Analysis Of Janie In Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

the protagonist is Janie, who comes back to her hometown unannounced and without her husband. When Janie comes back she is dressed in clothing women in that time period were not seen wearing, ‘“What she doin coming back here in dem overalls? Can’t she find no dress to put on?...”’ (Hurston 18). Janie goes against the status quos of the African-American woman during the Great Depression. When Janie comes back all the men were watching her walk to her house, “The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume;...” (Hurston 18). Janie is very independent and does not care about what other people think or say about her. Pearl Stone is one of the woman who talked about Janie to the other women while she was walking home; Pearl does not like Janie and feels as if Janie being different is a bad thing.

Pearl feels like Janie should kind and talk to them when she was on her way to her house which she did not, ‘“ Don’t keer what it was, she could stop and say a few words with us.

She act like we done done something to her,” Pearl Stone complained. “She de one been doin’ wrong.”’ (Hurston 19). Janie’s individuality is seen as a threat to the other women in her town. Janie’s grandmother, nanny, raised her since she was a baby and cared for her like she was her daughter. Nanny loves Janie so much that it does not matter that she is not her daughter, ‘“ Ah couldn’t love yuh no more if Ah had uh felt yo’ birth pains mahself” (Hurston 32). Nanny is the one person Janie still has from her family but the love she receives from her is the same amount of love she would receive from an entire family. Love, family, and friendship is theme that it shown in the first two chapters that looks like it will continue into more. Janie is a different type of woman and everyone

knows it.
Important Quotes:
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story with a main character who pushes the expectations of what an African American woman is suppose to dress, act, and be like. Janie’s neighbors can not help but talk about her when she comes back and they are not pleased with how she was dressed nor how she acted towards them. The women think that women should be kind and pleasant to all but they themselves aren’t because they speculate about Janie’s life without knowing anything, ‘“You mean, your mad ‘cause she didn’t stop and tell us all her business”’ (Hurston 19). The novel being bildungsroman shows the life of a woman who grows out of what she should be into who she truly is. Being independent and unique is difficult for Janie because she has so many people who think so poorly of her because she is not like them. The theme of individuality and being unique that Janie expresses flamboyantly is just being introduced and will continue to develop. This is something that will be shown repeatedly throughout the novel.
Who someone turns out to be can be determined by the people they were raised by or the people they grew up being around. Janie is an independent woman because she was raised by her nanny who also used to be independent, brave, and strong. Nanny did not try to act the way others wanted her too she did what she could, the way she could, ‘“..., but Ah done de best Ah kin by you. Ah raked and scraped and bought dis lil piece uh land so you wouldn’t have to stay in de white folks’ yard and tuck yo’ head befo’ other chillun at school”’ (Hurston 37). Nanny did what she wanted to do and what she thought was best for her and Janie. Janie is the strong and independent woman she is because of nanny, not only the woman who raised her but her role model. Another theme is being strong, nanny is strong to take Janie as her own and raise her despite their social circumstances. Janie has to be introduced to a strong woman in order for her to be one and her nanny is definitely a strong, fierce woman.
Literary Devices
Their Eyes Were Watching God takes place in the south and the personification used helps make the setting more clear. The south has less buildings and industrialized areas especially in towns that are more populated with African-Americans during the Great Depression. Nature is major aspect of life anywhere especially in the south with it being everywhere and with everyone, “ De noise uh de owls skeered me; de limbs of dem cypress trees took to crawlin’ and movin’ round after dark,...” (Hurston 36). When a novel takes place during a well known era in an atmosphere that is unique, the description of the setting is important. The use of personification helps paint an image of the tree and its’ branches in the reader's mind. An idiom can be used to make the text more interesting and wording dynamic, “ Pheoby held her tongue for a long time, but she couldn’t help moving her feet” (Hurston 23). The use of the idiom was to make the story more intriguing by using a phrase that the readers question.