Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Hurston

During a time when racial injustice was still in existence in the southern half of the United States, Zora Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama. After a brief amount of time, Zora and her family moved to Eatonville, a miniscule African American town in central Florida. Throughout her childhood she would give her attention to the elders of the community when they would tell the stories of their past. This town had an enormous impact on her writing style.

Zora Neale Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story about a troubled woman named Janie. Janie is a feminist who conquers the social expectations placed on her by the strict, traditional African American community she lives in. This story does not symbolise Zora Hurston's life but

possibly her parents. Zora lived without abuse in her life.

“ In Eatonville, Zora was never indoctrinated in inferiority, and she could see the evidence of black achievement all around her. She could look to town hall and see black men, including her father, John Hurston, formulating the laws that governed Eatonville. She could look to the Sunday Schools of the town's two churches and see black women, including her mother, Lucy Potts Hurston, directing the Christian curricula. She could look to the porch of the village store and see black men and women passing worlds through their mouths in the form of colorful, engaging stories”(shmoop editorial team ). This quote is crucial to understand that she did not face the race issues her ancestors did. The feminist attributes Janie displays in this novel emphasise only one part of her personality though, and do not dig deeper into her personal and more complex character. Hurston's novel is about trying to discover why Janie marries abusive men and will endure abuse in relationships. Janie’s dark past and mindset are caused by unsettling amount of sexual abuse for her

own immediate family as a child. Her family history consists of many generations of oppressed women who are forced into sexually abusive relationships. Janie's grandmother was a former slave. “Ah was born back in slavery so it wasn’t for me to fulfill my dreams of whut a woman oughta be and to do. Dat’s one of de hold-backs of slavery. But nothing can’t stop you from wishin’. You can’t beat nobody down so low till you can rob’ em of they will”( Hurston 56). This quote shows how even though she Nanny was a slave, she didn't let it stop her from dreaming of being something else. Nanny was forced to live in an environment where African American slaves were sexually abused on a consistent basis. In the environment Nanny lived in, she had no say. Whatever her master, Robert, said had to be done or else she would have been punished. With all of the incidents with sexual abuse, she soon found out that she was pregnant with a baby girl. Nanny had named her Leafy. Sadly, Leafy was put into a situation very similar to her mothers. While Leafy was in grade school, she was kidnapped by one of her own teachers and was raped. Janie now finds out that she was the outcome of this tragic scenario. She also finds out that Leafy abandoned her when Janie was an infant.
Even though it enrages her, Janie never confronts her father or grandfather about their constant physical and sexual abuse.

The ironic part to this novel is that the same traits her father and grandfather had, being abusive and controlling, were both traits that seemed to be in every man she was attracted too. Janie only wants to be proud of her family, like other normal families can be. Unfortunately, Janie will never be able to have a “normal family” that she so desires. She will never achieve this dream of a normal family because her father is a fugitive, every woman in her family has been abused sexually, and her grandfather was a slave master.One day Joe pushes her to far and she actually strikes him back. Joe is stunned by this. “ On the train the next day, Joe didn’t make many speeches with rhymes to her, but he bought her the best things the butcher had, like apples and a glass lantern full of candies” ( Hurston ) This is symbolising how Hurston would speak her mind when she had an opinion on something. Janie takes the abuse from Joe for far too long and she lashes back at him with violence of her own. “She wasn’t petal-open with anymore with him” (Hurston 184). This quote shows how she finally turned the abuse in the relationship and in some ways became the abuser to

him.
Hurston's story of sexual abuse and long family history of abuse does not relate to her own personal experiences, but it is thought that it is based off her parents life. Even though its not directly about her self there are many facts in Janie’s life that are similar to Zora’s. This partial-autobiographical novel shows the traditional family conflicts not only in the african american community she lived in, but also the time period she was alive in. Hurston was lucky, according to articles she wrote and others about her life, her home town was mostly blacks, and almost all the positions of power were blacks. This allows their community to prosper because of the lack of racial tension and also the lack of abuse by owners.