Theme Of Failure In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Failure may seem, at times, to be devastating and undesirable. However, utopian societies where success is the only option are not only impossible to achieve, but also impossible for good reason. In the novel Their Eyes were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston explores the importance of failure through the development of the main character Janie, as well as through multiple symbolic devices. The protagonist embarks on a journey of achieving her romanticized notions, and succeeds, but ends ups losing it all in the end. Throughout Janie’s early adult life, her aspirations of attaining a loving relationship were embodied by the blossoms of a pear tree. A violent hurricane later uprooted those aspirations, but she was ultimately left with a newfound

As Janie realized her desires for love, she became engaged in several relationships in an attempt to fulfill her ideals of marriage as expressed by the pear tree. Near the beginning of the novel, Janie is a young girl, but on the verge of becoming a woman. One spring day, when she was outstretched under a pear tree, “[s]he saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom,” leading her to exclaim, “[s]o this is marriage!” (Hurston 11). It is at this point that Janie discovers her first sexual awakening, evident through the suggestive symbolism of the statement. The “bloom” of the pear tree represents herself, while the “dust-bearing bee” represents her love interest. The symbiotic relationship between the bee and flower indicates her ideals of marriage, where

Unlike Janie’s previous two marriages to Logan Killicks and Joe Starks, her marriage to Tea Cakes was finally characterized by love and a balance of power, the two elements she sought for in a relationship. The couple had moved in together on the Everglades and lived a satisfying life. However, when the hurricane struck one day, everything Janie knew was destroyed. As described by Hurston, “[t]hrough the screaming wind they heard things crashing and things hurtling and dashing with unbelievable velocity” (159). Among this uncontrollable chaos, Tea Cakes was bitten by a rabid dog, and, several weeks later, was regrettably shot by Janie because he had gone delirious. The unfairness of the whole situation, to Janie specifically, was epitomized by Motor Boat’s survival through the storm. As expressed by Tea Cakes, “Heah we nelly kill our fool selves runnin’ way from danger and him lay up dere and sleep and float on off!” (173). Motor boat had simply slept through the storm in an old house, but managed to live through the entire ordeal, unlike Tea Cakes, who made great efforts, but ended up dying of disease. Consequently, while the positive and idealistic elements of Janie’s life was embodied by the tree, the harshly realistic elements were demonstrated through the storm and rabid dog. Furthermore, the