Cultural References In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Joseph Bryant Mrs. Good English III H 1 September 2015 Annotated Bibliography: Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.

Her Story, Her Voice The unique story that is Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of voices collected together to create one big voice. Hurston uses many characters’ voices to help Janie find her own, actual voice and tell her story by the end of the novel. The story by Zora Neale Hurston is a frame story which is a story within a story. Hurston, like many other authors, uses the frame narrative to help the story come full circle and create a sense that the reader is part of the story.

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”

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.

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.

THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SWEPT AWAY BY THE WAVE OF TECHNOLOGY AND DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET OUT. “He kept getting trapped behind iPhone zombies, people half his age who wandered in a dream with their eyes fixed on their screens…. A young woman stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs and he almost crashed into her, glared as he brushed past-she didn’t notice, enraptured by her screen” (160-161). 2. FINDING THE BEAUTY IN A PLACE, AND ENJOYING WHAT’S AMAZING ABOUT IT.

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.

Differences are what make people interesting. Different religions, cultures, and beliefs affect everyone and are interesting to see. However, sometimes these differences cause people to be persecuted. Prejudices threaten the cultural diversity that make the world such an interesting place. In Zora Neal Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character, Janie is ostracized from her community because of the color of her skin.

On the road of self-discovery In the novel "Their Eyes were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character Janie Mae Crawford struggles perpetually with society for self identification. She challenges the stereotypical African American woman by determining her own independence. Janie significantly changes both internally and externally throughout the novel with the influence of her grandmother and her quest for self identity. Janie's grandmother, Nanny, had a major influence person in Janie's life. Nanny wanted social and financial security for her granddaughter.

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.