and wrong way for a black person to talk and to act. Wright’s point of view of clearly racially charged and coming from a place of ignorance and intolerance. While, Locke’s point is simply due to a lack of an ability to think out of the box and observe deeper meaning, perhaps due to internalized oppression and a fearful desire to talk and act just like a white man in order to be taken seriously. Wright’s argument that the novel has no central theme and is parallel to minstrel shows, and Locke’s belief that Hurston uses relatable language to avoid diving into mature writing, are inherently wrong and fueled by the very issues Hurston was trying to combat: racism and sexism.

Published in 1937 by author Zora Neale Hurston, the novel ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ chronicles an African American woman's journey to find true love in the Deep South. On one hand, an equal balance of power in a relationship leads to equality, fulfilment, and happiness for both partners - as observed in Janie’s relationship with Vergible Woods (Tea Cake). On the other hand, an unequal distribution of power in a marriage with a dominant partner leads to an overall sense of discontent and unhappiness in the relationship, as observed in Janie’s first two marriages to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks respectively. Thus, an equal balance of power in a relationship built on mutual respect and desire is a vital to a stable and healthy relationship.

In many novels, authors have implemented social constructs in order to shape the mood of the books. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston alludes to social class, especially race, subtly. Hurston’s background of anthropology and growing up as an African-American woman clearly plays a role in the social makeup of the novel. The main character of the novel, Janie, has various experiences in which readers can discover the social structures in her life. Through Janie’s story of self-discovery, Hurston reveals social constructs of the time, especially race and wealth, by including anecdotes, complex characters, and thought-provoking scenes that highlight controversial issues.

Folklorist, anthropologist, playwright, and novelist, Zora Neale Hurston 's career took off after publishing, what is, today, her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Unlike any other work at the time, the dialect in her novels portrayed how African-Americans speak in the deep south. Set in Southern Florida, the heroine Janie, is thought to have been modeled after Hurston, herself, if she had chose to stay in her hometown of Eatonville instead of going to college. In the novel, Janie is unable to develop a life as a New Woman through much of her adulthood due to the geographical area she lived in, basic education, financial state, grandmother 's values, history of slavery, and her marriage to Joe Sparks. Hurston, on the other hand, was able to develop her life as a New Woman due to her access to higher education, financial state, and support from her mother.

Susan B. Anthony once said there is not a women born who desires to eat the bread of dependence. In the novel Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neal Hurston, Janie Crawford depicts the life of a young African women who struggles with male dominance. As well for Mrs. Mallard in The story of an hour by Kate Chopin. Both of these women become independent, share experiences with male dominance and share an appealing perspective toward nature. They also have distinctive outcomes in their lives. Janie and Mrs. Mallard share similarities in their lives and distinctions as well.

“Beans running fine and prices good, so the Indians could be, must be, wrong. You couldn’t have a hurricane when you’re making seven and eight dollars a day picking beans. Indians are dumb anyhow, always were. Another night of Stew Beef making dynamic subtleties with his drum and living, sculptural, grotesques in the dance”(155).

Nature plays a tremendous role in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Throughout the book there are many references to nature and ideas that are influenced by nature and there is a constant presence of nature in the story. From the beginning to the end of the book nature is used as a symbol to describe and expand on other things happening in the book. Janie, the main character of the book, starts this theme of nature at the beginning with her scene at the pear tree. This scene opens up the idea of nature to the rest of the story. The hurricane scene towards the end of the book closes the book with the idea of nature, just as it was opened with nature. Ending the book with nature shows that it was an important aspect

In Zora Neale Hurston’s esteemed novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Nanny Crawford says, “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see.” When I read this bold statement in my 11th grade literature class it struck me. I carried these words with me for a long time contemplating their meaning. Does this comparison of black women to a lowly animal such as a mule hold true? It certainly did in the early twentieth century time period of the novel in which black women were nothing more than the property of white men. However, despite all the milestones and barriers African American women have broken since then, to an extent Nanny’s words hold true even in today’s society. Women of color still remain objects of exploitation and misrepresentation. As an African American woman, I would use my time enrolled in Grady College to prepare and mold myself into a positive representation of black women in mainstream media.

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, copyright in 1937 and has a total of 193 pages.

In the novel of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Hurston, exhibits a various of characteristics throughout the novel. The author reveals each unique character that have personalities distinct from one another. The two dramatic foils that I will showcase are Joe Starks and Logan Killicks to reveal and highlight the traits of Tea Cake. These characters shows how their traits can reveal the other's characteristics throughout their differences. The message that associates and conveys with these characters is how personalities and traits can reveal the perception of how one views gender and status.

The famous ogre, Shrek, once explained, “Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers... You get it? We both have layers” when trying convey that “there's a lot more to ogres than people think” (Shrek). This goes the same for complex characters in literature; they are multilayered figures who possess contradictory traits at the same point in time. An exemplary representation would be Janie Starks from Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. As a rare character in the time period, Janie’s complexity is broadcasted through her contrasting characteristics of being opinionated yet malleable.

Kartikeya Sharma COM 1102 - 04 Mrs. Joy Patterson 11/21/2014 Their Eyes Were Watching God This novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' is written by 'Zora Neale Hurston', and the story takes place in the city Eatonville, Florida in the twentieth century. The first chapter of this story is written in a third person which is omniscient, and Janie is the narrator in the remaining chapters. The third person (omniscient) narrator tells the story of Janie as a flashback.

The title is confusing to some people, but it could mean that the book is about racial and personal independence. Or in other words, not allowing what others tell you your future holds and following it but instead following God. Janie seems to do that in this book in many ways. She rejects other people's ideas of what she should want in life. The theme of this book “Their eyes are watching god” is about Janie’s search for unconditional, true, and fulfilling love. She experiences different kinds of love throughout her life. Relationships for anyone in life and the book “Their eyes are watching god” have strong comparisons.