Hurston Judgement Day Analysis

What does Hurston achieve by employing this allusion? How does the allusion enhance the meaning in relation to the character or the situation?

By alluding to Judgment Day, Hurston is revealing the true reason as to why people are heading to church. They are going to church to hear the confessions of people’s deeds, especially Janie’s deeds. The people want to know about Janie’s life with Tea Cake and how she ends up back in Eatonville. On Judgment Day, people confess their poor decisions and allow everyone else to judge them. The citizens of Eatonville hope to discover that Janie was robbed by Tea Cake in order to judge her and scorn her actions. Pheoby, Janie’s friend, encourages Janie to tell the truth before Judgment Day and to prevent any hostile actions. However, Janie says that they are too focused on other people’s lives and that no matter what Janie says, they will judge her badly. As long as Janie and her friend know the truth, Janie does not care about the useless opinions of others.

Lige Moss tells Tony that he does not have a chance with Janie because Janie and Jody are “Isaac and Rebecca”. By alluding to this couple, Hurston is implying that Janie and Jody is a match made by God. Therefore, no other man or woman can break their marriage. Janie is similar

After Jody passes away, Janie acts gloomy and feels as if a part of her life is missing. Hezekiah attempts to replace Jody’s position and protect Janie. For instance, when he left to go to the baseball game, he “cautioned her about the catches on the windows and doors” (Hurston 94). He acts as her overseer by giving her words of wisdom and making sure that she is safe before he leaves. These actions are similar in how Hezekiah, from the Bible, acted out of kind heart. Both are putting in effort to help others based on their beliefs. They want to make sure everyone is protected and