How The Pear Tree Metaphor In Their Eyes Were Watching God

The protagonist in the story, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston is a mixed race woman named Janie who desires true love, yet is timid and overpowered by her husbands, which results in her complexity. The hardships she experiences along with a strong desire in finding love give Janie a voice, and connect with the community. Over the course of thirty years and three marriages, Janie succeeds in finding her own voice, as well as respect in her community. Janie is an idealist who believes in true love. However, because she is born into poverty, she is forced to marry men who offer her financial security. Hurston introduces the pear tree metaphor when describing Janie’s first husband, Logan Killicks using “The vision of Logan Killicks was desecrating the pear

The people in Eatonville only focus on her light skin, and treat her like an outsider. The people gossip about her and wonder why she left town with Tea Cake, a younger and poorer man. Throughout her life, Janie is never able to make her own decisions, and is defined by her husbands. Upon her return to Eatonville after the death of her third husband, Tea Cake, Janie discovers who she is, and decides to narrate her story with a powerful female voice. During the storytelling session, Janie talks words of wisdom to Pheoby. “Now, Pheoby don’t feel too mean wid de rest of ‘em’cause dey’s parched up from not knowing things“ and “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh themselves.” (192) Janie’s advice to Pheoby is simple. People need to be aware of what they want in life and work towards it. Although Janie faces many hardships in her life, she finds her inner voice by narrating her story to Pheoby, her true friend. Using her authoritative story telling voice, Janie hopes to voice her opinion to the