African American literature conveys elements that reflect on the experiences and injustices that African Americans faced in the United States. African American writers gravitate towards themes of slavery, racism, and social inequality. Amongst the most well-known writers of this type literature is Zora Neale Hurston, who wrote works through a feminist perspective and brought to light the discrimination African Americans faced. During the Harlem Renaissance time period, from the early 1920’s to the mid-1930’s, Hurston provided a feminine voice and boosted how women were perceived in the public eye. Her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937 portrays elements of social and gender inequality though the female protagonist, Janie …show more content…
Mae Crawford. The discrimination African Americans faced during the slavery time period was atrocious, however, the experiences women underwent were even more heinous. Slave owners would rape, beat, and abandon female slaves when they became pregnant. Women were treated poorly thereafter and the future and life their children could expect was not any better theirs. Hurston considers and embodies all these experiences in her novel while maintaining true to her feminist position. Janie’s character represents the beliefs and sentiment Hurston felt during the slavery time period. However, she develops her character to be dynamic and after three marriages Janie finally finds herself and becomes independent in her single-minded town in Eatonville, Florida. Social inequality is a primary component in any piece of African American literature, because it depicts the discrimination slaves endured.
The foundation of Hurston’s novel is built upon social inequality. Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, was raped by her slave owner and experienced barbaric treatment after, because the wife of the slave owner became enraged that Nanny’s children were light skinned and threatened to have her whipped. The hardships Nanny faced created fears, fears that Nanny embedded into raising Janie. She encouraged Janie to marry a man, Logan Killicks, who could provide her with security and a social status. Janie married Mr. Killicks despite not loving him, because that was ideal that was raised with. In a conversation with Nanny about her potential husband, her grandmother encourages her to seek money so that her fate could different than …show more content…
hers, “So you don’t want to marry off decent like, do yuh? You just wants to hug and kiss and feel around with first one man and then another, huh? You wants to make me suck de same sorrow yo’ mama did, eh? Mah ole head ain’t gray enough. Mah back ain’t bowed enough to suit yuh!”” (16). This conversation reflects the social inequality in the novel, because it eventually leads to Janie’s failed marriages and her subjecting herself to her controlling husbands. Moreover, social inequality is also portrayed in the novel, when Janie marries Jody Starks, her second husband who takes them to Eatonville, Florida and establishes wealth there. Jody gains the respect of the townspeople and ultimately mayor of town and Janie as his wife also gains respect from the other women. Although, Janie is a woman of color she is placed on a higher position than the other women and receives more opportunities like the ability to run the store. However, she still faced an immense amount of discrimination, because her husband would not let her leave the store to talk to other men playing chess outside. In fact, through the duration of her marriage to Mr. Starks, Janie was required to tie her hair up and hide it under a bandana, because he did not want other men looking at it. Therefore, social inequality in the novel exists, regardless, of whether or not Janie was placed on a higher level than other female characters in the novel. Undoubtedly, Hurston is a prominent feminist who subjects her female characters to the actual experiences that slaves faced, however, with her own unique twist.
Throughout the novel, Janie faces poor treatment and is submissive to all three of her husbands. Therefore, all the hardships and insults that Janie endures in the story allow her to break free and her grandmother’s ideal, that wealth and a social status should be a priority and overcome all other aspects, such as love. Janie returns to Eatonville a new woman; she doesn't care for the opinions of others and continues her way through the town. This shows that Janie at the end of the novel is headstrong and has finally found her independence in a male dominated society. Considering that she was a black woman during the time that the story took place, Janie constructs a comfortable life for herself. Thus, Hurston makes Janie’s character undergo several harsh experiences, abandonment by her mother and she endures abuse from all of husbands, however, not without making her prevail at the end of the novel as she frees herself from the men in her
life. Social and gender inequality are repetitive themes that can be identified within African American literature. Together, both themes shed light on the political and social issues that this country has faced. The women in Hurston’s novel must care for their husbands and see to their every need. They must refrain from speaking to other men unless their husbands allow them, must cover up if their spouses ask them to, however, they must also contribute through labor. In Janie and Mr. Stark's relationship, Janie had to work in the store and keep it running just as much as he did, yet, he abused, insulted, and forced her to wear a headpiece that restrained her regardless of her substantial role in the marriage. Thus, social inequality emerges, it is evident that women do not have the same opportunities or freedom men have in the novel. Perhaps if Janie would have stayed in Eatonville, she would have never broken free of the demeaning environment that she endured for so many years. Therefore, social and gender inequality complement each other in the novel and together they are able to create a piece that reflects on the reality of this time period. During the time that the story takes place, power was predominantly given to men, however, Hurston is no ordinary African American writer and makes Janie’s character more powerful as the novel progresses. As Janie matures, she distinguishes the social and gender inequalities that have allowed men to continue to be the way they are. Thus, when Janie finally experiences something different than her current situation in Eatonville, she realizes is worth something and will no longer by a bystander in her relationships, after so many years she finally finds value in her life. Hurston is an eminent in African American literature, for this very reason, she is capable of creating an enthralling plot line while depicting the hardships that African American women faced.
What is one’s idea of the perfect marriage? In Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie has a total of three marriages and her best marriage was to Tea Cake. Janie’s worst and longest marriage was to Joe Starks where she lost her dream and was never happy. The key to a strong marriage is equality between each other because in Janie’s marriage to Joe she was not treated equally, lost apart of herself and was emotionally abused, but her and Tea Cake's marriage was based on equality and she was able to fully be herself.
In the beginning years of Janie’s life, there were two people who she is dependent on. Her grandmother is Nanny, and her first husband is named Logan Killicks. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, “Janie, an attractive woman with long hair, born without benefit of clergy, is her heroine” (Forrest). Janie’s grandmother felt that Janie needs someone to depend on before she dies and Janie could no longer depend on her. In the beginning, Janie is very against the marriage. Nanny replied with, “’Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, its protection. ...He done spared me...a few days longer till Ah see you safe in life” (Hurston 18). Nanny is sure to remind Janie that she needs a man in her life for safety, thus making Janie go through life with that thought process.
Zora Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” depicts the journey of a young woman named Janie Crawford’s journey to finding real love. Her life begins with a romantic and ideal view on love. After Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, soon grows fearful of Janie’s newfound sexuality and quickly marries Janie off to Logan Killicks, an older land owner with his own farm. Janie quickly grows tired of Logan and how he works her like a slave instead of treating her as a wife and runs away with Joe Starks. Joe is older than Janie but younger than Logan and sweet talks Janie into marring him and soon Joe becomes the mayor of an all African American town called Eatonville. Soon Joe begins to force Janie to hide not only her
As Janie is growing up she has to learn to accept her Nanny’s belief of how a woman is supposed to live in society. Nanny grew up in slavery so she believes that the role of men is to support his wife financially. Nanny thinks Janie should marry a man according to how successful he is and Janie should keep up the household responsibilities. Janie’s grandmother said, “Ah been waitin’ a long time, Janie, but nothin’ Ah I
Of least significance to Janie is her first husband, Logan Killicks. Hurston uses pathos to show that Janie and her first husband are not meant to be even though society thinks otherwise. Nanny thinks that Logan is really made for Janie, but Janie doesn’t love Logan. Janie tells Nanny, “Cause you told me Ah
... Janie is a strong independent woman, who lives in a society that does not encourage that kind of behavior in women. During the novel she is told what to do, how to do it and at one point who to marry. She struggles with her growing unhappiness until she finally meets her true love. Bibliography Shmoop Editorial Team.
Janie stumbled through life trying to decide which path would lead to contentment. She allowed her grandmother and society influence her choices and decisions, which ultimately led to her dejection. It was not until the end of the novel that Janie had finally made the decision to chase her own happiness despite the opinions of others. Life is not a “one size fits all” ordeal; life is complicated and is different for everyone. Happiness, bliss, and contentment cannot be defined by one party or individual, but can be interpreted thousands of ways.
The contrast of these two places reinforces the theme of a search for love and fulfillment. To see what an ideal situation for an independent woman like would be, Hurston must first show the reader what Janie cannot deal with. Hurston has her character Janie go on a quest, one that was begun the day she was forced to marry Logan Killucks. The contrast in the setting is similar to one between good and evil.
When thinking about the novels that are read in high school, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby come to mind for most people. The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston usually is not thought of. Throughout the years, critics believed Hurston’s novel to be just fiction and that it pose no meaning. In spite of the novel not having much politics, it does contain many social issues from the past that are still somewhat relevant today. Above all, Their Eyes Were Watching God deals with the way people are unequally treated in society based on their gender, race, or anything that makes them diverse from others. It is probable that Hurston brings up the controversial issues of her time era in the hope to cause a transformation in the world.
As the novel opens Janie creates a visual demonstration which lets us know that there is a large difference between her and the other women in the novel (n.p.). She becomes one with her sexuality after lying under a pear tree. Hurston stated, "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches" (pg.8).This leads to her eventually kissing a young man by the name of Johnny Taylor. Nanny sees her kiss him, and says that Janie is now a woman. (pg. 12) She wants her to marry now and suggests that Janie marry Logan Killicks because he has shown an interest in Janie by always coming around their house. (pg. 13) Janie does not want to marry Logan because she feels he's unattractive and he does not resemble her image of a blooming pear tree. With this being said, Nanny leads Janie to believe no matter who she marrys, she will eventually learn to love them (Kubitschek 23). Janie hated Nanny because of the choices she made for her (pg.85). Thereafter, Nanny arranged for Janie to marry Logan Killicks. She felt that getting married to him will protect Janie from the burdens of being a black woman. Janie did nothing but obey.
The Harlem Renaissance was all about freedom of expression and the search for one's identity. Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, shows these goals through the main character Janie and her neighbors. Janie freely expressed what she wanted and searched for her identity with her different husbands. Even though Janie was criticized by everyone except her friends, she continued to pursue. She lost everything, but ultimately found her identity. Hurston's writing is both a reflection and a departure from the idea of the Harlem Renaissance.
In some of the other literature in this course and others, black women are written as strong characters, but many of them don't live the life that Janie lived. She appeared to have more choices than most and she acted upon her feelings rather than suffering in many cases. She falls in love with her last two husbands without feeling as if she were being raped or forced to do unnecessary things. Unlike her mother, grandmother and other black women, particularly slaves, she is given the chance to be feminine and complete her duties as a wife without subtle forms of torture. I feel that Hurston is using her imagination to "get back" at white women in a sense because she shapes Arvay's character as the one who is slightly oppressed.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist Janie faces many struggles in her life. As the offspring of rape in the south, she never really had a choice in who she was or wanted to be. She became trapped within the social ladder where she, as a black woman, hung at the very bottom. Also, her aspirations are shaped by her grandmother, Nannie, who only wanted her to have a life of money, security, and protection, a life she never got to have. However, as Janie moves from one marriage to the next, she begins to discover her independence, voice, and conscience as she moves from one marriage to the next.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, an intriguing novel written by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of a young girl and journey in her early years of womanhood. The language used in this novel send a specific message to the audience which has received many positive and negative responses. People such as Richard Wright harshly criticized the book whereas people like Alain LeRoy Locke admired the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Critics like Richard Wright, who bash Hurston’s novel, fail to see the brilliance of the style and portrayal of the African-American culture.
... Janie is free-spirited and unconcerned about what others think of her. When she returns to Eatonville after Tea Cake’s death, she shows no shame for what she has done or where she has been, because she is finally able to live the life she always wanted to lead. Hurston’s own struggles in life for individuality and an outlet for her suppressed spirit clearly contribute to the development of Janie’s character. Just as Hurston struggled for recognition, equality, and purpose in the literary world during the Harlem Renaissance, Janie’s struggle for the recognition, equality, and purpose in her relationships.