'A Thematic Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God'

Literary Analysis Essay- The Pear Tree In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the pear tree is a major symbol for Janie and her growth throughout the book. Throughout the whole story, the pear tree keeps returning for Janie, in person and in her mind. The pear tree, not only holding Janie’s experience of a first kiss, holds many memories and symbols for Janie in the story.

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order” - John Burroughs. The novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was written by Zora Neale Hurston and published in 1937. The film “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was directed by Benh Zeitlin and released in 2012. The film “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and the novel “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” have some critical similarities. These include the characteristics of the protagonists, each protagonist 's relationship with nature, and the climax of a destructive storm.

As once stated by Italio Calvino, “You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours.” By what they behold, every city offers answers. However, that does not mean these answers are always accurate. Residing in South Florida, Eatonville and the Everglades contrast each other not only by the visual contents, but also the answers given to the self-actualizing questions of the protagonist, Janie Crawford. These answers, defining what the towns represent, utterly differ. Though commonly overlooked, these cities essentially contribute to Janie’s discovering of herself.

The “Rock Pile” by James Baldwin and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston are two stories that examined black male resistance to emasculation. The men in these stories lived in patriarchal societies, and they reaped the benefits of a structure that favored men. In both of these stories, the male characters are dominant figures in their households, and when they felt like their manhood was being attacked, they retaliate viciously. In “Their eyes were watching god”

In the books, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Cane by Jean Toomer, spiritual elements are displayed in the characters and their actions. While the books show these spiritual elements in most of their characters, the women in particular are other-worldly and out of reach. These characteristics are not only emphasized by the protagonists themselves but also by the characters around them, especially, although it is unknowingly, by the men. In Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie is a goddess for many characters throughout the novel, especially Pheoby and Mrs. Turner.

The stories Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin all center around three different women and their different life experiences. Each story also tells how the lives of these three women are affected by their husbands. The narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” along with Janie and Mrs. Mallard each have different relationships with their husbands, but they each feel they are being controlled or oppressed by them. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s story is told through her three marriages, all three with their own problems.

One of the universal themes of literature is the idea that children suffer because of the mistakes of an earlier generation. The novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" follows the story of Janie Mae Crawford through her childhood, her turbulent and passionate relationships, and her rejection of the status quo and through correlation of Nanny 's life and Janie 's problems, Hurston develops the theme of children 's tribulations stemming from the teachings and thoughts of an earlier generation. Nanny made a fatal mistake in forcibly pushing her own conclusions about life, based primarily on her own experiences, onto her granddaughter Janie and the cost of the mistake was negatively affecting her relationship with Janie. Nanny lived a hard life and she made a rough conclusion about how to survive in the world for her granddaughter, provoked by fear. " Ah can’t die easy thinkin’ maybe de menfolks white or black is makin’ a spit cup outa you: Have some sympathy fuh me.

In the face of adversity, what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail? Many people face difficulties. Depending on the person’s strength some will get through tough times, but some will fail to overcome them. I have chosen two books: Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. These two stories deal with people overcoming the difficulties they face throughout their life.

People come into our lives for different reasons. Some leave a positive impact, while others bring negativity. Readers and critics alike have treasured Zora Neale Hurston’s 20th century novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, for generations particularly for its complex portrayal of the different main characters. The people a person meet and the experiences that person many go through in their lifetime can alter a person significantly. Through the tyrannical words of Joe Starks and the inconsiderate actions of Nanny, Janie in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is negatively influenced as her actions and thoughts alter her life.

Literary Analysis The Quest for Independence Has one ever wonder what makes the world’s greatest novels so hard to put down? The ones that make one gasp aloud and bite one’s nails frantically; great novels that leave you on the edge of your seat, like, Romeo and Juliet, The Notebook, and even the Titanic. In each of these novels, they display a story of, the search for independence. In the novel, by Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God the protagonist, Janie Woods, begins her search for independence through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trails and purpose.

“I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want”-Muhammad Ali (brainyquotes). In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie's growth from a young girl without an identity, not knowing her own race, to a woman strong enough to return to her hometown of Eatonville allows her to discover who she is and how she has the power to change her own life. Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God shows that the only way to achieve fulfillment is to ignore society's control and concentrate on one's own desires, while avoiding selfishness. This is revealed as Janie moves through abusive relationships to one which finally allows her room for her own thoughts and

in their Eyes were watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, it's far difficult to see Janie or her interactions along with her community as feminist. whether or not Janie is living in Eatonville or the Everglades, her status as a black running class lady locates her on the very bottom of the social hierarchy. The guys objectify her, her lover beats her, her community misunderstands her, and she fails to withstand. however, if we examine the fragmented narration and Janie’s position as the major narrator, a special view emerges about woman employer. The narration switches between the first- and third-person angle, and those perspectives, each one by one and collectively, assist to assert Janie as a narrator with authority and organization.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston introduces readers to the life of Janie Crawford living in rural Florida during the early twentieth century. During this time, women, specifically black women, were considered to be property of men in the south. Legally, women had no voice. Janie Crawford, as well as many others find themselves in a society expecting more out of life than what the time period has to offer. Through love affairs, catastrophes and death, Hurston shows readers how a small voice can make a difference.

Every Woman’s Wish Janie learns in life that women and minorities are being viewed as second class citizens, and strives to defy that misconception. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie discovers how her and her colleagues are seen as inferior by men. Janie has a rough path in this story, starting out from being loved by her grandmother to having to bury her third husband, Tea Cake. The passage, “Now women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget.”