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. When Janie first arrives to the town, she is greeted by envious glares and cruel remarks from the porch sitters. “Seeing [Janie] as she was” made them remember the “envy they had stored up from other times.” Their jealousy ate them them through till they couldn’t take it any longer. They made “burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty. A mood come alive. Words walking without masters; …show more content…
Women are confined to single roles and are expected to be submissive and respectful. When Joe married Janie, he forced her into a role of subservience. Hurston indicates that Joe attempted to mold Janie into what white women do on a daily basis which is to “sit on their high stools on the porches of their house and relax.” Doing this, Joe believes he is granting his wife all the wishes she ever wanted while neglecting the fact that Janie takes pleasure in the simple things in life like chatting, laughing, fishing and dancing. “Janie [especially] loved the conversation[s]” that took place on the porch and sometimes “she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge” because he didn’t want her to talk after those “trashy people” (Page 104). The porch also gives a clear vision of the how segregation in this town of Eatonville. Men sat around on the porch and played games but women were not allowed to participate in these activities because it lacked “class.” However, clearly not all men are alike so when Tea Cake came along, Janie felt the freedom she never experienced in her past relationships. Even before meeting Tea Cake, the death of Joe exonerated Janie from the shackles that were placed on her individuality and "[she] did what she had never done before, that is, thrust herself into the conversation." (Page
The black culture is very diverse in different parts of the world-even in different parts of the state. Janie as moved throughout Florida to places such as West Florida, Eatonville, and the Everglades. Residing in these different places helps develop and define the character of Janie. Throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie experiences many variations of black culture that helps build her character as she travels through Florida.
The “Rock Pile” by James Baldwin and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston are two stories that examined black male resistance to emasculation. The men in these stories lived in patriarchal societies, and they reaped the benefits of a structure that favored men. In both of these stories, the male characters are dominant figures in their households, and when they felt like their manhood was being attacked, they retaliate viciously. In “Their eyes were watching god”
An Epic on Jaine’s Silence And her Expolaration of INNER-SELF Introduction In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston a young lady named Janie starts her life obscure to herself. She searches for the horizon as it illustrates the distance one must travel in order to distinguish between illusion and reality, dream and truth, role and self (Hemenway 75). She is unconscious of life’s two most valuable endowments: adore and reality. Janie is raised by her suppressive grandma who reduces her perspective of life.
Then after finding Tea Cake she uncovers the power within herself to fight for what she wants. As a young girl in the early 1900s Janie, even from a young age, had expectations for what her life was supposed to look like. She was beautiful, with long hair that most didn’t have, and because she was raised by a grandmother who grew up in slavery, was expected to use
However, she grows even stronger thanks to all the judging that she receives from the people close to her; starting from her grandmother, passing through her death-husband, Joe Starks, and the gossip-lovers of the Eatonville. As soon as the story starts there are people judging the way Janie dresses and what they judge even more is the way she wears her hair. As they angrily ask ‘’what dat ole forty year ole ’oman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her back lak some young gal?’’ (Hurston 2) the readers are able to see that the people of the town are not used to see women looking the way Janie looks, therefore they find it inappropriate. In the novel Janie’s hair represents strength and independency.
Farlow, Sarah Farlow1 Mrs. Allison Honors English III May 26, 2023 The Power Of Self Discovery By Sarah Farlow In Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," the author skillfully combines themes of self-discovery and individuality through her vivid language, elaborate symbolism, and complex characterizations. Through these literary devices, Hurston develops and supports the overarching theme of the transformative power of self-discovery and the importance of embracing one's individuality. In this analytical essay, we will explore how Hurston's writing style and the various literary elements she applies work together to create an eye-opening narrative that entertains and informs readers about the importance
Joe hides his fear of losing Janie behind the idea that women have no place in the "mess uh commonness" (Hurston) that this mockery of a funeral will bring together. What Janie doesn’t realize is that when Joe is dominating her, he is keep her physically but he’s also losing her
A person 's strength can be defined in many ways. Strength can come from money or birthright. It can come from building muscle or studying books. Whether for good or bad, power comes from bountiful copious sources. The Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston follows the life of a Biracial woman named Janie as she struggles to find love and happiness in her confusing life.
“In both literary and colloquial use [individual vs. society] refers to the tension or drama that results when an individual does not want to live within the confines of their culture or society” (Reference.com). In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Janie does not want to be held within the confines of society. This dispute takes place between Janie, the protagonist, and the African American society of the early 1900s. Hurston includes man versus society conflicts in her novel in order to demonstrate the impact society has on an individual. The first man versus society conflict that occurs in Their Eyes Were Watching God takes place after Janie’s second husband, Jody Stark, dies.
They sit on their porches judging Janie as she runs off with Tea Cake to go on picnics, fishing and hunting, all things she wasn’t able to do with Joe. The people of Eatonville believe Tea Cake is not good enough for Janie and think she is “too old for a boy like Tea Cake,” and can do better (3). Furthermore, they disapprove of the fact that it's only been nine months since Joe passed. These criticisms from the townspeople prove the idea that certain qualities are expected of women even when they are unmarried or widowed. Ultimately, this supports Nanny’s opinion of the stereotype for women and that they are the “mules” of society by Janie being criticized due to her “doin’ wrong” by marrying Tea Cake although she was widowed (2).
The United States Constitution states that the country values liberty, life, and happiness for all of its citizens. These three values shape the ideal American experience. Most view it as living freely, where all men, women, and races are created equal, and where oppression of genders and races does not exist. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, however, Zora Neale Hurston challenges the traditional view of this experience by illustrating how gender roles and racism change it, manifesting that it is not close to what the average citizen goes through, especially if he or she is black.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s flaws about love continuously brought her to the same ending with all of her husbands, no matter how long the marriage lasted. In The Odyssey, Calypso was trapped on an island to fall in love with men who washed ashore. The fatality of her faults was her over affection and her need for love while being so alone on her island, Ogygia. Their weaknesses are exact opposites, specifically in their relationships with men. The flaws are role in relationship, attachment to men, and lastly, their submissiveness to men.
She expected to obey for her husband like others. “He ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store” reveals that she did everything to his happiness not for her. Even though she is a wife of a mayor, she didn’t get any privilege rather she lost her social relationship with other people. She lived under the dominance of her husband
In the first instance, Tea Cake is alive and physically sleeping beside Janie. However, at the end of the story, after Tea Cake has died, Janie’s adoring and loving memories of Tea Cake continue to live on and that in itself is enough to make her feel at ease. By paralleling Janie’s soul in these two moments, Hurston highlights the
“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.