Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neala Hurtson. It revolves around independence and finding your self love and learning from others. To further understand what is going to happen in the essay we are going to talk about Janie's Nanny perspective on the world and how it affected Janie’s perspective of the world too. How it had widely impacted her life and how Janie learned a lot from her Nanny throughout the entire story. Through the studying of Janie’s actions with her nanny during the novel, Her Nanny Firmly believes that if Janie gets married she will be happy, Janie Listens to her Nanny that she will be happy. Moreover during the pages 14-20 the author shown that the Nanny has a different world perspective than others that, …show more content…
Why is this important this ties down to what the theme’s develops and what she experiences through out her life.Her Interactions with the White men and Women were also different that can be shown at page 15 “So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he has to, but he doesn't tote it. He handed it to his womenfolk.” This shows that no matter how it was gone, the past still remains and the black people have no choice just to obey and one nanny believes that a white master is dangerous and especially an attractive woman like this ties down to the ancestors and her daughters that experience hell in …show more content…
Ah ain’t git tin’ ole, honey. Ah’m done ole. One mornin’ soon, now, de angel wid de sword is gointuh stop by here. De day and hour is hid from me, but it won’t be long.” this shows that Nanny firmly believes that if you have a baby with someone you will have his protection and you would be able to have a happy life this is very important in the story because this is what Janie first learned throughout the entire story. During the page 16 “ “You know, honey, us colored folks is branches without roots and that makes things come round in queer ways. You in particular. Ah was born back due in slav- ery so it wasn’t for me to fulfill my dreams of whut a woman oughta be and to do. That's one of the hold-backs of slavery.” Her Nanny talks about their ancestors that were born as a slave which affects Nanny thinking, and she thinks that they can’t escape from their past because it’s always in their blood and genes and it was unfair to them, they neither have a good background to start with. This prompted Nanny to have a duty and responsibility due to the impact of their daughters and granddaughter which cause nanny to be more strict than
Her desire to go to an old plantation she had been at before she didn’t realize that it wasn’t on their way to Florida but in actual Tennessee. By the moment she had realized they were in the wrong place she had kicked the basket which was holding the cat, and thus it sprung onto her sons face and caused them to crash. The dad gave in because they grandmother had stirred up their curiosity by telling them there was something secret there. When they were getting ready to get on the road toward Florida, she was the only one to dress up because she wanted to stand out in case she was on the road dead, they would had known that she was a lady. The time she was born in showed her character because she would referred to black people as the “n” word.
Nanny’s portion of the novel shines a light on how Janie really views the world compared to her grandmothers. Ultimately Nanny wants Janie to be happy and well taken care of by any means necessary, regardless of how Janie feels. Nanny grew up while being in slavery and lived a hard, loveless life. She ended up getting pregnant with a white man, which to some degree helped her life and the life of her daughter better than it was before. Nanny believes that having the “ultimate life” is based off of status and what the man can bring to the table and provide for her, not solely from mutual
Instead, she works extremely hard to bring this to Janie. Nanny did not want to see Janie taken advantage of in the same way that she was; instead choosing to work as a nanny to a white woman in order to provide food and land for her granddaughter. Because of her early life experience, her value of stability was very rational. In her mind, Logan Killicks was an ideal candidate to be Janie’s husband, because he was wealthy, had plenty of land, and had a stable career. He would be able to provide for Janie, which Nanny never had.
Nanny emphasizes that during slavery, black families could never form roots, which is why she should marry Logan. A short time before, Nanny continued to persuade Janie into marrying Logan Killings, saying, “De n***** woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see.” (Hurston, 1937, pg. 40). In her description towards black people, Nanny illustrates the harsh reality of black women post slavery in this quote. Which shows how societal norms force this notion that black women must do what others tell them to do, regarding relationships especially.
Nanny was born into slavery; often bringing her past issues and experiences onto Janie, guilting her into listening to her. The times are different in Nanny's life than in Janie's. Nanny only wants the best for Janie. She wants her to be able to do things that she was not. Nanny hopes for Janie to live equally to all the white women.
FULL ESSAY: There are endless possible lives we can live, could have lived, will live, that we choose and we experience and we are forever affected by, but what leads us to choose how to live? How does one's desired future versus their expected future shape how they live? In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford tells the tales of her life throughout her many loves and lessons she learns. She shares her upbringing as well as making a life for herself as a biracial woman in the early nineteen hundreds.
Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, begins by showing what is occurring in the present of the main character’s life. Janie, the main character of this story, is returning to Eatonville, Florida the town she once called home. Upon her return the townspeople gossip about her and make speculations about where she has been. They also wonder what happened to Tea Cake, the young man with whom she ran off. Of all the townspeople, only one person stood up for Janie and did not give in to the gossip.
Nanny who has been Janie’s caretaker has several hopes and dreams for her granddaughter. Nanny is not entirely perfect at her job of raising Janie, since her dreams for her are clouded by her own scarring experiences. Nanny attempts to insure a better life for Janie by forcing her to marry Logan Killicks, an old and wealthy man. Blinded by her own dreams, hopes, and desires, Nanny makes many impositions on Janie, “Have some sympathy fuh me. Put me down easy, Janie, Ah’m a cracked plate” (Hurston 20).
This lets the reader know why nanny wants the security and the protection for Janie. She
Naw, Nanny, no ma’am! Whut Ah know ‘bout uh husband?” Janie spits out (12). Then again, Janie is only 16, but after all that Nanny has done for her, she doesn’t want to let Nanny down. Janie feels pressured to please her Nanny, but through marriage?
She specifically talks about how relationships between black men and women were during these times. This quote helps to highlight that during these times black men were expected to carry the burden of slavery anditss aftermath, but women were expected to support them and take care of their needs. Also, it speaks to the theme of gender roles and the ways in which gender and race intersect to shape the lives of Black people in America in the 20th century. This is the reasoning that leads to why Nanny wanted Janie to marry Logan all in hopes of creating a stable future for
Nanny’s love for Janie is loyal and strong based on a sense of responsibility and control: to give Janie Logan Killicks who should satisfy Nanny’s idea of a dream life for Janie in which she would never experience for
A person's upbringing plays a large role in how they live the rest of their lives and can help determine who someone is and what their goals are in life. The conflict between a child and their parental figures can alter how they live their adult lives. This is why the conflict between Janie and her grandmother in Zora Neal Hurtson’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, sticks with Janie into adulthood and is what holds Janie back from becoming the woman she wants to be, and contributes to the theme in the novel that parental figures take their insecurities out in children, hindering the child's growth and success in life. One of the many conflicts between Janie and her grandmother was Janie’s dream of finding true love and her grandmother
[Sofia’s child] like to work for me, be my maid?” (A. Walker, 85). Racial dominance enforces the concept that it would be an honor for black people to be a white lady’s servant. Instead of placing herself inferior position, Sofia stands her ground which leads her to a brutal
Put me down easy, Janie, Ah’m a cracked plate. " Nanny is beyond exhausted. She grew up during slavery, was raped and had to raise her child, Leafy, without a father. Nanny never got married because she was worried that Leafy would be trampled upon like she was. But, she still lost her child after living to see her be trampled upon the same way she was.