Who has power? In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God, men have the upper hand. while the women did not and were seen more as an obeying pet. Throughout the book Zora Hurston show men dominating Janie (main character) through her three marriages. Janie 's first husband, Logan Killicks, uses his power to use her as a worker. Janie 's second husband, Joe Starks, uses his power on Janie to make her obey him and is not allowed to talk to other men. Now Janie 's last Husband, Teacake, uses his power to make Janie follow him wherever he goes. Why would Hurston portray men as powerful and women as powerless? Is it because this is the way our society depicts men? That men should be tough, fearless, and strong. Creating a tough interior …show more content…
in Thomas). She had to make sure her house was fitting for her family. This because she is seen as incapable to do what a man can. Therefor women are seen powerless and powerless is defined as according to Merriam-Webster as “lacking the authority or capacity to act.” She is also not allowed to cheat but a man was. Victorian men kept paramours, yet in any case they expected their wives or special woman to be dedicated whatever their own particular crimes. On the off chance that a woman took another man it was not allowed. In the event that it did get to be open learning she would be cut by society. But a man can do as he pleases. Also, It was a double-dealing period when connections were very counterfeit. Until late in the century in 1887 a wedded lady could claim no property. At that point in 1887 the Married Woman 's Property Act gave ladies rights to possess her own particular property. Formerly her property, habitually inherited from her family, fit in with her spouse on marriage. She turned into the property of the man. Amid this time if a wife divided from her spouse she had no privileges of access to see her kids. A separated lady had no possibility of acknowledgement in the public arena once more.
If a woman during the Victorian Era was rich (married a rich man or gained wealth through her family) she is different compared to a middle class woman and is
Contemporary novels have imposed upon the love tribulations of women, throughout the exploration of genre and the romantic quest. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their eyes were watching God (1978) and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway (2000) interplay on the various tribulations of women, throughout the conventions of the romantic quest and the search for identity. The protagonists of both texts are women and experience tribulations of their own, however, unique from the conventional romantic novels of their predecessors. Such tribulations include the submission of women and the male desire for dominance when they explore the romantic quest and furthermore, the inner struggles of women. Both texts display graphic imagery of the women’s inner experiences through confronting and engaging literary techniques, which enhance the audiences’ reading experience. Hurston’s reconstructions of the genre are demonstrated through a Southern context, which is the exploration of womanhood and innocence. Whilst Woolf’s interpretation of the romantic quest is shown through modernity and an intimate connection with the persona Clarissa Dalloway, within a patriarchal society.
Throughout life, everybody makes sacrifices that may become more beneficial to him or in ways they could not foresee. A sacrifice may be simply giving up an object or giving up something deeper in meaning. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a prime example of a book that reflects this theme. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, struggles to figure out her identity and what she desires in life. As she matures in her relationships and in life, she learns to make sacrifices in order to seek what she really needs. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston illuminates Janie’s values and the text’s emphasis on self-actualization is demonstrated through Janie leaving stability with Logan to marry Joe,
This ideology outlines and endorses separate spheres for women and men, the domestic and public spheres. This idea derived from the natural features of each gender. As women were considered to be physically weaker than men, they were more suitable to belong to the private sphere. As Ellis writes, ‘women’s strength is in her influence’ , demonstrating the view that, though physically fragile, women were morally superior to men.
“...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.
Feminism and gender equality is one of the most important issues of society today, and the debate dates back much farther than Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. To analyze Janie’s existence as a feminist or anti-feminist character requires a potential critic to look at her relationships and her reactions to those relationships throughout the novel. Trudier Harris claims that Janie is “questing after a kind of worship.” This statement is accurate only up until a certain point in her life, until Janie’s “quest” becomes her seeking equality with her partner. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s main goal pertaining to her romantic relationships undergoes multiple changes from her original goal of a type of worship to a goal to maintain an equal relationship with her husband.
In the late nineteenth century, the New Woman time period emerged after World War I. Women began to cast away the domestic stereotypes and they became “independent [women] who [sought] achievement and self-fulfillment beyond the realm of marriage and family” (Miller 1). Straying away from the typical image of women staying and maintaining the home, women started attending universities, receiving professional jobs, and becoming involved in politics (1). The transition of women from the domestic sphere to the public sphere is a notion Zora Neale Hurston uses in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston’s use of dominant characters in society reveals her theme that experiences and relationships are the roots of finding independence and identity despite the obscurity caused by sexism.
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).
“I’m a woman…Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” This quote from Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman” characterizes the common theme between the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the speech, “Ain’t I a Woman”, by Sojourner Truth, and “Phenomenal Woman”. The common theme between these three different pieces is the idea of a strong, independent woman, which ties into feminism and the concept of being equal to men. Even though these three pieces are each diverse genres, they are all conveying the same general theme in their own way. Throughout any of these texts, it is evident that the authors are pushing the idea that a female is not inferior to any man just because they have a different body structure or a different gender.
Throughout many years in the early 19th century, people were forced to work in very poor environments. From working for long hours on fields and plantations, they did not have an opportunity to have a free and self-fulfilling life. Their lives were very similar to that of a mule where they had to perform very tiring and hard jobs for most of the day. In many instances, people lived their whole life working towards freeing themselves from the work but were never able to accomplish their goal. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the mule is used as a symbol of the way Janie is treated in each of her relationships except when she is with Teacake, demonstrating that it is more worthy to work like a mule with a lover than live a leisurely life without one.
Persistence is a firm continuance of action in spite of past obstacles and opposition. This is what women like Janie Crawford in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel had to have, to get through traumatic events such as domestic violence and oppression from other men. In Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie Crawford faced oppression and domestic violence, but instead of this holding her back it made a stronger woman by the end of the novel.
Societal standards are set in place so one can stay inside the box. But what happens when the boundaries begin to be pushed open and torn down? It has been discovered through many classic novels and historical events that alienation can occur as a result of these broken barriers. By definition, alienate means “to cause (someone) to stop being friendly, helpful, etc., towards you” (Merriam-Webster). This is a major factor in Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston is able to grasp the moral values and societal standards of gender and race in an African American society in the early 1900’s perfectly. She does this through her subjective alienation and psychological progression of the main character, and protagonist, Janie.
In the 18oo’s, everything that a woman could do was dictated by the man in her home. They were treated as property, first of their father, then to the man they would marry. A woman’s only life goal was only ever to get married. Marriage was the only way for a woman to keep wealth (until 1839, when the Married Women’s Property Acts allowed women to be legally separated from their husbands) was through the marriage of a wealthy gentleman, despite everything else. Once married, women were expected to stay home and care for their children. Women would also rarely escaped their lives in order to attend to their guests and the state of their home. Women were easily separated into three classes: the
How does Hurston use the idea of women and femininity in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
When a woman married in the Victorian age, she did not have an independent legal status. Women also had no right to any money, including the money that she earned and worked for. She could not make a will or buy property, she had no claim to her children, and she had to move with her spouse wherever he went. If the husband died, he could name his wife as the guardian of the children, but he did not have to if he did not wish to.
During the Victorian period, women had a very specific role to play in society. They had very little influence on the public sphere, only men were to deal with business and political issues. Women were restrained to the private sphere, and were supposed to take care of the house, and of their beloved. The phrase ‘the angel in the house’ was used to describe their duty. Obviously, this applies to women of a certain rank, mostly those belonging to the middle-class. Working-class women soon had to leave home and work in order to help feed their family.