Their Eyes Were Watching God

1490 Words3 Pages

Throughout the movie of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Oprah Winfrey alternates Zora Neale Hurston’s story of a woman’s journey to the point where nobody even recognizes it. The change in the theme, the characters, and their relationships form a series of major differences between the book and the movie. Instead of teaching people the important lessons one needs to know to succeed in this precious thing called life, Oprah tells a meaningless love story for the gratification of her viewers. Her inaccurate interpretation of the story caused a dramatic affect in the atmosphere and a whole new attitude for the audience. During the movie, Oprah makes a shift in Janie’s character by strengthening her mental and physical state. She becomes much stronger physically because when the storm approached and flooded the town, she pulled herself and Tea Cake out of the water. However, in the book, Ms. Hurston has it completely opposite from the movie; Tea Cake kills a dog during the storm to save his and Janie’s life then, the cow gets Janie out of the water and Tea Cake pulls himself out of the water. “Tea Cake split the water like an otter, opening his knife as he dived. The dog raced down the back-bone of the cow to the attack and Janie screamed and slipped far back on the tail of the cow, just out of reach of the dog’s angry jaws… Tea Cake rose out of the water at the cow’s rump and seized the dog by the neck… Then Tea Cake finished him and sent him to the bottom to stay there. The cow relieved of a great weight was landing on the fill with Janie before Tea Cake stroked in and crawled weakly upon the fill again” (Hurston 194). Zora’s purpose of making Janie weaker physically tells the story of a woman who cannot hold herself up on her own; ... ... middle of paper ... .... 2013. . "Their Eyes Were Watching God: Race Quotes." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. . "Their Eyes Were Watching God: Race Quotes." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. . "Their Eyes Were Watching God: Race Quotes." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. . Their Eyes Were Watching God. Dir. Darnell Martin. Perf. Halle Berry. Harpo, 2001. DVD. Wilchek, Deborah. "Made for TV: Their Eyes Were Watching God." AP Central. The College Board, 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .

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