Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Hurston

In the novel Their Eyes were watching God by Zora Hurston, Zora shows evident gender roles through strong symbols, diction and Juxtaposition. Feminism is one of the biggest issues in this piece of literature; Janie, the main character of the book, faces the struggle to escape society’s expectations that she lives her life doing what she is told, rather than reaching out of the domestic sphere she is in and pursuing her dreams.

The first paragraph of the story reads; “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.” While woman forget all of those things they don’t want to remember. The book compares on many occasions, the wishes and dreams of men and women in an interesting way, using the “sea” as a symbol giving the impression that saving

I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves.". This idea of thinking greatly influences Janie, and gives her the notion that, as it’s said for children, she should be only seen, and not heard. Joe greatly influences her with this and similar ideas, making Janie feel as if she cannot think, act, or feel for herself, and she is a pawn in Joes Chess game of life. Joe puts all women, and Janie, on the same level as children, and animals, giving Janie the strong impression that she is more an object, and not a human being. While Janie is an employee of her husband Joe’s store, she lives her life in the shadows of Joes life. Joe forces onto her the idea that it is not proper for her to speak to anyone within the town, or participate in any of their games and activities. As more attention is brought to Janie over time, Joe begins to feel insecure of himself, and therefore forces Janie to hide her only forms of self-individuality, and creates in Janie the feeling of being a puppet on strings, having no self-worth, and that she has been brought into this world by mistake. The story strongly expresses many different ideas and thoughts on sexism, gender roles, and feminism. The story tells a great tale of a woman who begins to overcome all of these ideas and beliefs, along with many