Symbolism In Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

All novels contain symbolism in one shape or form and the words written on the page often mask a deeper meaning beneath them. Usually, there is an assortment of symbols disguised by a literal meaning that blend in with the scene. Symbols frequently come in the form of nature. Nature, generally being in the background of a scene, becomes more prominent when it is meant to be identified as a symbol. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the symbolism in nature is recurrent throughout the novel. It indicates turning points and track the growth of the main character, Janie’s, coming-of-age. This is portrayed through the changing of the seasons and various correspondents. In this way, it can be seen that not all events affect Janie

in the same way, leading her in one direction. In Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, seasonal symbols are used to target experiences in Janie’s life and how they affect her overall development into adulthood.
The imagery of the bees and the pear tree are the catalyst of Janie’s coming-of-age, representing her first “springtime” and the awakening of her sexuality. The moment Janie sees the bee pollinating the blossoms on the pear tree is when she becomes aware of her sexuality. She finds herself empathizing with the blossoms; both being young and undergoing the springtime of life. Contrastingly, however, Janie has no “bees singing for her” like the blossoms do (Hurston 11). In Janie’s eyes, the relationship between the bee and the flowers exemplifies marriage. Although, Janie has never been in a relationship before and as a result, forms misconceptions about the topic. Janie lets her imagination run wild with thoughts of love, though her ideas are childish and unpractical. So eager to experience what she believes to be love, she kisses Johnny Taylor without realizing the consequences of her actions. The reason she kisses Johnny Taylor is because he was an attractive young man who happened to be in the near vicinity. What she expects of love is superficial and purely based on the assumption of what the result might be because she has had no experience herself. Additionally, Janie’s judgment is clouded by what she finds to be ideal. However, the ideal and the reality will almost always have two completely different outcomes. Janie carries on these false conceptions long into her marriage with Logan. Later on, she again becomes a victim of these ideas when she meets Joe. What the bees and blossoms have taught Janie is a sort of temporary happiness based on convenience. The blossoms continue to grow because the bees pollinate them and Joe makes her his wife because she is a naive, beautiful young woman who looks good on his arm. Despite this, Janie’s bad experiences with love will ultimately lead her to find happiness.
The falling of the seeds marks the end of the bloom time, indicating that the reality of love has not fulfilled Janie’s childish ideas of love and hasten her into a mature mindset, bringing an end her adolescence.

For this duration of her life, there is little that furthers Janie’s development as an individual. The extent of her growth is learning that marriage does not always produce, and is not always a product of, love. The fact that she had “waited a bloom time, and a green time and an orange time” for something to become of her own marriage only adds to her lack of development (Hurston 25). She waited an entire year before she realized that her expectations would not be fulfilled. For that reason, Janie’s youth has ended and the death of the blossoms represents her transition into womanhood. However, her confinement to Logan’s farm prevents her from experiencing the rest of the world; experiences that would continue to shape her into a woman. In this sense, Janie has entered a prolonged period of winter. She is like a seed in the ground, waiting for the frost to thaw so she can sprout and blossom once more. Supporting this idea is the fact that seeds--rather than just dead petals--are falling to the ground suggests that there will be another springtime for Janie, and this time of her life is in preparation of that. Janie believes that she is approaching her next springtime when Joe Starks appears, for she considers him to be a possible “bee for her bloom” (32). However,

Janie’s dilemma is accepting the what she sees on the surface as the full truth. In actuality, Janie knows nothing more about Joe than what he has told her. Once again, Janie has fallen into her own trap. In the same way that she wished for love to grow between her and Logan, Janie believes that an ideal type of love will grow between her and Joe. However, in comparison to Logan, Joe is much more oppressive and gives Janie virtually no freedom and therefore no room to grow. In that sense, Janie is now completely frozen in her coming-of-age.
The hurricane serves as the final transition between Janie’s spring and summer, foreshadowing an end to her relationship with Tea Cake and the conclusion of her journey into adulthood.

The seventeen years Janie spent with Joe was an extended stretch of winter. That being the case, Joe’s death is what marked the end of that harsh winter. For a short duration after Joe’s passing, Janie feels as if she has been reborn and promptly adapts to her newfound freedom from her tyrannical husband. This time of “resurrection and life” indicates another shift in the seasons, this one changing between winter and spring (Hurston 88). Tea Cake arrives in Eatonville after Joe has died, so Janie is already in her mid-spring. After her time with Joe, it is shown that Janie has matured because of her doubt towards Tea Cake’s intentions, rather than believing him because he claims to be in love with her. When Janie does run off with Tea Cake to the Everglades, she spends an entire year there and all is fairly peaceful. Then, the storm makes an appearance. Hurricane season begins in the late spring to early summer, depending on the region. Despite her being in a “springtime” with Tea Cake, the seasons still begin to change. This means that whatever Janie has with Tea Cake will not last. However, rather than making a full cycle through the seasons, Janie will remain in her summertime. What Janie felt for Tea Cake was more legitimate than what she thought she felt for Joe, and therefore she will

continue to thrive simply by carrying the memory of Tea Cake with her. In that regard, the hurricane offers a sort of finality to Janie’s coming-of-age in the sense that she is once again moving beyond the spring and finding a place in her life where growth has ceased. More literally speaking, Janie has also reached her middle ages and after Tea Cake’s death, it is unlikely she will ever meet another man that will lead her into another “springtime”. Nevertheless, Janie still has the freedom to expose herself to new things that will further round out her character.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, nature is used to symbolize intervals of Janie’s development and how her experiences shaped her. The diverse series of events helped to mold Janie’s character and allowed her to grow and learn from her mistakes. While some left a more negative impact than others, Janie would not have been the same without them. Essentially, the idea to take away from the novel is that every experience will have an impact on the individual. There will be times of joy and times of sorrow in life and many shades in between, but they are all a part of the journey to discovering one’s self.