Their Eyes Were Watching God Character Analysis Essay

In The Eyes are Watching God, the author Zora Neale Hurston expresses the struggles of women and black societies of the time period. When Hurston published the book, communities were segregated and black communities were full of stereotypes from the outside world. Janie, who represents the main protagonist and hero, explores these communities on her journey in the novel. Janie shows the ideals of feminism, love, and heroism in her rough life in The Eyes. Janie, as the hero of the novel, shows the heroic qualities of determination, empathy, and bravery.

At 16 Janie marries Logan Killicks. Nanny arranges this marriage for protection and not for love. As a result of her past, she forced Janie into being with Logan. In this marriage, Janie shows that she does not love him. She states, "Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think. Ah..." (Hurston 24). Logan does not show any love for Janie. Janie’s unhappiness taught her that love can not be forced upon anyone.

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

In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie returns back to her hometown Eatonville, Florida after being away for some time. All the townspeople gossip about what might have happened to Janie when she moved away. Janie clears up all the gossip and shares her story with the curious group. Janie was raised by her grandmother after her mother ran away. As Janie got older her grandmother wanted her to have a good life, so she forced Janie to marry a wealthy, older farmer, Logan Killicks. Janie was miserable when married to him. She left Logan for another man, Joe Starks. They get married and open up a store in town. Throughout their marriage Janie learns that Joe doesn’t treat her right, he treats her like an object. Janie begins to hate Joe, and she insults him in front of the whole town. Soon Joe becomes very ill, and Janie doesn’t talk to him for

Janie usually felt that arguing with Joe would be standing up for herself, but she chose at times to be silence; “He wanted her submission...until he felt he had it. So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush”(71). Joe wanted Janie to feel powerless, “he wanted her submission”, in full control. Janie wasn’t afraid to speak up for herself, “she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush”, but learns that her silence could be as powerful as the words she spoke. Janie wanted to say something back, “she pressed her teeth together”, it was not easy for Janie to be silent but she knew her silence would allow her to avoid more conflict. Janie knows that fighting back with her words would only open the door for more silencing. Hurston shows Joe’s persistence to maintain his authority over Janie, “until, he felt he had it”. Once, Joe feels he has Janie in full control, he leaves her alone. So, when Janie is silent and not resisting Joe’s commands, he would leave her alone. Later on in the novel, when Janie is in the Everglades with Tea Cake, Janie would allow things she did not like happening to continue to happen. When Mrs.Turner insults Tea Cake, Janie does not say anything. Janie thought not saying anything would take away the power that Mrs.Turner thought she had over Janie; “He wuz uh white folks’ nigger. According to all Janie had been taught this was sacrilege so she sat without speaking at

“Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston”. In this story the main character Janie gets married three times. Her first husband Logan Killicks didn’t work out because she was forced to marry him by her Nanny. The second husband Joe Starks, she kinda had feelings for him, but it wasn’t anything big. Then her third husband was Tea Cake, she love him and actually had feelings for him. Now all three husbands represent something in Janie’s emotional, spiritual, and physical growth.

In her epiphany from Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie realizes her intrinsic capacity as an individual, and frees herself from Jody’s covetous ways in the act of letting down her hair. In the quote, “She tore off the kerchief from her plentiful hair...the glory was there,” Janie’s hair symbolizes her power and strength because it holds glory. By Janie releasing her hair, she finally notices the greatness that she has, which allows her to now view herself as eminent individual whom has independence. Because Jody made her tie her hair up as a device to hinder her individuality and identity in their marriage, he is intimidated by her reluctance to comply with his controlling demands. By Janie letting down her hair as an act of liberation after

9. If you could offer Janie advice at this point, what would it be? Explain your rationale.

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston. The novel portrays Janie, a middle aged black woman who tells her friend Pheoby Watson what has happened to her husband Tea Cake and her adventure. The resulting telling of her story portrays most of the novel. Throughout the novel, Zora Neale Hurston presents the theme of love, or being in a relationship versus freedom and independence, that being in a relationship may hinder one’s freedom and independence. Janie loves to be outgoing and to be able to do what she wants, but throughout the book the relationships that she is in with Logan,Jody and Tea Cake, does not allow her to do that. Neale Hurston further supports this theme with symbolism, like Janie's hair rag that held up her

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses speech as a tool to show the progression of the story. Janie Crawford, the main character of the novel, finds her true identity and ability to control her voice through many hardships. When Janie’s grandmother dies she is married off, to be taken care of. In each marriage that follows, she learns what it is to be a woman with a will and a voice. Throughout the book, Janie finds herself struggling against intimidating men who attempt to victimize her into a powerless role. It is not confrontation that keeps Janie strong, but her retreat into silence that makes her strong. Through her hardships, Janie finds her true identity and the ability to control her voice. Janie uses speech as a vehicle for liberation through her marriages with Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Vergible Woods.

One of the universal themes of literature is the idea that children suffer because of the mistakes of an earlier generation. The novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" follows the story of Janie Mae Crawford through her childhood, her turbulent and passionate relationships, and her rejection of the status quo and through correlation of Nanny 's life and Janie 's problems, Hurston develops the theme of children 's tribulations stemming from the teachings and thoughts of an earlier generation. Nanny made a fatal mistake in forcibly pushing her own conclusions about life, based primarily on her own experiences, onto her granddaughter Janie and the cost of the mistake was negatively affecting her relationship with Janie.

Porch. A covered shelter projecting in front of the entrance of a building. This inanimate object served to develop various themes throughout the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. She reveals the theme of jealousy and envy, gender inequality and a sense of community with the help of the porch.

In the novel, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner shapes the plot based on the looming presence of the absentee protagonist, Addie Bundren. The reader’s knowledge of Addie accumulates through the monologues of other characters, so the reader gains only bits and pieces of Addie’s character. However, after her death, the reader obtains a better understanding of Addie’s voice through her own monologue and as a result, is characterized as cold and selfish. Through the use of similes and interior monologue, Faulkner shows Addie’s tendency to detach herself from the people in her life, which relates to the novel’s overall theme of solitude as Addie adheres to her father’s philosophy that the reason for living is no more than “to get ready to stay dead a long time” (169).

Sometimes we as humans think all we need is this specific thing in our life to make us happy, but sometimes down the road we realize what we thought was really gonna make us happy, is something we wouldn 't of thought of. This is where we find our true happiness. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the story “Winter Dreams”. The main character in this story is Dexter Green. This young boy works at a golf course as a caddy and as he is working he came across this eleven year old girl who is very demanding and rich. Dexter quits his job as a caddy to go to college and starts his own laundry business. He began to finally fall out of being poor and ends up making a decent living off of this business. Dexter than joins the golf course he once worked

Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo (1958) was voted the “best film ever made” by the 2012 British Film Institute, and for good reason. The plot is elaborate and intriguing and the cinematography is legendary. On top of this, the characters, like good characters should, all have their own needs and wants that are evident in the film. The needs of these characters affect each other and they affect the story and they all follow one common theme: control.