The Foils In Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

Janie shows determination as she persists and struggles to define love on her own terms through her marriages. First, her determination shows when Janie runs away with Jody. She becomes aware that her marriage with Logan does not satisfy her goals and dreams for love, so she takes a chance and marries Jody. Hurston states, “Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Jody was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good” (32). The quote shows how Janie is thinking for herself and starting to release her mentality to always look to someone else. Logan threatened to kill Janie if she left, but her determination to reach her goals let her go past that fear and put her own life on the line to push towards her goals. Also, if she left Logan, Janie would leave her known world to venture off into potential dangers and her safety from their marriage would be gone. Even with all these threats and dangers over her head Janie was determined to reach her dreams for love, so nothing could stop her. Next, Janie continues on her determined journey for love when she goes off to marry Tea Cake. In the quote,

During Janie's first marriage, she outwardly conforms to the societal view of marriage, and the domestic wife, while inwardly questioning if she can learn to disregard her true

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is a main character whose outward existence conforms, and her inward life questions. This tension helps to evolve the author’s theme of the importance of individuality and how individuality creates happiness. Janie experiences most of her life in trying to conform, and grows to despise it. Once free, she becomes herself and becomes happy.

John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, is a compelling story that has captured and embodied the struggle and loneliness felt by many during the Great Depression. While desire for the American Dream is prominent in the novel, Steinbeck is able to demonstrate the wants from different social classes through the construction of characters such as George Milton and Curley’s wife. With these characters, Steinbeck successfully displays the difference in ideas, values and attitudes of certain social classes in the 1930’s and the illustrates the rarity of achieving the American Dream.

When relating to someone you hold similar characteristics as them or consociate on a physical or emotional level. In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” I partially relate to Pheoby Watson who is apart of the community/outsiders.

Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, introduces Joe Starks into the novel as a controlling, yet successful man who falls under the control of his own problematic characteristics. These traits influence actions of his which work for and against his favor. Joe is notably prideful; however, his insecurities cause him to verbally and physically mistreat Janie because he feels threatened by her better attributes.

The novel is a flashback, beginning when she is a 16 year old girl experiencing sexual contact for the first time. As soon as this happens, Nanny, her guardian, gets very upset with her and immediately insists that Janie get married. Nanny suggests this because she feels as if she can no longer take care of Janie. This is a prime example of how women in this time were not viewed as independent or free in any conditions. There is no gap between when Nanny’s potential death would be and Janie finding a husband. The way the author is perceiving women throughout this novel is as if they have no ability to take care of themselves whatsoever. Hurston portrays Janie in two different ways during the novel. At the beginning she is helpless, restricted, and unwillingly forced to do things. This all happens during the time when she is married to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. As soon as Joe, her last husband dies, a different side of Janie is shown by the author. She is not mourning his death, she is exploring her new found freedom and enjoying every minute of it, she is explained as, “The young girl was gone, but a handsome women had taken her place. She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight, the length and the glory was there” (87). This quote shows the freedom Janie is feeling after Joe passes away. Although her role of finding love in the novel

Zora Neale Hurston, born January 7th, 1891, was an African-American author, widely known for her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Being raised in Eatonville, Florida, the first black township of the United States, Hurston was indulged in black culture at a very early age. Zora was described to have a fiery, yet bubbly spirit, befriending very influential people, one being American poet, Langston Hughes. With heavy influence from her hometown, along with the achievement of the black women around her, an abundance of motivation came when Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel promotes black power, all while rejecting the stereotypes held against women.

And, Hurston’s theme of writing is not direct, the plot is similar, a young woman is forced to marry an older widower. Hurston indicate Janie values in the novel: Their Eyes Are Watching God is joyless with her life, Hurston writes, “Ah ain’t got nothin’ tuh live for” (118). The change of the character growth represents how she has learned about life, including love, and sorrow. The author engage the reader attentions to overcoming fear can lead to harmony. Janie survival help understand that life is challenging , it is wonderful. Hurston narrates belief to motivate African American women to conquer and be strong. (49) The story finally tells that Janie found liberty and tranquility in her life. Her experience reflects on promoting women’s

“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” Jane Austen. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston depicted the travels of Janie Crawford and her understanding of womanhood and freedom through her several marriages. Throughout the book, Hurston portrays the growth of Janie and her ideals, her hair being a major recurring symbol.

Though Janie faces loss multiple times through the deaths of these people that she loves dearly, she gains qualities in herself which she can use later in her life. In her first relationship with Joe, Janie is continually oppressed in terms of when she’s allowed to speak and how she controls her own appearance but this oppression only works to shape her personality into one that can speak back and be more assertive in front of anyone. By having to be in a situation where she has to choose whether to shoot Tea Cake, she becomes more resilient and proactive. Only through the loss of youthfulness and two loved ones is Janie able to truly discover who she, conveying Hurston’s larger message that self-discovery is fueled through loss and

To advance in society, the characters must stick together and not attempt to tear each other apart. It is hypocritical for someone to condemn another person for something that they also practice; “colorism and traditional U.S. racism are inextricably intertwined, yet distinct” (Harris 54). However, this demonstrates how racism has influenced the thoughts of those oppressed by it. It is ironic that although Janie is the person with the lightest skin and has grown up in a white household, she does not have these views. The people with darker skin have these colorist views toward her. Mrs. Turner serves as a character foil to Janie. Similarly to Janie, Mrs. Turner also has European features, but they have opposing views towards black people with dark complexions. Mrs. Turner believes that black people with light skin should shun black people with dark skin and should only associate with white people, she believed that “anyone who looked more white folkish than herself was better than she was…[and] they should be cruel to her at times” (Hurston 144). She questions why Janie would marry a dark man like Tea Cake. Mrs. Turner falsely assumes, like the rest of the people form the town, that Janie only married Tea Cake for his money because she could not possibly love him. Janie informs Mrs. Turner that her assumption is incorrect because Tea Cake was not wealthy when they met, and he is the only person that has made her truly

Janie allows men to treat her poorly several times throughout the novel. After Janie and her husband Joe Starks argue in the store about their age, Joe Starks, “struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store” (80). By not retaliating immediately after being beaten, Janie is not portraying a powerful role model for young readers. After Sop-de-Bottom tells Tea Cake how he’s lucky that he gets to beat Janie, Tea Cake responds with, “Ah didn’t whup Janie ‘cause she

A foil is either a character who is opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast only. The author adds these characters in his novel so that the reader can better understand the main characters and the story. The character foils being presented are about Amir and Hassan, their foils are shown when they are both still children and their differences clearly reflect one another.

These include the characteristics of the protagonists, each protagonist’s relationship to nature, the fate of each protagonist’s mother, and the climax of a destructive storm. Both the character from the film and the novel are strong, sassy and they speak their minds and talk back to protect themselves. She likes to depend in themselves not on other people. Janie the character from the novel and film want to experience new and exciting things. For example, playing checkers janie had never played checkers until a man came into her shop named Tea Cake taught her and she loved it. Going to parks and swimming in lake, dressing however she wanted to dress was new for