Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie, the main character, begins with Janie walking through her old town of Eatonville, Florida. As she walks, despite her older age, men of the town still view and stare at Janie. Throughout her life, Janie has three husbands, each with different personalities and opinions on the occupations that Janie and the other women in the town should hold. While showing some conformities to their beliefs, Janie mostly diverges from these expectations caused by men’s attitudes concerning women. Men throughout the novel always view themselves as superior and Hurston portrays these beliefs in her depiction of violence towards women. Violence is always used by men as a symbol …show more content…
For example, Janie diverges from society’s expectations when she says that she would rather find love than gain power and wealth. Once Janie has found a husband that could provide wealth and land for her, Janie discusses with her grandmother that if it meant a man she really loved, she could rid herself of her husband, Logan Killicks, and even some of his land. She shows that she is diverging from what everyone else believes she should do, marry for wealth, land, and status. In this time, marrying is the only way that a woman can gain status in their society, and by being willing to throw that away to find love, Janie makes a strong point: “Ah ain’t takin’ dat ole land tuh heart neither. Ah could throw ten acres of it over de fence every day and never look back to see where it fell. Ah feel de same way ‘bout Mr. Killicks too” (23-24). On the other hand, while still married to Killicks, Janie conforms to the men’s beliefs on the place of women. Women are typically known to be cooking for their husbands, while the men are known to be doing the more laborious work like outdoor work and the more professional jobs like being a government official. Janie chooses to follow this assumption when Killicks asks her to help him with the work outside: “You don’t need mah help our dere, Logan. Youse in yo’ place and Ah’m in mine” (31). In this moment in time, Janie wants to be stuck in the kitchen because she would rather be cooking than outside, with a man she does not