Janie's Metamorphosis in Their Eyes Were Watching God "Dey all useter call me Alphabet 'cause so many people had done named me different names," Janie innocently expresses (Hurston 9). The nickname "Alphabet" is appropriate in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God because she is indefinable to others and herself. From her early childhood, Janie Crawford searches for self-knowledge and grows through her relationships with men, family, and society. The main character continually seeks autonomy and self-realization, but her quest cannot continue as long as she is the object of others. Janie must find her own identity to become the subject of her desires and dreams. To accomplish this, she enters into, not away from, black culture to find her meaning in life. Janie dares not to be pathetic, or tragic, but to defy the expectations of her men, family, and society. Through Janie's life experiences, she is able to shift from the object of other's lives to the subject of her own life. Hurston uses the power of language and different narrative techniques to show Janie's transition throughout the novel. It is important to notice that in Janie's journey from object to subject, the narration of the novel shifts from third person to a mixture of first and third person; thus, the shift shows the awareness of self within Janie. Language becomes an instrument of injury and salvation and of selfhood and empowerment. The use of powerful language is exemplified well in the text when Janie is asked to say a few words as the new Mrs. Mayor. Joe, her second husband, quickly cuts in and says, "Thank yuh fuh yo' compliments, but mah wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for not... ... middle of paper ... ...izes the chance for happiness. Janie is comfortable knowing that she can live for herself, for she has become the subject of her own life. Janie is a complete woman because her inner and outer self unites; she transforms her social role into an organic role. Being comfortable in one's own skin and self, because of and not in spite of, is the true source of joy. Sources Cited and Consulted Hinton, Kip Austin. "Zora Neale Hurston." Zora Neale Hurston Web Site. Kip Austin Hinton, ed. 07/16/2003. Available at www.1.am/zora Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper & Row, 1937. Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. " 'Tuh de Horizon and Back': The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God." Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
The tragedies of the holocaust forever altered history. One of the most detailed accounts of the horrific events from the Nazi regime comes from Elie Wiesel’s Night. He describes his traumatic experiences in German concentration camps, mainly Buchenwald, and engages his readers from a victim’s point of view. He bravely shares the grotesque visions that are permanently ingrained in his mind. His autobiography gives readers vivid, unforgettable, and shocking images of the past. It is beneficial that Wiesel published this, if he had not the world might not have known the extent of the Nazis reign. He exposes the cruelty of man, and the misuse of power. Through a lifetime of tragedy, Elie Wiesel struggled internally to resurrect his religious beliefs as well as his hatred for the human race. He shares these emotions to the world through Night.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story about identity and reality to say the least. Each stage in Janie's life was a shaping moment. Her exact metamorphosis, while ambiguous was quite significant. Janie's psychological identification was molded by many people, foremost, Nanny, her grandmother and her established companions. Reality, identity, and experience go hand in hand in philosophy, identity is shaped by experience and with experience you accept reality. Life is irrefutably the search for identity and the shaping of it through the acceptance of reality and the experiences in life.
Title IX is a law that was made by the NCAA in 1972, that states that there can be no discrimination or exclusion of a gender through athletics or education. (Mankiller). Which means that men's sports cannot be favored over women's sports. Many people are very cognizant of this law. For example, if a school has $100,000, the school must spend the money equally between the athletics of each gender, even if there are more men's sports teams. They must get the same treatment. That may sound great, but Title IX has impacted men's athletics significantly. Although Title IX has been a valuable way to establish gender equality, the NCAA loses money, puts men out of scholarships, abolishes smaller men’s sports teams, and it should be
Troy takes advantage of his brother, Gabriel’s disability money, and eventually ends up being responsible for getting him sent away. He also puts up a fight whenever his oldest son Lyons comes around, refusing to give him money even when Lyons says he will pay Troy back. However, a villain would not care about his family so much, even if the way he shows it is not ideal. Although his relationship with his family is in shambles by the end of the play, he does eventually build the fence for Rose, signifying that he wants to keep her close. If he was a complete villain, he would not have done this. He probably would not have even told Rose about Alberta. He understands what he did was bad, and the fact that he does can allow him to be identified as a tragic hero as well as an antihero. He is still horrible to Cory in the end, and Cory is completely justified for not wanting to attend his father’s funeral. He distinguishes himself from his father, though, being the better man and agreeing to go. The final scene of the play has the gates of Heaven opening for Troy, which means that he was not completely bad after
Rosenblatt, Roger. “Roger Rosenblatt’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Rpt. in Modern Critical Views of Zora Neale Hurston. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 29-33. Print.
Janie Crawford, the main character of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, strives to find her own voice throughout the novel and, in my opinion, she succeeds even though it takes her over thirty years to do it. Each one of her husband’s has a different effect on her ability to find that voice.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford, the protagonist, constantly faces the inner conflicts she has against herself. Throughout a lot of her life, Janie is controlled, whether it be by her Nanny or by her husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. Her outspoken attitude is quickly silenced and soon she becomes nothing more than a trophy, only meant to help her second husband, Joe Starks, achieve power. With time, she no longer attempts to stand up to Joe and make her own decisions. Janie changes a lot from the young girl laying underneath a cotton tree at the beginning of her story. Not only is she not herself, she finds herself aging and unhappy with her life. Joe’s death become the turning point it takes to lead to the resolution of her story which illustrates that others cannot determine who you are, it takes finding your own voice and gaining independence to become yourself and find those who accept you.
Walker, Kristen. "Feminism Present in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." 7 February 2007. Yahoo Voices. 27 January 2014 .
Elie Wiesel writes about his personal experience of the Holocaust in his memoir, Night. He is a Jewish man who is sent to a concentration camp, controlled by an infamous dictator, Hitler. Elie is stripped away everything that belongs to him. All that he has worked for in his life is taken away from him instantly. He is even separated from his mother and sister. On the other side of this he is fortunate to survive and tell his story. He describes the immense cruel treatment that he receives from the Nazis. Even after all of the brutal treatment and atrocities he experiences he does not hate the world and everything in it, along with not becoming a brute.
... was skeptical about Troy?s ways and behavior. However, as I continued reading the story about his hardship, I quickly realized that there is not just one way to be right. While his ways were somewhat antiquated, they were nonetheless effective. I can even identify with Troy?s character as he reminds me of my dad and how protective he was of my sister and I. I would like to believe that we are now better off because of the way he handled us. While I often questioned my dad?s motives, I now understand why he did the certain things he did. Troy?s family will eventually realize that he only wishes the best for them. I think this story emphasizes the fact that no one is perfect. No one needs to be perfect. We all need to realize that; after all, none of us are perfect.
Troy is a very self-centered individual. He is only concerned with issues regarding him. For instance, he wants to be able to drive the trash trucks at his job like the white men do. In Act One, scene one, Troy tells Bono that he talked to his boss, Mr. Rand, about driving the trucks. “How come you got all the whites driving and the colored lifting?” (1332). If things in Troy’s life aren’t going the way he wants them to, he makes himself into the victim and searches for sympathy from others. In addition, if he ever does something erroneous, he never accepts responsibility, never admits his wrongdoing and no matter how much anguish he causes someone, he never apologizes for it.
Appiah, K.A. and Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. eds. Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad Press, Inc., 1993.
Japanese bureaucracy had less control of business and the economy than Europeans' counterparts in 1970s because between in the late 1960s to early 1970s, Japanese bureaucracy is failed to comply with high technology of information system. Japanese bureaucracy is failed again in the late 1980s due to the pop of "bubble" economy in Japan. The necessity to care about Japanese bureaucracy is that Japan is the second largest economic power all over the world and from this fact, the position of Japan is very important in world politics. Japan has a large influence towards world politics and economy.
The Center for Disease Control (2011) in Atlanta, Georgia states that “Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths or SUIDs are defined as deaths in infants less than 1 year of age that occur suddenly and unexpectedly, and whose cause of death are not immediately obvious prior to investigation.” It has been documented that every year in the United States, approximately 4,000 infants perish in a sudden onset episode of not apparent origin. Roughly fifty percent of the Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths are due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS. Through research the organization Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Council tell us that there are three frequently reported causes of Sudden Unexplained Infant Death and SIDS (2013). They are “cause unknown, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed.” The council goes on to provide statistics taken from the most recent census, “In 2010, 2,063 deaths were reported as SIDS, 918 as cause unknown, and 629 as accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed.” The CDC collects new data on infant death every five years. The CDPHP council has taken community measures to provide teaching and grief
... 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.