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Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

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In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God the author, Zora Neale Hurston, utilizes the motifs of the horizon and the road to symbolize the theme that a big part of achieving your dreams is the journey you choose to take to get there. Hurston uses these motifs to try and convey her message that without traveling on the right road you will never reach your horizon. If you do not focus on the journey you may never reach your dreams. Early in the novel Hurston uses the horizon motif to show that men have more unrealistic dreams and horizons, thus never reaching them because they never focus on the journey they take to get there. However, women have more realistic and reachable dreams and choose their journey more carefully to get the most out of life and the road to the horizon. The author uses the motifs of the horizon and the road to demonstrate the importance and simplicity of life and to enjoy it while it lasts. To begin, the author uses the motif of the horizon to demonstrate the importance of simplicity in life. The main character Janie was able to go “to the horizon and back” (Hurston 191) because she had set realistic goals for herself. Her grandmother had always wanted her to sit up in the high chair of society because her own life had been ruined by tragedy and slavery. Her grandmother’s wishes for her were for her to be able to sit “on porches beside the road” (1), and even though this is a simple and realistic dream, it did not stick well with Janie. Janie

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