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Their Eyes Were Watching God Identity Analysis

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In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston expresses her worldwide view on social justice issues of gender and identity in the world today. Hurston shows the contrariety between personal identity, and how conforming to society comes in conflict with the development of knowing your true identity. Hurston uses Janie’s three marriages to portray her point on how women, in a male-dominated society can become empowered by counteracting social norms in society and developing their own voice and identity.

Throughout the novel Janie lives her life with no voice; with many husbands where she believes they will make her life better. In the beginning of the novel Janie is in a relationship with Logan Kilicks. When Janie marries Logan she wanted her relationship to be as a perfect union of harmony within nature. In her relationship with Logan Killicks, Janie is treated like a vassal being compared to Logan’s mule. Nanny says, “De nigger women is de mule of de world so fur as ah can see. Ah been prayin fuh it to be different wid you”(14). The mule symbolizes Logan and Janies farfetched relationship in which Janie is used as a vassal, which connotes the oppression of women in a male-dominated society. …show more content…
Janie’s relationship with Joe shows norms in society where women in society are suspected to be submissive to their husbands and where men in society have power over women. An example of this oppression in the male-dominated society is when Joes says, “Ah told you in de very first beginnin that ah aimed tuh be uh big voice. You oughta be glad, cause that makes uh big women outa you”(126). By denying Janie a voice in society and him having all the power Janie is deemed powerless and voiceless in society in which she feels as though “the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything...took the blossom off of

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