Nick Kamkari
Ms. Pitcairn
Honors American Literature
March 16, 2015
Feminine Fortitude
Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Although it dates back to centuries ago, the collection of movements and ideologies that make up feminism is still very alive today. The movement shines on in the form of pieces of literature such as Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. The author uses the juxtaposition of Janie’s three major relationships and their effects on her to create a story that strongly supports feminism. As a symbol, Janie is undeniably powerful because the development of her character is multi-layered and meticulous. By the end of the story, Janie
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Johnny Taylor introduces Janie to a dreamy and pleasant love that stays with her for a long time. Janie believes her romantic life will live up to this experience: “So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation”(11). The pear tree represents Janie’s major transition into adult life and sexual maturity. The experience under the pear tree also marks when Janie’s life starts to become more complicated. At this early point in Janie’s life, she is not as strong as she becomes by the end of the story. Her reaction to Nanny’s suggestion that she should marry Logan Killicks displays a relatively weak Janie: “The vision of Logan Killicks was desecrating the pear tree, but Janie didn’t know how to tell Nanny that. She merely hunched over and pouted at the floor” (13). She almost instantly clings to the dreamy experience Johnny Taylor introduces her to. She very well knows that she needs to listen to Nanny, and that her dream of love is not realistic at the time. By the end of the story, Janie is no longer this impressionable young …show more content…
It is vital to note that Janie learns how to be strong and independent on her own, and her rebellious actions that follow Jody’s death completely support this. Tea Cake simply acts as a catalyst to her further development. Their relationship is significant in the sense that it marks the first time Janie begins to stray from societal expectations. For the first time in her life, Janie is treated as an equal by her partner. Tea Cake and Janie don’t care that the rest of society views the wealth gap between them to be shocking. They also do not let society’s view of the age difference between them ruin a healthy relationship. Unlike in her relationship with Logan Killicks, Janie does not commit to a relationship with Tea Cake for wealth, social status, or even security. She genuinely enjoys the time she spends with Tea Cake, and he shows her how valuable some of the more simple things in life are. Their late night fishing trip is a milestone in terms of Janie’s quest for dreamy love: “It was crazy digging worms by lamp light and setting out for Lake Sabelia after midnight that she felt like a child breaking rules. That’s what made Janie like it” (98). Not only is Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake invigorating, but Janie also no longer feels the need to be quiet in fear of her partner. Her response to Tea Cake
In the beginning, the pear tree symbolizes Janie’s yearning to find within herself the sort of harmony and simplicity that nature embodies. However, that idealized view changes when Janie is forced to marry Logan Killicks, a wealthy and well-respected man whom Janie’s Nanny set her up with. Because Janie does not know anything about love, she believes that even if she does not love Logan yet, she will find it when they marry. Upon marrying Logan, she had to learn to love him for what he did, not for that infallible love every woman deserves. After a year of pampering, Logan becomes demanding and rude, he went as far to try to force Janie to do farm work. It was when this happened that Janie decided to take a stand and run away with Joe. At this time, Janie appears to have found a part of her voice and strong will. In a way, she gains a sense of independence and realizes she has the power to walk away from an unhealthy situation and does not have to be a slave to her own husband.
In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author takes you on the journey of a woman, Janie, and her search for love, independence, and the pursuit of happiness. This pursuit seems to constantly be disregarded, yet Janie continues to hold on to the potential of grasping all that she desires. In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Hurston illustrates the ambiguity of Janie’s voice; the submissiveness of her silence and the independence she reclaims when regaining her voice. The reclaiming of Janie's independence, in the novel, correlates with the development and maturation Janie undergoes during her self discovery.
Zora Neale was an early 20th century American novelist, short story writer, folklorist, and anthropologist. In her best known novel Their eyes were watching God, Hurston integrated her own first-hand knowledge of African American oral culture into her characters dialogue and the novels descriptive passages. By combing folklore, folk language and traditional literary techniques; Hurston created a truly unique literary voice and viewpoint. Zora Neale Hurston's underlying theme of self-expression and search for one’s independence was truly revolutionary for its time. She explored marginal issues ahead of her time using the oral tradition to explore contentious debates. In this essay I will explore Hurston narrative in her depiction of biblical imagery, oppression of African women and her use of colloquial dialect.
Oprah Winfrey mutilated the classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston by turning the movie into a story with no resemblance to the book. Throughout Janie Crawford’s life, love is a dream she wished to achieve. Oprah makes changes to Janie’s character, her marriages, and the differences of symbolism, the change of themes, and the significance of Janie’s childhood which will alter the entire moral of the story. Another difference is the way the townspeople gossip. Oprah changes the point of Janie’s life journey to find herself to a love story.
The character Janie in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is portrayed as a woman who has a modern mindset that is much too advanced for her thinking. Janie does things that raise much controversy with the community and endures situations that would be deemed inhumane in today’s society. Examining the abuse, oppression and criticism Janie undergoes in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God from both a contemporary woman's viewpoint and an early twentieth century woman's viewpoint reveals differences, as well as similarities in the way people respond to events.
At age sixteen, Janie is a beautiful young girl who is about to enter womanhood and experience the real world. Being joyous and unconcerned, she is thrown into an arranged marriage with Logan Killicks. He is apparently unromantic and unattractive. Logan is a widower and a successful farmer who desires a wife who would not have her own opinions. He is set on his own ways and is troubled by Janie, who forms her own opinions and refuses to work. He is unable to sexually appeal or satisfy Janie and therefore does not truly connect with her as husband and wife should. Janie's wild and young spirit is trapped within her and she plays the role of a silent and obeying wife. But her true identity cannot withhold itself for she has ambitions and she wills to see the world and find love. There was a lack of trust and communication between Logan and Janie. Because of the negative feelings Janie has towards Logan, she deems that this marriage is not what she desires it to be. The pear tree and the bees had a natural att...
Janie searches high and low for a soft heart to lean on after not finding what she was looking for in Nanny's suggested marriage to Killicks. Janie thinks she finds what she is looking for in Jody but later finds out that she is wrong when she is used as not much more than a storekeeper. So did Janie lead a satisfying life, even though it was full of dependency? That is a matter of ones opinion, but I believe that Janie finally feels like the "singing bee" being satisfied by the blossoms of the pear tree when she begins to depend on Tea Cake and lives her life loving and depending on him. Janie feels complete when Tea Cake is around and knows that no one else could possibly make her feel the way that she does in his
The flashback commences by recounting the years leading to Janie’s childhood through alluding to Nanny and Janie’s mother Leafy’s, life difficulties. Nanny is raised in slavery and was raped by her slave master, which led to Leafy’s birth. She had to flee in the night and hide in swamps during the war to protect her daughter. They go to live with a white family; the Washburn’s who are very accommodating. Once Leafy is older, she is raped by her white schoolteacher, leading to Janie’s birth. Leafy is absent through Janie’s life, so Nanny becomes her caregiver. Due to the abandonment of her parents, Janie is uncertain about her character and is lacking parental influence. Nanny raises Janie vicariously, so she will not encounter the same obstacles. Under a pear tree one day, Janie observes a bee pollinating a flower. She determines that this is how love is supposed to look. Love is passionate and never selfish or demanding. One day she kisses a boy named Johnny Taylor, whom Nanny does not approve. Nanny’s beliefs and authority on Janie’s life cause Janie’s abrupt marriage, before she can discover her true identity and spirit.
Jordan, Jennifer. “Feminist Fantasies: Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God’.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 7.1 (Spring 1988): 105-117. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
Zora Neale Hurston uses many rhetorical devices to depict the relationship Janie has with Joe Starks in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. In chapter 7 Hurston uses devices such as metaphors in three paragraphs to convey how Joe Starks role of a mayor has a tremendous weight on him and Janie. Also how he’s aging physically and mentally is affecting their relationship in a negative way.
Zora Hurston traveled to Haiti in 1937 where she than wrote her most famous story” Their eyes Were Watching God”. In the begging of the story, we start off by views Janie as she is already a grown woman. She concluded all the adventures that she will relate too. Janie talks about how she has been “Tuh De Horizon and Back”. The story then starts to spin when she starts talking to pheoby. Language plays an important role throughout the story. The story is told of an act of telling and not writing. Before Janie even begins to talk, we can hear the murmurs of gossips on the porch. “A mood come alive words walking without masters”. Throughout the book the control of language and the complex role of language is distributed. The discussion between Janie
The book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about Janie Crawford and her quest for self-independence and real love. She finds herself in three marriages, one she escapes from, and the other two end tragically. And throughout her journey, she learns a lot about love, and herself. Janie’s three marriages were all different, each one brought her in for a different reason, and each one had something different to teach her, she was forced into marrying Logan Killicks and hated it. So, she left him for Joe Starks who promised to treat her the way a lady should be treated, but he also made her the way he thought a lady should be. After Joe died she found Tea Cake, a romantic man who loved Janie the way she was, and worked hard to provide for her.
What defines a good writer? In Zora Neale Hurston’s psychological fiction, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the writer tells the story of a woman by the name of Janie and her multiple marriages. Describing her romances and her endless struggle to try and find love. Ms. Hurston describes all of this in a dialect of the African Americans living in the south during the time period in which the story is based. This is an amazing accomplishment for a writer because it is extremely difficult to accurately and consistently portray a certain dialect of a language. Even though this was a great accomplishment, certain flaws were discovered and brought to light. An acclaimed author and literary critic by the name of Richard Wright read and evaluated Ms.
Path to Finding True Love “True love doesn't happen right away; it's an ever-growing process. It develops after you've gone through many ups and downs, when you've suffered together, cried together, laughed together.” This quote by Ricardo Montalban tells us that true love simply has to develop and it doesn’t happen right away. Janie is the main character from the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and she struggled on the concept of true love. This quote explains exactly why Janie never found true love.
Life is compiled of time intervals of change that move people with each passing moment. Literature is the mirror that reflects the culture of the time, including people’s opinions and behaviors, giving modern day people perspective of how life was like in that given time era. In the iconic literature novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston takes us through the life of Janie Crawford, a black woman in the early 1900’s, and her journey for love and identity through three different marriages. Janie experiences the influence slavery still has on the Black community even after slavery was abolished, and also the re-emergence of racial stereotypes, rendering Zora Neale