Their Eyes Were Watching God Critical Analysis

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston explains the journey of Janie, the main character,who struggles to find her independence and a place where she feels comfortable. She undertakes a bold journey to find her own self. She goes through several relationships, thinking they would somehow fulfill her life, but all fail because Janie does not feel content or the relationship leads to the death of a spouse. In the end, Janie uses her desire for power and independence for freedom to reveal that she does not need an unpleasant relationship to fulfill and appreciate her search for her true self. First, Janie struggles with her relationship with her first husband, Logan. Janie tries to love Logan, but struggles. Logan later on starts to make Janie work on the farm and she begins to feel used and unwanted: “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman… Long before the year was up, Janie noticed that her husband had stopped talking in rhymes to her. He had ceased to wonder at her long black hair and finger it” (Hurston 25-26). This quote shows that Janie thought once they got married, she could learn to love him; but her plan failed. Janie uses this struggle as a sense of power and later on leaves him: “A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good” (Hurston 32). At