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Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Devices

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“Your time is limited, so don 't waste it living someone else 's life. Don 't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people 's thinking. Don 't let the noise of others ' opinions drown out your own inner voice,” Steve Jobs once said. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author uses many stylistic and literary elements to emphasize that Janie, the main protagonist, must not let anyone take away her voice.

On page 43, Joe Starks made his speech as the Mayor of Eatonville. However, when the time came around for Janie to speak, she was “cut short by Joe taking the floor himself.” Jody cuts her off before she could say anything, “ 'Thank yuh fuh yo ' compliments, but mah wife don 't know …show more content…

In this quote, “...treasurin’ all gum-grease from folks,” Hurston uses a hyperbole to emphasize how low class the people of Eatonville are. During this scene, Jody is trying to convince Janie that the porch sitters are inferior to her and that she shouldn’t associate herself with them as Mrs. Mayor Starks. This quote further explains how Joe believes that social class means everything, therefore denying Janie from speaking to the “commoners.”

Moreover, on page 76, the scene started off describing how Janie felt over the years of Jody and her marriage. Janie was lost and worn out, “No matter what Jody did, she said nothing. She had learned to talk some and leave some. She was a rut in the road.” Janie has burnt out after 20 years of her marriage and has become a silent person. Janie 's dreams have been shattered once again.

Zora uses a metaphor, “a rut in the road,” to stress how detached Janie feels. Janie has been forced for several years to keep her mouth shut and look pretty. It has become a part of her and isolated her from other people making her feel as if she is nothing.

As a final point, Zora Neale Hurston’s moral of her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is never let anyone silence your voice. Janie struggles to find her shine and to discover the true meaning of love. A major part of Their Eyes Were Watching God is Janie losing herself in an unhealthy relationship, being trapped in Joe’s

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