“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. Neale Hurston further supports this theme with symbolism, like Janie's hair rag that held up her
Desire is a general and popular human sensation. Zora Neale Hurston discusses many instances of desire in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel portrays numerous varieties of desire that demonstrate the protagonist, Janie’s alteration from wanting an object to desiring a specific idea throughout the novel. As Janie acquires her own desires and possibly lives a better and more fulfilling life, Hurston indicates that these desires are in fact not structured by Janie’s own thoughts and experiences, but rather implicated by antagonists in the novel and also often making Janie the desired focus. Through the first four chapters of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston allows Janie to experience multiple life altering desires that mold her into
Written by Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, follows a young woman named Janie Crawford and her coming of age story. The novel is introduced with Janie returning back to Eatonville after the passing of her husband Tea Cake. In the opening scene, Janie opens up to her friend Pheoby and tells her how things have been since she had left with Tea cake two years ago. However, Phoebe doesn't understand the story Janie is trying to tell her because she incorporates events from when her grandmother was around thus confusing her friend. Therefore, the opening scene is actually the closing scene, which leads to a flashback that eventually encompasses the whole novel. At the age of 16, Janie was sitting outside under a pear tree when she witnesses a revelation. Under the pear tree, she witnesses a bee pollinating the
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.
Some difficulties include racism, religious discrimination, and dealing with others’ cruelness or kindness. In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie returns back to her hometown Eatonville, Florida after being away for some time. All the townspeople gossip about what might have happened to Janie when she moved away. Janie clears up all the gossip and shares her story with the curious group.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie suffers from hardship in two relationships before she can find her true love. Janie explains to her best friend, Pheoby, how she searches for love. Therefore Pheoby wants to hear the true story, rather than listening to the porch sitters. Throughout the book Janie experiences different types of love with three different men; Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Vergible "Tea Cake" Woods.
“Hurston became the most successful and most significant black woman writer of the first half of the 20th century. Over a career that spanned more than 30 years, she published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography, numerous short stories, and several essays, articles and plays” ("Zora Neale Hurston. " The Official Website of Zora Neale Hurston). One of the most famous and a accomplishment was a novel that she had written called, Their Eyes Were Watching God, which received great praise. “In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the novel is a brilliant study of black folk and their language, their stories, and their mannerisms.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Hurston, Janie’s story reflects the beliefs of the Harlem Renaissance by showing the theme of pride, and disappointment. In the Harlem Renaissance one of the main themes of the African American’s art was pride, and to fight on gaining progress even though thee African Americans were an oppressed race in America. After Janie's kiss grandma had this to say, “Yeah, Janie, youse got yo’ womanhood on yuh.” This is an example of how grandma wants Janie to grow up and become a respectable black woman with pride. Also, this novel shows the theme of disappointment. “Where he left her?” This quote from one of the porch dwellers explains how Janie had just come out of a relationship with Teacake, and
Then years later we hear Jude’s perspective; we hear about their challenges with love, the English boy, ghosts, and sculpture. Tragically between the two paradigms, their beloved mother dies ripping the Sweetwine family in half. Throughout the course of the novel, I found
Toni Morrison’s A Mercy portrays a young slave, Florens, struggles with her past as well as her life as a slave. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God shows a woman, Janie, who struggles through various relationships in her life, but in the end, they help her find her freedom and individualism. Both stories have different story lines, but upon a closer look, it is easy to see that Florens and Janie have common factors in their lives; which includes, both characters are isolated by others, both characters want to love someone, both character’s guardians make decisions for them that they do not understand which causes conflict, and finally, both characters commit difficult actions which ends up changing their lives.
All people grow and develop at different rates, with factors such as heredity and environment strongly influencing one's development. The age-old debate of nature-vs-nurture is at the forefront, as always. The people one meets, and the experiences one goes through play vital roles in forming that person. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford grows as a woman with the men she was married to. Through the tides of life and relationships she realizes how a person is truly supposed to live their life. Janie's three marriages play crucial roles as elements in her development as a person and as a woman. Countless allusions and symbols crafted by Zora Neale Hurston flow fluidly throughout the novel and allow for the reader to understand Janie Crawford’s journey and extensive development. These recurrent patterns serve to better illustrate abstract concepts in the novel. Hurston's powerful use of symbols and allusions work to describe Janie’s relationships along with clarifying and intensifying the telling of Janie's story and growth.
Zora Neale Hurston's book, Their Eyes are watching God, follows the journey of main character Janie Mae Crawford through three main steps; the departure, the initiation, and the return. These three steps summarize the true elements of Janie Crawford finding her true self. It also offers an understanding of the hardships faced, and how Janie is referred to as a Hero for her ability to not give up. This Chart conducted by Joseph Campbell's teaches us the adventure of life and how our journey is being lived every day. Where does your Journey
Hurston and Janie both endured oppression during their lives based upon their race and gender however, their strong wills propelled them threw unforeseen obstacle. Zora Neale Hurston was a phenomenal African American woman whom despite her rough childhood would become one of the most profound authors of the century. Throughout her lifetime she was the, “Recipient of two Guggenheims and the author of four novels, a dozen short stories, two musicals, two books on black mythology, dozens of essays, and a prizewinning autobiography” (Gates 4). Hurston had to overcome numerous obstacles because of her gender, economic status, and racial identity. Hurston was born in 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama but grew up in Eatonville, Florida.
The second most important character is the murder victim himself, Patrick Maloney. Mary seems to have a quite inaccurate perception of her husband. She perhaps loves the idea of him and having a normal life more than she actually has affection for him. Patrick, while he is alive which is mostly in the beginning of the story, is withdrawn and mellow, due to the stress caused by having to tell Mary the bad news. This news was most likely asking to divorce her, but the exact reason is never stated up front.
In almost every, major novel, book, or play, there is a narrator in it. The point and the job of the narrator is to obviously narrator the story, but the other job is to give the character thoughts and to break the fourth wall in a sense. The narrator usually has the most spoken parts in a play. Rita Doves’ the Darker Face of Earth is different than most other plays. The Narrator is only used four times and only has spoken word three times.