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Zora Neale Hurstons their eyes were watching God
The meaning of their eyes watching God
The meaning of their eyes watching God
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The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by, Zora Neale Hurston is a book stretching extensively through the life of a woman named Janie. She is a black women living in the early 1900’s. Of course, this is a time where women are not as respected, especially those of color. This causes a lot of problems for Janie, as well as some of the people in her life because she is such a free spirit. During this period or the Harlem Renaissance the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by, Zora Neal Hurston reflects many similar patterns of the time, as well as many things that strayed from what was considered the norm for the time.
Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by, Zora Neale Hurston, many themes occurred that were similar to this time
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston portrays the religion of black people as a form of identity. Each individual in the black society Hurston has created worships a different God. But all members of her society find their identities by being able to believe in a God, spiritual or other. Grandma’s worship of Jesus and the “Good Lawd,” Joe Starks’ worship of himself, Mrs. Turner’s worship of white characteristics, and Janie’s worship of love, all stem from a lack of jurisdiction in the society they inhabit. All these Gods represent a need for something to believe in and work for: an ideal, which they wish to achieve, to aspire to. Each individual character is thus able to find himself or herself in the God that they worship.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, which is set in the 1930’s, explores the life of an African American woman from the south, trying to find herself. The protagonist of this novel is Janie Crawford. In the novel, Janie goes on a journey to find who she really is and to find spiritual enlightenment. To help shape Janie's character in this novel, Hurston is influenced by the philosophical views of the Romanticism, and Realism movement; in addition, she is influenced by the social events that were happening in the Modernism period. Even though Zora Neale Hurston wrote the inspiring novel in 1937 right at the end of the modernism era, Hurston was influenced by the philosophy of the modernism movement.
..., she found her identity. It did not come easy for Janie. It took her years to find out who she really was.
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.
The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, is a novel that is a perfect representation of its time period. The novel was written in the 1930’s which was a time period filled with racism and sexual oppression, and this time period caused black women in American to become the most oppressed. The numerous symbols within the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God are able to capture these cultural ideals at the time and were influenced heavily by the time period. Specifically, Janie’s hair and her rags are representative of her non-conformity to society's standards which further characterizes her as independent.
Works Cited for: Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Walker, Alice. A.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, based on the book of the same title by Zora Neale Hurston, is about the life of Janie Crawford, an African-American woman and the struggles she goes through
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a historical southern novel written by Zora Neal Hurston. Hurston herself was an anthropologist and folklorist and these uses are seen throughout the novel. The novel follows the protagonist, Janie Crawford, and her evolving lifestyle through three marriages which all come with an end. Her three marriages make her come to an understanding that life is cruel and people are cruel and she comes to understand the real meaning of selfhood. Janie throughout the novel is seperated from others and treated differently because she is “classed off” from the other members of her community.
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.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about a young woman that is lost in her own world. She longs to be a part of something and to have “a great journey to the horizons in search of people” (85). Janie Crawford’s journey to the horizon is told as a story to her best friend Phoebe. She experiences three marriages and three communities that “represent increasingly wide circles of experience and opportunities for expression of personal choice” (Crabtree). Their Eyes Were Watching God is an important fiction piece that explores relations throughout black communities and families. It also examines different issues such as, gender and class and these issues bring forth the theme of voice. In Janie’s attempt to find herself, she grows into a stronger woman through three marriages.
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.
The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God follows a young woman named Janie living in the 1920’s. Written by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie’s character is mostly developed through her three marriages, to three very different guys, at three different times in her life. As Janie struggles to find a meaning of true love, as well as true love itself, we see her blossom in many different ways. The three men who are basis of this transformation are Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and TeaCake. Each man has a specific effect on Janie, who is an African American women raised by her old school grandmother.
In the Book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston the main character is a black woman named Janie. The setting of this story takes place in the southern part of america in either the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. At this day in age the black woman was looked at as the mule of the world, having less rights and respect then a man would, and being treated differently because she is black. The book begins at the end of the story, she meets up with an old friend in her hometown after running off with a man that went by the name of Tea Cake. She then begins to tell her friend Pheoby her whole life story. Janie was raised by her grandmother, Nanny, she raises janie by herself and hopes one day Janie will grow and find a wealthy man that
“Their eyes were watching god” is a poetic novel, and it is the first black literature, which is showing the black women’s feminine consciousness awakening work, and as a milestone significance in black female literature creation. The novel describes the revolt against the bondage of traditional customs, and Janie also tries for human rights of her own life.