In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, we have a frame narrative of a women’s perspective of life in the rural south. The reader is introduced to a middle-aged partly African American female named Janie, who then confides in her best friend with her life’s tale. The common factor between the author and the main character as Robert Hemenway writes is that, “Janie's poetic self-realization is inseparable from Zora's concomitant awareness of her cultural situation,” which exemplifies this novel as a symbol of women’s role in society and the liberation of women during this particular time period (Hemenway 37). Hurston creates a character who struggles to look for love in a marriage and to find her identity. This paper will discuss the author’s portrayal of a woman’s role in society during the time period of the novel within Janie’s character, and how it is difficult for Janie to live by this role.
Janie is put through many trials through her life. She is only sixteen and confused when she enters her first marriage unknowing the meaning of true love. In her first marriage with Logan Killicks she is not knowing what to expect in marriage, or if it will lead to love, and if it ends a life of loneliness. As Tracy Caldwell mentions in her analysis of the novel, “Logan “Killicks” was responsible for killing Janie’s early hopes for love,” how his name symbolizes his character and how that character affects Janie (Caldwell 2). Janie unhappy, then meets Joe Starks, a man that makes her feel special. In this marriage unlike the first, she thinks she has found love, but is lost to whether if it is love or if she is just an accomplishment for Joe. For example, Joe states at his election speech, “mah wife don’t know not...
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Caldwell, Tracy. "Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God.": Discover GALILEO." Ehis.ebscohost.com, 2013. 2-3. Web. 14 Nov 2013.
Hemenway, Robert. Janie's Quest for Self-Discovery. Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 37. Print
Hemenway, Robert. Janie's Quest for Self-Discovery. Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 40-41. Print.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. 6. Print.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. 43. Print.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. 55. Print.
Walker, S. Jay. Hurston's Version of Feminism. Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 35. Print.
This excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were watching God, is an example of her amazing writing. She makes us feel as if we are actually in her book, through her use of the Southern Black vernacular and admirable description. Her characters are realistic and she places special, well thought out sentences to keep us interested. Zora Neale Hurston’s art enables her to write this engaging story about a Southern black woman’s life.
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.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics: Reissue Edition 2013
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1990.
Hurston, Lora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1990.
Through her use of southern black language Zora Neale Hurston illustrates how to live and learn from life’s experiences. Janie, the main character in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a woman who defies what people expect of her and lives her life searching to become a better person. Not easily satisfied with material gain, Janie quickly jumps into a search to find true happiness and love in life. She finally achieves what she has searched for with her third marriage.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). : Urbana, Ill.: U of Illinois P, 1937.
4. Hurston, Zora Neal. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Collins, 1937. Print.
Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. " 'Tuh de Horizon and Back': The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God." Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.
Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.
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.
Racine, Maria J. "African American Review." Voice and Interiority in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God 28.2 (1994): 283-92. Jstor. Black's Women Culture Issue, Summer 1994. Web. Dec. 2013.
Zora Neal Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reveals one of life’s most relevant purposes that stretches across cultures and relates to every aspect of enlightenment. The novel examines the life of the strong-willed Janie Crawford, as she goes down the path of self-discovery by way of her past relationships. Ideas regarding the path of liberation date all the way back to the teachings of Siddhartha. Yet, its concept is still recycled in the twenty-first century, as it inspires all humanity to look beyond the “horizon,” as Janie explains. Self-identification, or self-fulfillment, is a theme that persists throughout the book, remaining a quest for Janie Crawford to discover, from the time she begins to tell the story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Hurston makes a point at the beginning of the novel to separate the male and female identities from one another. This is important for the reader to note. The theme for identity, as it relates to Janie, carefully unfolds as the story goes on to expand the depths of the female interior.