Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie Character Analysis

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God author Zora Neale Hurton's uses a wide or rhetorical devices to express the way Janie's life has been going through some ratical changes lately and people have been noticing. In the first paragraph of this excerpt Janie is described as being "all dressed in blue! It was a shame," Janie being dressed in blue is very symbolic because since her husband died Janie had only been seen in black and white, the way the town expected her to. So for her to be wearing colors must mean she is done mourning.

Oprah Winfrey is a woman with power; power to mess up the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God in her own movie interpretation of the same name. By turning this story of a woman finding herself into a love story, many key points of the plot were left out. Character motifs and morals also dramatically changed.

In the novel, Their Eyes were watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, troubles to find true love. Throughout the novel, Janie finds herself getting into three relationships. However, all but one don’t seem to ever workout.

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.

This passage depicts Janie breaking free of the people and things that hinder her growth. Towards the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie develops a relationship that allows her to grow into herself and assume control of her life. Janie finds love and excitement with Tea Cake, gaining equality and choice in their relationship. These attributes that were absent in her previous marriages. Later, after Tea Cake dies, Janie holds onto Tea Cake to reminisce about their marriage.

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 her article “Tuh de Horzion and Back: The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Missy Dehn Kubitschek argues against her fellow critics’ common misconception of Janie as “a passive prize” (109), in favor of, recognizing the “the independence and strength” (109) within her. Kubitschek showcases the independence and strength of Janie through outlining her heroine’s quest throughout, Their Eyes Were Watching God, according to the five qualifications, “answering the call to adventure, crossing the threshold into the unknown, facing various trials, finding the reward (either concrete or symbolic), and returning to the community” (110), provided by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces. In doing so, Kubitschek expertly contradicts

Often in literature, the author sets the main character on a physical journey to divert attention away from the main character’s spiritual journey. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie, goes on a physical journey that not only challenges her sense of self, but also is vital in her life-long spiritual journey to personal liberation and self-empowerment. Janie’s relationships mark Janie’s migration toward fulfilling Hurston’s purpose of the piece: Janie becoming empowered and finds personal liberation. Hurston proves Janie’s physical journey plays a central role as Janie completes her spiritual quest to personal liberation and self-empowerment.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses Janie to show that one must have a voice in order to have a sense of who one is and have control over oneself. Janie is a dynamic character and other characters in the novel contributes to her attributes because each of them control specks of her life. To develop as a character, Janie undergoes quests to find her identity and retain it. It is arguable that Janie hangs onto pieces of who she is as she discovers more about herself and gain control over those aspects because Hurston sets the novel up as a frame story. With a frame story, there are reflections happening, so in turn, she must have learned from what she experienced between the beginning and the end of the novel. In addition

The world of Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God was one of oppression and disappointment. She left the world of her suffocating grandmother to live with a man whom she did not love, and in fact did not even know. She then left him to marry another man who offered her wealth in terms of material possessions but left her in utter spiritual poverty. After her second husband's death, she claims responsibility and control of her own life, and through her shared love with her new husband, Teacake, she is able to overcome her status of oppression. Zora Neale Hurston artfully and effectively shows this victory over oppression throughout the book through her use of

All through the novel Janie travels through valuable life experiences allowing her to grow as a woman. Janie at first has a difficult time understanding her needs rather than wants, but as she continues to experience new situations she realizes she values respect. Janie’s first two marriages turned out to be tragic mistakes, but with each marriage Janie gained something valuable. When Janie is disrespected in her second marriage with Joe Starks, he publicly humiliates her, disrespecting her as a wife and woman. This experience forced Janie to come out of her comfort zone and stand up for herself.

Often in stories of self-realization and self-love, there is an incident that is often overlooked. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, such is the case. While many people tend to believe that Janie’s relationship with Teacake was the central time when she realized who she was, Her marriage with Joe Starks is often ignored in the big picture. Janie realized what she didn’t want and not to settle and that helped her accept Teacake later on in the book. Jody’s ideals did not mesh with a Janie and caused a lot of conflict. Throughout their twenty-year marriage, three events symbolized the rift between Jody and Janie; The first was his refusing to allow Janie to speak at the towns opening ceremony,

The Qualities That Janie Depict As A Mature Woman Human development is a cultural process that expands people's freedom, opportunity and improve their well-being. It is a process that generations revise and adapt in to human cultural. Personal fulfillment is one of those developments that is adapted into in to all human culture but it depends on the human’s relationship with nature. Zora Neale Hurston addresses human development problems in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

People grow and develop at different rates. The factors that heavily influence a person's growth are heredity and environment. The people you meet and the experiences you have are very important in what makes a person who he/she is. Janie develops as a woman with the three marriages she has. In each marriage she learns precious lessons, has increasingly better relationships, and realizes how a person is to live his/her life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie's marriages to Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and Tea Cake are the most vital elements in her growth as a woman.

    In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford is the heroine. She helps women to deal with their own problems by dealing with hers. She deals with personal relationships as well as searches for self-awareness. Janie Crawford is more than a heroine, however, she is a woman who has overcome the restrictions placed on her by the oppressive forces and people in her life.