Examples Of Race In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Soumya Raman

American Studies

Jane O’Halloren

February 24, 2023

The Concept of Race as a Social Construct as Seen Through Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God

Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, author Zora Neale Hurston incorporates her nuanced beliefs about race and racism into the storyline to both challenge and affirm many of the conventional beliefs about race at the time. Written in 1937 and set against the background of Jim Crow South, the novel features Janie Crawford, a half Black, half white woman living in Florida, and takes the reader along Janie’s journey through life, towards fulfillment and acceptance of her individuality. When writing about Janie’s racial identity and how it impacts her

Hurston utilizes Janie’s biracial identity to highlight her ideas of race as a product of prejudiced societal beliefs rather than a genetic reality. Hurston opens the first full paragraph of her essay by stating, “I remember the very day that I became colored.” Growing up in an exclusively Black town, it had never crossed her mind that she could potentially be different or considered “less than” as a result of her skin color. Because of this, Hurston’s race played no role in her identity, and she goes on to say she was just Zora, or “everybody’s Zora” (“How It Feels to be Colored Me”). However, when Hurston turned thirteen years old, she was sent to school in Jacksonville, away from her hometown. She details her experience realizing she was, in fact, a Black woman, which meant she was automatically considered, by society, inferior. This revelation was particularly jarring due to her unracialized upbringing, and she challenges this conviction to its essence. Instead, she bases her identity on the environmental factors that occur around her.

She develops this thought through her rejection of racial essentialism, the idea that certain characteristics or abilities are inherent to individuals based on their race, stating, “At certain times, I have no race, I am me” (“How It Feels to be Colored Me”). She is referring to a type of individuality that, for her, transcends race, acknowledging that there are times when race is not the defining aspect of her identity. Much like her childhood experiences growing up, there are spaces where she can exist as just herself, rather than as an individual tied to a racial identity. Jainie Crawford has many moments like this one, where she wishes to be her own individual, but cannot be due to the role society has designated for her. After telling Janie she is going to marry Logan, Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, gives the following reason as to why she makes Janie do this: “De n***** woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see” (14). Nanny tells Janie she is trying to protect her from hardships, remarking that Black women are treated like mules by society, used for labor and children, and are forced to carry the weight of their communities without recognition. However, Jainie is able to reject this stereotype through her