...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 the...
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...“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...
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...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...
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...Black Culture and Women’s Role in Society as Seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God In Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, we see many different references to the way both blacks and women were seen in her time as well as when the book was set. The book takes place a few generations after the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished. Tensions between blacks and whites were high, and they were still decades away before women’s rights were even considered as legitimate concern. Hurston uses a variety of devices to help portray the world of her characters, the most obvious being her use of dialect. The way each particular character speaks gives us an inside view of their life and experiences. For example, if a character is educated, and lived in big cities for most of their life they are going to sound different than a character who worked in the fields their whole life. Giving each character their own dialect also helps the reader differentiate between characters based on who’s talking, and allows Hurston to give each character their own mannerisms. A good example of this is on page 92 of Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God . “Another time she overheard him using Joe’s favorite expression for pointing out the differences between himself and the carelessliving, mouthy town. “Ah’m an educated man, Ah keep mah arrangements in mah hands.” ” Throughout the novel, there are many references to women’s places in society during that time period. Women were seen as stupid, and belonged to men...
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...In the story Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s flashback illustrates important points of Janie’s life that I believe to be crucial to the story. This flashback shows the transformative events that molded Janie into the woman she is. I feel the aspects of the flashback that were the most significant, as well as, influential on Janie’s character was, living life without her parents, her grandmother’s guidance, and the answers of life she yearned for,” the voice and vision…” (Hurston 11) Life without parents, and growing up in the “white people’s’ backyard with her grandmother seemed to be confusing for Janie. Growing up she didn’t know who she was. Janie had spoken of certain scenarios that support this thought such as,” Ah didn’t know Ah wusn’t white…”, and, “Dey all useter call me alphabet ‘cause so many people done named me different names.” (Hurston 9) I feel that the absence of Janie’s...
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...Beauty and Devastation "It [the tiny bloom] had called her to come and gaze on a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously"(10). In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” her use of imagery, particularly of nature, is used to stimulate the audience's imagination while communicating deep significance in the novel. The imagery of nature creates a unique parallel between the two sides of nature; its beauty and its devastation. Janie's idea of contentment is shown in Hurston's imagery of a pear tree, which represents nature's beauty. The pear tree represents Janie's idealized views of nature, as it demonstrates her naive and romantic character which constantly seeks true love, and her idealism of the harmony in a marriage based upon love as she travels a path of self-discovery throughout the novel. She was lying across the bed asleep so Janie tipped on out of the front door. Oh to be a pear tree—any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! She was sixteen. She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her. Where were the singing bees for her? Nothing on the place nor in her grandma’s house answered her. (11) In this part of the novel it deliberately describes the pear tree in this fashion to show the relation between a blossoming tree, which is blooming as it grows, to the significant character...
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...Their Eyes Were Watching God, is heavily embellished with themes and motifs that contribute to it being an eccentric piece of work. The novel prompts insightful questions over whether or not love and independence can coincide and brings up themes of sexuality and power. One thought provoking aspect of Hurston’s writing is her frequent application of nature to the novel’s symbols and motifs. A great deal of the symbolism in the book is portrayed through nature; such as, the pear tree, the hurricane, and the horizon, which are all aspects of nature that Hurston utilizes. Along with nature, Hurston uses physical attributes as well. The roles of the pear tree and Janie’s hair aid Hurston in creating the significant themes...
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...of the world’s most prized artists; Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. Though they were both men of the same race and products of similar backgrounds, Monet and Degas developed contrasting artistic styles. While it is unlikely that they ever publicly reviewed each other’s work, the prospect of Edgar Degas, a devout realist, commenting on Claude Monet’s works of impressionism likely evokes phrases such as ‘stylistic misunderstanding’ and ‘representational disdain.’ Both Claude Monet and Edgar Degas actively sought to achieve some level of worldly representation through their works. They achieved this representation through vastly different methods and fundamentally different brushstrokes. As brushstrokes are to the canvas of the painter, diction is to the pages of an author’s work. The stark and frequently unadulterated realism that Richard Wright, one of the major novelists to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance, is known for, is often contrasted to his contemporary and rival, Zora Neale Hurston’s, more socially appealing racial and human sensuality. Much like Monet and Degas, who aimed to achieve some level of inspiration through their art, Hurston and Wright both actively sought to expand the minds of their audience through socially provoking writing. While no record of contemporary criticism is in existence between Monet and Degas, the same cannot be said for Hurston and Wright. Both authors were passionate about their own methods and styles and rarely shied away from an opportunity...
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... She struggled with poverty throughout most of her life despite her hard work. From 1925 on, Ms. Hurston lived in New York and eventually joined the Harlem Renaissance. She was one of the shapers of the black literary and cultural movement of the twenties. Ms. Hurston was the first black scholar to research folklore on the level that she did. From 1930s to the 1960s, Zora Neale Hurston was the most prolific and accomplished black woman writer in America. During that thirty year period, she published many short stories, magazine articles, plays, and seven books. She gained a reputation as an outstanding folklorist and novelist. She drew attention to herself because she insisted on being herself at a time when African Americans were being urged to assimilate in an effort to...
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...Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a coming-of-age novel that shows the transformation of main character, Janie Crawford, from an immature teenage girl to a fully grown woman. In the story, Janie tells her friend Pheoby about her numerous and tiresome adventures that lead her to feeling fulfilled with her life. Over the course of her life Janie marries three men and they all have a profound effect on her. Janie's values and personality are shaped by both the men and the marriages. Hurston demonstrates her characters values through Janie's willingness to sacrifice security for true love and adventure. To begin, Janie's first marriage is arranged by Nanny, her grandmother and caretaker, which sparks feelings of anger and resentment towards her. She is forced...
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...Their Eyes Were Specifically Watching Joe Starks Many people have the leadership skill, but not many put it to good use. Leaders come in various ways: best and worst. Some of the best leaders this year include Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Angela Merkel, and many more (Dishman). On the other hand, many leaders lead with a more fallacious purpose. Some of the worst leaders encompass Mao Ze-dong, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, and many more (Butler). Although, power still remains a big factor of leadership. Most of the worst leaders had/have too much power and they let that get to their head. Joe Starks resembles megalomania better than any other. Although Joe Starks possessed many leadership skills in the book , Their Eyes Were Watching God, power influenced him drastically....
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...In my art piece for “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, I illustrated a close up of pear blossoms on a branch with a background of geometric swirling clouds. The pear blossom branch represents the idealized expectations of a fulfilled life many of the characters hold in the book. Janie Mae Crawford, starts out as a black girl in 1930’s Florida forced to marry Logan Killicks by her grandmother. Janie’s grandmother suffered the hardships and brutality of slavery, and she finds a fulfilled life is the security of wealth. Therefore, she extends her hopes and expectations of her fulfilling life onto her granddaughter, Janie. Janie disagrees with her grandmother because she values her absolute independence and the ideal of true love. These...
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...In the African- American community today, there is a lack of representation, along with voices that go unheard and unspoken. Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, delves into the significance of silence, and the ways that the protagonist, Janie Crawford, has had her voice silenced. This resonates with many people of the Black community, who feel as though even with the progression we’ve made as a society, that their lives and struggles matter less than a white person’s. With movements such as Black Lives Matter, and many other African-American protesters, there has been a cultural outcry from the Black community who want to be heard, who want to be represented, who want to matter as people. Many women in particular among...
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...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...
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...Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God counterintuitively suggests that severe oppression fosters a newfound sense of independence, which leads a person to disregard...
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