Reflection On Their Eyes Were Watching God

Reflections of Society In Their Eyes Were Watching God

People are generally influenced by their surroundings and conditions that they are living in. When authors construct novels, the issues of their time are often reflected in their work. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, during the telling of the life of a black woman in the early 1900s, the historical time period is represented by the racism and segregation against black individuals, the stereotypes of gender roles, and the overall lifestyle of the characters- including their occupations, homes, and relationships. The segregation and discrimination of the early 1900s is strongly evident in the novel. During the actual time period that

This began Janie’s life in a way that she was taught to lower herself in order to please a man. Her grandmother understood the harsh treatments and negativity Janie would encounter due to her skin color and gender and did her best to prepare her for it. Another incident which drew attention to the harsh and unfair treatments towards colored people is the entirety of Janie’s being. Because she is a quarter white, it leads to her having “separation from the black community in both the ‘Glades and Eatonville [both her homes]…” (Debuk). Janie is faced with difficulties throughout her life because she is both black and white in a while-vs.-black world. It is not until Janie matures and gets a life of her own that she realizes this. As the story progresses, there is more of this racial tension, especially towards the end of the novel. After a hurricane overtook Janie and Tea Cakes current home in the Everglades, they arrive at a town of only whites and others who previously arrived there also attempting to

This begins the novel by creating the illusion that women are not as strong as men- both mentally and physically. During the novel, when Janie was with her second husband, “...Joe [Starks] slaps her because his supper has been poorly cooked” (“Their,” Novels). It is this point that Janie 's image of Joe is destroyed, and begins separating her inner and outer self from him (“Their,” Novels). When the couple had first arrived to Eatonville, she realized “she is going to be nothing but an ornament of his power and success” (“Their,” Novels). Janie begins her “new life” knowing that it is going to cause pain and distraught. In one event, Joe gets jealous that other men and captivated by his wife’s appearance and long hair. When he notices that, “he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store...she was there in the store for him to look at, not those others” (Hurston 65). He wanted to have complete control over her; so much to the point that “...Joe forbids her to participate in their jokes or storytelling” (Domina). After several events that Joe hurts Janie, “She insults his masculinity, shaming him before the other men. After this, although Janie and Joe continue to live together, they live emotionally separate lives until Joe dies” (Domina). After Starks dies and Janie moves away with Tea Cakes, he eventually, “becomes jealous and beats Janie