Their Eyes Were Watching God Head Rag Analysis

In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Janie is held back from growing to her full potential. Janie is married three times and in each marriage there is one item that restrains her. In her marriage with Joe she was forced to wear a head rag to cover her hair because it is so long and beautiful. The red rag resembled the restraint Joe put on Janie. Janie disliked the rag, but said nothing because it please Joe. Janie would do anything to please her husband's. Hurston shows this through her text, “This business of the head rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it”. This not only reveals the willingness Janir has to please her husbands, but also resembles the power her husbands had over Janie. When Joe instructed Janie to wear the head rag she didn't fight back. This reveals to us that Joe wants to confine Janie to

She felts as if she was lost and that she had lost apart of herself. Hurston writes, “She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight, the length, the glory was still their”. Although Jamie was tied up her beauty remained. This reveals that although there can be something holding you down, your true self and beauty will always remain. Not only does Janie find herself once again but she is stronger. The head rag not only helped her find herself, but it helped her grow as a person. Hurston states, “The young girl was gone, but a handsome women had taken her place”. The head rag symbolized Joe’s power that confined Janie. Joe thought that the head rag would hold her back, but it really helped her grow as a person. The head rag helped reveal both Joe’s personality and how he wanted Janie to himself. The head rag helped Janie find her true beauty and capabilities even though being held back. The head rag overall was to show men’s power and how they can restrain women from growing and Jaie served as the one to break that