Comparing Hurston’s Books, Seraph on the Suwannee and Their Eyes Were Watching God
I found both books, Seraph on the Suwannee and Their Eyes Were Watching God to be very well written, yet I found it very ironic and almost funny to compare the two. Although it may not have been intentional, Hurston uses, what can be called, race reversals to describe Janie and Arvay. Janie is a not-so-typical black woman who is confident and while she is somewhat submissive to her husbands, she has more integrity than her white counterpart, Arvay.
The text says when describing her unique beauty, that "the men notice 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." Arvay, on the other hand, is "teasing to the fancy of many men," but she is described as, "pretty if you liked delicate-made girls/… (and) could easily be overlooked." The irony of this comparison lies in the fact that unlike life during the time period that the story is written, Janie is seen as an icon of inner-beauty and strength; Arvay is cute, but she isn't as strong.
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.
When the story begins, Arvay is upset with her sister because she "takes" the man that Arvay wants to marry. Because she feels that a piece of the life that she wanted to have (the life of a preacher's wife) is taken away from her, she tries to go into seclusion and ends up marrying a man that she persuaded to love. Her first time having sex with Jim is written as a near rape: "A tearing sound of starched fabric, and the garment was being dragged ruthlessly down her legs.
Janie is a woman who has overcome the rules and restrictions she was given. Janie was nothing but "a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels" (Hurston 72). Eventually, Janie made it her purpose to rebel against this mold.
One strong characteristic that Janie did not seem to show as much, is pride. Janie showed pride in some chapters, which I enjoyed because it was her turn to put herself first. The realization of questions that was once thought about, could be answered in the years she continued to find herself. Janie also had sympathy. Sympathy became a detail in chapter three, where the reader stated “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman”(Hurston 25). That quote showed so much because she never married Tea Cake, but she married the man that she no longer loved. Janie had sympathy and having that trait helped her become a
...her silent thoughts and how they pulled her away from her love for Logan and Jody, now those same silent thoughts preserve Tea Cake for her in perpetuity. And in Seraph on the Suwanee, Jim’s departure allows Arvay to realize the chasm between her and her past, and in so doing, realize that her struggles portray a woman destined to be a caregiver. For both Janie and Arvay, inner turmoil is quelled into a role that reconciles both themselves and their relationship with their men. And, perhaps most remarkably, this idealization of their partners persists despite – indeed, is even enhanced by – the fact that both women see their former love interests, those who came before Tea Cake and Jim, as now standing on cracked or even shattered pedestals. Both Janie and Arvay in the end take comfort in their new-found roles and those men who best compel them to adopt these roles.
The societal stereotypes associated with African Americans creates an unrealistic idea about how men and women of their race can think or act. Because Janie is an African American woman
Zora Hurston was an African American proto-feminist author who lived during a time when both African Americans and women were not treated equally. Hurston channeled her thirst for women’s dependence from men into her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the many underlying themes in her book is feminism. Zora Hurston, the author of the book, uses Janie to represent aspects of feminism in her book as well as each relationship Janie had to represent her moving closer towards her independence.
Hurston did not design her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God with the intent of creating a protagonist figure in Tea Cake Woods. Hurston’s characters just naturally fit into the roles and personalities that African American women have been socialized to expect and accept from black men. The good over the bad; turn the other cheek; don't let it get you down. Forever taught that the road ain't gonna be easy and that a ain't-half-bad man is better than no man, African American women have been instilled with the belief that abuse, bitterness, and sadness can be ignored if there is something else to focus that energy on. In Janie's case, we are moved to accept Tea Cake, who is at times abusive, because of the way he makes Janie feel - young and happy.
Janie’s first attempt at love does not turn out quite like she hopes. Her grandmother forces her into marrying Logan Killicks. As the year passes, Janie grows unhappy and miserable. By pure fate, Janie meets Joe Starks and immediately lusts after him. With the knowledge of being wrong and expecting to be ridiculed, she leaves Logan and runs off with Joe to start a new marriage. This is the first time that Janie does what she wants in her search of happiness: “Even if Joe was not waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good…From now on until death she was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything” (32). Janie’s new outlook on life, although somewhat shadowed by blind love, will keep her satisfied momentarily, but soon she will return to the loneliness she is running from.
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.
I think both authors would agree with this view. Both stories involve a woman and how they are viewed as well as the struggles they face. Hurston’s story is about a power struggle between men and women. She states “see God and ast Him for a li’l mo’ strength so Ah kin whip dis ’oman and make her mind.”
Woman’s Search for Identity in Hurston’s Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Picture an influential government overflowing with appealing morals, vast acquired land, and a strong military. Does the Roman Empire or perhaps the United States come to mind? This, in fact, describes both civilizations. The striking parallels between the United States and Rome are alarming; particularly the underlying motives of war, the treatment of soldiers post war, and the materialistic values of both societies. With that being said, it is questioned if the United States is on a path towards self-destruction much like the collapse of the Roman Empire around 500 C.E.
... 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.
Itano, C. Y. (1997). The challenge of assessing language in children with hearing loss. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 28(4), 362. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232585838?accountid=14800
"A Renewed Commitment to Buildings and Their Social Benefits." U.S. Green Building Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
The rapid growth of technology in our society has become more dominant than it was in the 17th and 18th century. Today, technology is used for almost everything in our day to day lives. But the most common usage of technology is for communication and industrialization. However, every good thing has its disadvantage if it is over used, and since technology has become very dominant, it is used by both young and older people but more predominant among the youth of the today. Even more, technology has brought about social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, my space, piazza.com, instagram, tango, and last but not the least texting. According to socialnetworking.procon.org, “47% of American adults used social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com in 2011, up from 26% in 2008. [26] on social media sites like these, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more” (procon.org. 1). Although these sites help many Americans to connect with their family and friends, have we really thought about how these sites are discouraging some students to spend less time with their books, how young adults are losing their marriages, the indecent behavior it is promoting, and how it has escalated texting and driving in our society? Obviously not!