...So many people become impatient when it comes to growing up and maturing. Masaru Emoto once said, “If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” This quote is especially apparent in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God as Hurston uses symbolism to express Janie’s life experiences. Multiple uses of symbols can be found in this story such as the pear tree to follow in Janie’s journey of self awakening. Many symbols focus on aspects of Janie’s identity including the pear tree which is brought to attention throughout the novel. The pair tree in her...
Words: 827 - Pages: 4
...Symbols are everywhere and all you have to do is look for them. Symbols are things that stand for more than themselves. When you see the golden arches you immediately know that it is McDonalds and this same technique is used by Zora Neale Hurston in her book “Their Eyes were Watching God”. Her book tells of the life of a young mixed race woman named Janie who, on her journey to find love, had many highs and many lows in her life. She wrote this book in an era in which slavery had been abolished but racial tensions were evident but ignored. Zora Neale Hurston wrote as to bring these problems to light. Hurston uses symbolism to reveal underlying messages rooted in subjects of women’s freedom, life struggles, and racial injustice. Before we...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
...When generating symbols for a novel that is completely filled with them, it is extremely difficult to choose two that are the most influential in the novel. Some different symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God include the horizon, the pear tree, the gate, Janie’s hair, the mule, and the hurricane. In this analysis, I will be choosing the horizon and the hurricane that are the two most important symbols in the novel. Both of these symbols represent something that is more than the book itself and have a great connection with the reader’s thoughts. The horizon represents the possibility of what Janie’s life could be like in the future. The hurricane represents the power of nature and what it can cause in the character’s life. Overall, the hurricane and the horizon are two of the best symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God over all of the other symbols. To begin with, the horizon is one of the first symbols that the readers are introduced to in the novel. Zora Neale Hurston...
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
...In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston depicts the life and struggles of a black woman named Janie Crawford. Hurston uses the literary technique of symbols to represent the plot and emotions of Janie throughout the work. The two prominent symbols pertaining to the growth of Janie is the symbolization of her hair and the hurricane, which act as a symbols for restraint and oppression. Although the hair symbolizes confinement, while the hurricane representing Janie’s continual struggle, they also reveal her strengths and advancement as a character when she breaks free of those bonds. Through the symbolization of Janie’s hair and the hurricane, two themes are highlighted: the struggle to discover the individual stems from language and power, and liberation comes from self discovery found in personal loss. Hurston utilizes the connection between themes and the symbolization of Janie’s hair and the hurricane to give meaning of Hurston’s interpretation of Janie. Their Eyes Were Watching God is unique as a novel because of Hurston choice of conversational dialect for the characters. Throughout the novel Hurston uses the Southern black dialect in order to bring a realistic feel to the setting and plot line for the reader. The irony in the novel’s unique choice of conversational dialect is that the protagonist, Janie, is often hidden behind the other characters in the novel. This brings about the first theme which is, the struggle to discover...
Words: 1165 - Pages: 5
...The Light In The Eyes Will wishing on a star make hopes become reality? How can wishing on something so small bring something with such great meaning? When is wishing on a star different than wishing on a rock? What has to happen in order to make an object have meaning? What makes a star more important than a rock, or a green light at the end of a dock? In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the green light and the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are symbolically different for everyone in the novel. The green light that appears at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock represents Gatsby’s hopes and wishes. "He stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way..."(Fitzgerald 20). Gatsby is seen reaching out towards the green light,...
Words: 1494 - Pages: 6
...Their Eyes Were Watching God tells a story about a young woman going through life and finding her voice, the movie made by Oprah Winfrey flips the story and its characters making the main character and everyone in the story different. Oprah does a wonderful job at completely destroying the morals of the time period, and the symbols shown in the book. The movie changes relationships making the main character stronger and more independent. The beautiful love story shown by Oprah became a ridiculous rendition of Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel missing key elements from the book. Oprah Winfrey completely disregards the moral fiber of the time period. In the movie some scenes got extremely graphic with the kissing and love making. These scenes...
Words: 1309 - Pages: 6
...“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” Janie always wondered if she could ever find the man of her dreams. As time passed, Janie's perspective of love changed as she experienced what she never wanted in a relationship. Zora Neale Hurston wrote this book during the Harlem Renaissance, in this period of time woman got married at an early age, woman were also prohibited from a lot of rights unlike men. Furthermore, women as well were not part of society like they desired to be. The novel the eyes were watching god the author Zora Neale Hurston uses figurative language to demonstrate that one's definition of love is not always easy to find. Janie’s perspective of love changes as she experienced her first forced...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Their Eyes Were Watching God The novel their eyes were watching God is a story of an African-American girl called Janie Crawford. At the stage of adolescence, Janie comes across a bee pollinating a pear tree in her backyard and she becomes obsessed with finding true love. She then matures and grows emotionally through three of her marriages (Cheryl 5). Her first marriage is to, a farmer, Logan Killicks and it is arranged and carried on by Janie’s grandmother called Nanny. Logan proves to be a reliable but uninspired husband. He later gives Janie threats to kill her for being disobedient. Janie later leaves Logan for an ambitious man called Joe Starks. Upon their marriage, Janie is taken to Eatonville in Florida, which is among the first all-black city in America, by her husband Joe who is a mayor. Janie later realizes that her husband is very demeaning to women. He silences her when she speaks. He then accuses Janie of acting too younger than her age. Janie finds the situation she goes through unbearable, and she insults Joe’s manhood. When Joe was in his deathbed, Janie enters his room and speaks to him. After Joe dies, Janie stays widowed for some time, and she later meets another man, a fun-loving man whom she is twelve years older than and is called Tea Cake. Janie finds the true love she has been dreaming. They experience jealousy in their relationship but despite this, they are happy interacting with other workers while working...
Words: 2036 - Pages: 9
...For some readers, Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God falls short of challenging the outdated societal views of the 1930s in any meaningful way. However, for many other people, it has clear value as a piece of literature that explores sexism and racism through symbolism and the characters’ actions. Hurston utilizes language in her novel as a symbol of the power, or lack of power, that certain groups of people held in society during the 1930s. In some sections of the book, this symbolism relates to women’s lack of power. Throughout her marriage with Joe Starks in particular, Janie is controlled with verbal abuse and manipulation; Joe’s voice represents his power over her. He repeatedly tells her not to speak in public...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
...Their Eyes Were Watching God: Celebrating Independence and Condemning Patriarchy Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is an exquisitely rich novel, intertwining themes of race, love, and feminism. Hurston ingeniously combines these themes into one central story which follows the journey of Janie Crawford, a mulatto woman who fervently desires to find herself and her place in the world. Along the way, Janie discovers the fruitfulness of the black community in Eatonville, a self-segregated town in West Florida. She becomes captivated with the community’s so-called “mule talk” and sense of unshackled independence. However, even in a town founded on equality, women are considered as lesser compared to their male counterparts. Thus,...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...In chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby, a reporter comes to Gatsby’s door to interview him about his personal life. Jay Gatsby’s original name was James Gatz and he was born on a North Dakota farm but went to college in St. Olaf, Minnesota. He dropped out of college and later met the wealthy Dan Cody who hired him as a personal assistant. When Dan Cody died he left Gatsby $25,000, but his mistress prevented Gatsby from claiming it. After that, Gatsby was determined to become rich and successful. Later on, Nick visits Gatsby and is shocked to find Tom Buchanan there, and the next Saturday Tom and Daisy attend one of Gatsby’s parties. After the party Gatsby is worried that Daisy did not enjoy it and Nick tells him to give up on Daisy, however, Gatsby refuses and instead tells Nick about he and Daisy’s past. The quote that best describes Jay Gatsby is, “He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). The good qualities of Jay Gatsby are he is a loyal person and he has a good heart. The bad qualities of Gatsby are he is amoral, dishonest, and throws his money away. Fitzgerald developed this character to show how people use their wealth to get love only to discover the love is not real. Additionally, he is developed throughout the novel to be an example of how living extravagantly can be an empty life. A meaningful quote in the chapter is, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg...
Words: 2256 - Pages: 10
...Outline Thesis statement: In addition to the frequent references to nature, certain animals have symbolic weight in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The animal with the greatest symbolic charge in this novel is the mule. Mentioned frequently throughout “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, the mule obviously represents the carrier of heavy loads and burdens, but it can also, and does, represent stubborn resistance. The mule serves to illustrate the strained relationship between Janie and Joe Starks. The figure of the mule can also refer not only to Janie herself but to any black woman struggling for independence. Janie identifies with the mule, which remains stubbornly independent despite its masters efforts to beat it down. Ironically, while Jody's position in the city gives him the power to free the mule, his pride and ambition cause him to virtually enslave his wife. He can free Janie only by his death. The mule is also a symbol of the control that men have over things. Watson’s mule was worked hard and was not fed properly so he didn’t look healthy. Women are associated with this mule because the men in Eatonville made them work hard and they were not treated fairly (49). Some of the women in the town worked just as hard as the men and they were not allowed to enjoy a lot of the things men got to. The men liked to relax on the porch and play checkers. None of the women got to participate in these activities. This segregation was unfair to the women of Eatonville. Janie...
Words: 2158 - Pages: 9
...The use of Symbolism in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, who at one time lived next to the main character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a rich entrepreneur who lives alone in a mansion on West egg. Gatsby is in love with the beautiful Daisy Buchanan who lives across the bay in East Egg with her husband Tom Buchanan. Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy five years prior to the start of the novel. In his efforts to win over the love of his life Gatsby uses his lavish home to throw elaborate parties in hopes that one day Daisy will attend. One of the key elements in The Great Gatsby is the use of symbolism throughout the novel. The use of symbols can add a level of depth to a novel, as well as help the reader...
Words: 1317 - Pages: 6
...Marxist Critique/Race In Zora Neale Hurstons, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Starks, being an African Woman, experiences restrictions as a result of preconceived notions of race held by both white and black people in the early twentieth century. The first person to limit Janie is her Nanny. Janie’s grandmother (Nanny) has spent most of her life in a sensitive time just after slavery was abolished in the United States. African Americans were now being recognized as humans by the American Government and were granted the same rights as white Americans. Nanny confines Janie by limiting the boundaries of success that Janie could achieve in her life: “Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon – for not matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you – and pinched it in...
Words: 647 - Pages: 3
...The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston, is about a woman named Janie telling the story of her life to her friend, Pheoby. Janie, at sixteen, was on a quest for her ideal love and identity in Florida. Zora Neal Hurston portrays Janie after herself, as Hurston had a similar childhood to that in her story. Hurston had parents who were slaves and had lived in Eatonville when she was very young. She also had a fascination with nature, which added to the idea of Janie's idealized view of nature. Janie's journey to find what she was looking for was rough but she ultimately succeeded. In Their Eyes Were Watching God the author uses many symbols to characterize Janie's search for love and identity. In this story, Janie Crawford...
Words: 1468 - Pages: 6
