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Themes and Analysis
Their eyes were watching god, by zora neale hurston.
‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ by Zora Neale Hurston carries a range of themes based on the time period within which the book is concentrated on. Among these themes are those bordering on love, desire for freedom, selfhood, and equality - as well as themes on gender roles and racial prejudices.
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Article written by Victor Onuorah
Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The reader gets to see the majority of these themes play out in the life of Janie Crawford – who takes up the mantle as the main act in Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God. ’ Zora starts off her adventure as a teenager who is not afraid to be different but returns as a woman who is more experienced with life after having to endure the challenges and hardships across three marriages. The most frontal themes in the book will be discussed.
Love, Acceptance, and Appreciation
Janie Crawford’s journey in ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ begins and ends with her search for a marital relationship where she would share with her spouse true love, be accepted and appreciated by him, and not just see her as just another belonging or property. Unfortunately for the times in which she lives, these qualities are rare in men, and so it takes her three marriages to find something close to these.
A desire for Freedom, Selfhood, and Equality
With Janie entering her first two marriages – first with Logan Killicks and later with Jody Starks – she doesn’t get the freedom to be herself, nor does she enjoy independence or selfhood in the marriage. Talks of equality are even a joke with her first two spouses – who can’t see her being anything more than just a mere housewife, one who has little to no respect, zero decision-making, and zero purposes except the obvious – being a housewife. She can’t settle for such a life and seeks freedom from it, the result of which often ends in her separation from them.
Negative Gender Roles
The social and political clime in ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ already has an underlying negative gender stereotype slapped on the women in the book’s reality – in which case they are reduced to playing the role of housewives, not allowed to have a meaningful impact in the decision making of the family while not also allowed to have and pursue their dreams.
Racial Injustice
Throughout the book, there are bits and pieces of racial conflicts and issues, and although Hurston’s interest is not to focus too much on this subject, it is clearly exhibited by a number of frontal characters like Mrs. Turner.
Key Moments in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’
- Janie returns to Eatonville in shabby apparel and without Tea Cake, her husband.
- Ignoring the villagers and their judging eyes, she tells her best friend Phoeby the truth about what had happened to her.
- In her story, she takes us back to how her birth mother abandons her, and she’s raised by Nanny, her grandmother.
- Nanny marries her off to Logan Killicks, a potato farmer, twice her age and controlling.
- She leaves him, runs off, and marries Joe Starks for the next 20 years – settling at Eatonville.
- Ambitious Joe gains fame, makes a fortune in business, and becomes the mayor – but still controls and doesn’t allow Janie the independence and support that she needs.
- She leaves him after he beats her following an argument. She doesn’t return until she hears Joe is on his deathbed.
- Less than a year after Joe dies, Janie weds Tea Cake and finds the true love and best treatment that she’s always wanted.
- She sells Joe’s investments to go live with Tea Cake in Jacksonville.
- Tea Cake steals her money, runs away, returns back, and apologies. Janie forgives him.
- They move to Everglades, make friends, and live happily until a disastrous hurricane blows through their village.
- A mad dog bites Tea Cake, and he falls sick and accuses Janie of cheating.
- Tea Cake gets a gun to kill Janie but is instead killed by her.
- Janie faces a trial for murder but is acquitted on account of self-defense.
- She returns home to Eatonville with the satisfaction of having tasted the kind of freedom and independence her time with Tea Cake exposed her to.
Style and Tone
Zora Neale Hurston is known to have, as her general writing style, a knack for infusing informal, demotic expressions peculiar to African Americans who dwelled in the South at the time. In ‘ Their Eyes We’re Watching God ,’ she replicates this style – building her major plots from black folklore while burnishing them with colloquial wit and feminist mentality. In terms of tone, there is a range of variety thrown in by Hurston – with the more prominent tone being that of empathy and affinity, as these are what the author feels towards the events going down around her primary character, Janie Crawford .
Figurative Languages
Figurative expressions abound in Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ,’ however, some of the commonest found in the book includes – simile and metaphors.
For simile, the expression below suffices to offer a better depth to the scenario Hurston tried to describe:
‘The morning road air was like a new dress.’
The quote above is one of several expressions of simile opted for by Hurston in her book ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ,’ as she makes further portrays Janie’s positive state of mind after her separation from her first husband Logan Killicks.
Analysis of Symbols in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’
The chair .
The chair used in Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ represents the class system in the book’s reality, and although this is merely portrayed throughout the book, Janie’s time with the ambitious Joe Starks is essentially more remembered for this.
The Hurricane
The hurricane that hits Everglades, disrupting the lives of its dwellers – Janie and Tea Cake included – connotes the chaos and destruction that unexpectedly happens in life, and it just so happens when the couple is having a nice peaceful life together.
Janie’s Long Hair
Janie’s Caucasian hair is one of her most prized physical attributes that makes her very beautiful and wanted by a lot of her male suitors.
Does Janie Crawford ever get to see her mother in ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’?
Sadly, the book’s protagonist, Janie Crawford, doesn’t get to see her mother, Leafy, a troubled and traumatized woman whose readers are to flee from home shortly after Janie’s birth.
What is the predominant theme in Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’ ?
The search for selfhood and true love are among the frontal themes of Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ as it tells the story of a young woman who ventured across three marriages in search of true love and freedom to achieve her passions.
What writing style does Hurston use in ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’?
Zora Neale Hurston mostly deployed a combination of three styles: standard English, southern colloquial wits, and black American vernacular for her writings – which were a lot of times based on black people’s experiences through slavery and the civil war.
What does Janie’s long hair symbolize?
Janie’s long hair represents her beauty and is the object of attraction for most men. She takes pride in them and wants to show them off to the world any chance she gets.
What is the tone of ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’?
The book’s tone is generally of empathy and understanding, as the narrator is quick to argue in her defence and share her sentiments.
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora neale hurston, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.
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Gender Roles and Relations
Their Eyes Were Watching God explores traditional gender roles as one of its main themes – specifically the way that stereotypical ideas about relationships between men and women empower men and disempower women. The novel's plot is driven by Janie 's series of relationships with different men: a kiss with Johnny Taylor , followed by marriages with Logan Killicks , Jody Starks and finally, Tea Cake . Logan Killicks and Jody Starks see Janie as…
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Voice, Language and Storytelling
Janie is both the protagonist and narrator of her story, recounting her life experiences to her friend Pheoby after arriving back to Eatonville at the end point of her journey. Janie's experiences within her marriages, a central subject of her story, are what drive her to recognize that what she most actively seeks is a voice for herself—to be someone who can speak and be listened to. The distinctive personalities of Jody and Tea Cake …
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Desire, Love, and Independence
Their Eyes Were Watching God focuses its plot both on Janie 's series of romantic relationships as well as on Janie's individual quest for self-fulfillment and spiritual nourishment. In the novel, Janie's marriages are what most concretely impede upon her individual quest, but in doing so they actually force Janie to become aware of what it is that she wants for herself as an individual. In the cases of Jody and Tea Cake , Janie…
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Power, Judgment, and Jealousy
Different characters in the novel struggle to find a way to cope and thrive as individuals within communities and within the natural world. Janie searches for individual fulfillment by attempting to find her own voice and independence; Jody seeks total control (through acting as Eatonville's mayor or by forcing Janie to wear her hair in a headscarf out of irrational jealousy); Tea Cake desires a fun-loving approach to life, bordering on the pathological (stealing Janie's…
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Race and Racism
Despite its references to race, racism is not the central theme of Their Eyes Were Watching God . Instead, Hurston weaves race and racism into the society and culture in which Janie lives, but chooses to focus more on Janie 's life experiences as a human being than as a black woman. In some ways, by not exclusively or predominantly focusing on race, the novel can portray race and racism in the American South in…
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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55 pages • 1 hour read
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapters 1-4
Chapters 5-8
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Chapters 18-20
Character Analysis
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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Black Women’s Identity
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a bildungsroman (or coming-of-age novel) that follows Janie’s development from teen to mature woman and raises significant issues related to the representation of African American women. Janie increasingly rejects the racial and gender norms of her community, chooses love over material prosperity, and seizes a freedom rarely achieved by any woman of the day, regardless of her race.
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84 Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
🏆 best their eyes were watching god topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting their eyes were watching god topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about their eyes were watching god, ❓ their eyes were watching god essay questions.
- Tea Cake and Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God – an Integral Character The role of Tea Cake remains to be crucial in the story as well as in the whole life of Janie as his passion, creativity, and desire to create the best living conditions promote safety […]
- Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God One of the peculiar features of the work is the form chosen by the author. Just like a mule, Janie is forced to work in the field with her husband.
- Jody Sparks in Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Joe’s entry into Janie’s life is at an appropriate moment, since Janie is on the verge of breaking up with her former husband due to mistreatment, and Joe creates the opportunity that Janie has been […]
- Review of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Book The paper will discuss how Hurston exemplifies the Harlem movement in her book.’Their Eyes Were Watching God is an award-winning novel first published in the late 1930s and is considered one of the classics of […]
- Identity in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God In the story, the author offered a comprehensive discussion of identity, its elements, importance, and relation to modernism. These two elements contribute to the fact that a person has a particular position in society, and […]
- Janie’s Search for Her Freedom and Independence in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Z. N. Hurston Though Janie does not feel her duty to clear out herself, she explains the story of her life to her friend. The reader observes the development of Janie’s character and the changes in her attitude […]
- African American Studies. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Hurston Janie’s appreciation of her independence is depicted when she refuses to be bound to Logan for the rest of her life because of material things.
- “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora N. Hurston When Janie decides to move in with Tea Cake, she secretly conceals two hundred dollars in her shirt pocket, and fears to reveal the secret to Tea Cake. Tea Cake’s role in the novel is […]
- The Life of Zora Neale Hurston As Hurston later glorifies in her literary works, the town was the first to offer African Americans the chance to live freely and independent of the Whites, as they desired.
- One Woman’s Search for her Self-Identity. A Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Janie’s maturity of voice is a direct indicator of her inner growth, and the activities at the courtroom may be plotted too much as to draw the parallels in her inner self.
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- The Problem of the Female: Marriage and “Sistergirl” Relationships in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
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- The Unimportance of Riches in a Relationship, Portrayed in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
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- In What Ways Does Janie Violate Typical Gender Boundaries in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Does Janie Develop Her Ideas of Love in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Why Do People Today Love “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Does Love Influence Our Lives in the Story of “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- What Are Traditional Stereotypes of Men and Women in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- In What Ways Does Janie Fit the Typical Feminine Stereotype in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Is “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Primarily an Anti-Racism Novel?
- How Does Janie’s Identity Vacillate Between White and Black Factions in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- To What Extent Is Janie’s Life Already Determined at Birth in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Did Slaves’ Positions as a Sub-Class, Those Not Considered Human at All, Affect Nanny’s Outlook on Life?
- Does Joe Succeed in Achieving His Goals in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Why Does Janie Feel So Trapped in Her First Two Marriages in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Is Race Generally Linked to Class in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Why Is Janie Happy Living With the Lowest of the Low Social Classes – The Migrant Workers in the Everglades?
- What Is the Significance of the Title “Their Eyes Were Watching God” to the Novel?
- Does Tea Cake Free Janie or Is It Just the Escape From Her First Two Husbands in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Why Did Hurston Include Mrs. Turner in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Is Death Associated With Freedom, Especially in Janie’s Last Two Marriages in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- What Does the Idea of the Horizon Symbolize for Janie in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Does Janie’s Experience Under the Pear Tree Set Up Her Dreams in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- What Role Does Mrs. Turner Play in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Do Janie’s Visions and Hopes for Her Future Differ From the Hopes of Her Peers in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- What Is the Role of the Porch Sitters in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Does the Mule’s Treatment in Eatonville Reflect the Condition of the Black Female in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Is There a Moral in the Novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- How Does the Porch Work as a Personified Symbol in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Is Nanny a Sympathetic Character in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- At What Point Does the Division Between Men’s Activities and Women’s Activities Break Down in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Who Does the Pronoun in the Title Refer to in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
- Is Hurston’s Vision of God Religious or Secular in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”?
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
Nature's role in their eyes were watching god anonymous.
"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" (13). Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American author, is known for her expressive and imaginative language. Her use of imagery, particularly of nature, is used to stimulate the audience's imagination while communicating deep significance in a novel. The imagery of nature in one of her most famous works, Their Eyes Were Watching God , creates a unique parallel between the two sides of nature: its beauty and its devastation.
Protagonist Janie Crawford's ideal 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 naÃve 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. "Oh, to be . . . a tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world" (14). Hurston deliberately describes the pear tree in this fashion to show the relation between a...
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The Imagery of Nature in Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Published: Jun 29, 2018
Words: 1041 | Pages: 2.5 | 6 min read
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Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston and published in 1937. Set in the early 20th century, the novel tells the story of Janie Crawford, an African American woman on a quest for self-discovery and [...]
When first published in 1937, Hurston’s novel about a black woman’s journey for self-independence was denounced by male critics. However, the triumphant return of Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1978 enlightened the minds of [...]
From the very beginning of literature, dreams have been a recurring theme, symbolizing hope, desires, and aspirations. Zora Neale Hurston, in her renowned novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," masterfully juxtaposes different [...]
In 1937, upon the first publication of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the most influential black writer of his time, Richard Wright, stated that the novel ìcarries no theme, no message, no thought.î Wrightís powerful critique [...]
In her article “Listening to Jealousy,” Sara Eckel explains how jealousy can be a useful emotion that can bring a couple closer together if it is properly managed; however, if left unchecked it can lead to the demise of the [...]
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Critical Essays Major Themes of Their Eyes Were Watching God. The most prevalent themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God involve Janie's search for unconditional, true, and fulfilling love. She experiences different kinds of love throughout her life. As a result of her quest for this love, Janie gains her own independence and personal freedom ...
"Their Eyes Were Watching God" is an important literary work that deserves careful examination and analysis through essay writing. This novel by Zora Neale Hurston holds a significant place in the canon of African-American literature and explores themes of identity, self-discovery, and the power dynamics of race and gender.
By Zora Neale Hurston. 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston carries a range of themes based on the time period within which the book is concentrated on. Among these themes are those bordering on love, desire for freedom, selfhood, and equality - as well as themes on gender roles and racial prejudices. Introduction. Summary.
Gender Roles and Relations. Their Eyes Were Watching God explores traditional gender roles as one of its main themes - specifically the way that stereotypical ideas about relationships between men and women empower men and disempower women. The novel's plot is driven by Janie 's series of relationships with different men: a kiss with Johnny ...
Table of Contents. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston in 1937. It is a story about an African American woman, Janie Crawford, her lifelong search for love and self-assertion. Get a custom book review on Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God. In 1937, the times of the Great Depression, the novel did ...
The main themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God are love, identity, and race and religion. Love: Janie's understanding of love evolves over the course of her life, and her quest for true love ...
New Masses 25 (October 5, 1937): 22, 25. A diatribe against Their Eyes Were Watching God by the soon-to-be-famous Black American novelist. Wright accuses Hurston of contributing to almost every ...
Cite this page as follows: "Their Eyes Were Watching God - Sample Essay Outlines." MAXnotes to Their Eyes Were Watching God, edited by Dr. M. Fogiel, Research and Education Association, Inc., 2000 ...
Sexuality. Their Eyes were Watching God is in many ways a novel about Janie's sexual awakening. Because it was written in the conservative 1930s, much of this sexuality is masked in metaphor. When Janie finally finds a "bee for her blossom," it is the man that she has been most sexually attracted to in her life.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel written by an African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. This book secures a special place in American literature and remains the most famous work of the author. In this essay, the summary of the narrative and description of the main characters and themes will be provided.
Their Eyes Were Watching God. "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" (13). Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American author,...
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a bildungsroman (or coming-of-age novel) that follows Janie's development from teen to mature woman and raises significant issues related to the representation of African American women. Janie increasingly rejects the racial and gender norms of her community, chooses love over material prosperity, and seizes a freedom rarely achieved by any woman of the day ...
In Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the reader sees one character's journey towards figuring out love.Janie Crawford, the protagonist, deciphers through experience what love actually is. Through her text, Hurston discusses love versus independence and speech versus silence.
Alice Walker (the author of The Color Purple) was instrumental in bringing Their Eyes Were Watching God into the modern literary canon. She became Hurston's champion, searching the South for Hurston's unmarked grave, and inscribing on it: "Zora Neale Hurston, A Genius of the South." Walker's characterization of Hurston as a southern writer was ...
2. Write a dialogue between two or more characters based upon the card game at the end of the chapter. Try to be consistent with the novel's use of dialogue. Chapter 15. 1. Discuss how you would ...
Their Eyes Were Watching God. Author: Zora Neale Hurston Genre: Novel Publication Date: 1937 Overview. Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God is regarded as one of the great literary works to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance movement. It is the story of Janie's life as narrated to her friend, Pheoby Watson, after she returns to her hometown after having been away for years.
Jody Sparks in Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Joe's entry into Janie's life is at an appropriate moment, since Janie is on the verge of breaking up with her former husband due to mistreatment, and Joe creates the opportunity that Janie has been […] Review of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Book.
Articles by Lloyd W. Brown, S. Jay Walker, and Mary Helen Washington discuss Hurston's best novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in terms of its themes of feminism and black self-determination. An ...
Nature's Role in Their Eyes Were Watching God. "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" (13). Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American author, is known for her expressive and imaginative language.
The Imagery of Nature in Their Eyes Were Watching God. "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" (13). Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American author, is known for her expressive and imaginative ...