Symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

904 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Zora neale hurston their eyes watching god essay

Zora Neale Hurston uses many symbols throughout her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, to represent many different things. Symbols are important in a novel because they reveal ideas and qualities beyond the literal sense of the symbol. Symbolism also helps the reader better understand the deeper meanings of the book. Zora Neale Hurston uses various symbols such as a horizon, Janie’s hair, and a pear tree in Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The horizon is a powerful symbol that is recurrent throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God. The horizon symbolizes goals and improvement in the future. The horizon’s first occurrence is in the first paragraph of the novel
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men” (Hurston 1).
Goals and dreams of the future are represented by the horizon and Zora Neale Hurston states that not everybody reaches their goals, but all men try for them. Janie’s dream remains out of reach and on the horizon for the most of her life, until she meets Tea Cake. All she wants is affection and love, this was apparent when she was married to Joe Stark and did as he said, such as tying her hair in a kerchief. When Janie thinks about Joe Stark she knows that if she marries him then it won‘t be the kind of marriage that will last, but a different way of life from what she has with Logan. “Janie pulled back a long time because he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon” (29). Janie realizes that Joe Starks goals are very far away and are hard ...

... middle of paper ...

... Cake, the fulfillment of her dream under the pear tree, "He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom--a pear tree blossom in the spring. He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps." (p 106) she has met the man that she was searching for.
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses symbolism to better reveal moods and emotions throughout novel. The horizon represents Janie’s goals that take most of her life to reach, Janie’s hair represents her independence and domination, and the pear tree represents love and sexuality.

Works Cited

"Symbols and Metaphors." Symbols and Metaphors. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. http://www.utm.edu/staff/jmiller/honors2005/9hurston/Symbols.htm Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Perennial Library,
1990. Print

Show More
Related

  • Pheoby In Janie's Best Friend In Eatonville

    2033 Words  | 5 Pages

    The pear tree, the ocean, the horizon, the hurricane are how Janie views nature. Hurston uses spring as a sign of fertility, blossoming sexuality, and a new start. The pear tree represents Janie blossoming into womanhood. In Janie’s eyes the pear tree represents beauty and freedom because she is able to reflect on her life, and her future. No one is telling her what to do when she sits under t...

    Read More

  • Janie’s Learning Experiences in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches" (8). When Janie was a teenager, she used to sit under the pear tree and dream about being a tree in bloom. She longs for something more. When she is 16, she kisses Johnny Taylor to see if this is what she looks for. Nanny sees her kiss him, and says that Janie is now a woman. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, the main character, is involved in three very different relationships. Zora Neale Hurston, the author, explains how Janie learns some valuable lessons about marriage, integrity, and love and happiness from her relationships with Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake.

    Read More

  • Symbolism Of Horizon In 'Hurston' By Zora Neale

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hurston invokes the symbol of horizon recurrently throughout the novel, to portray Janie’s dreams, aspirations, and her growth as a strong independent woman while attaining her horizon. The symbol, horizon, is used in both the beginning and ending of the story to represent the desire and fulfillment of Janie’s dreams. In the novel's opening sentence, the narrator introduces Janie's motivation to pursue her dreams, “Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time” (Hurst 1). The horizon in this passage represents a dream that is not easily attainable, as

    Read More

  • If Zora Neale Hurston Were Alive

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Janie and her second husband Joe Starks did not always see eye to eye some things he did for her were really sweet and compassionate. Joe knew exactly what to say to get Janie with him “De day you puts yo’ hand in mine, Ah wouldn’t let de sun go down on us single. Ah’m uh man wid principles. You ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show you” (Hurston 35). Joe says that and right then Janie has fell for him he was the one she wanted now. Joe and Janie’s relationship in the movie was very different from the book Janie had a lot to say in the movie she never kept her mouth shut. Janie had more power over Joe in the movie seemed like then Joe had over Janie. Joe was not always the best husband to Janie

    Read More

  • Contrasting Places in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston there were many contrasting places that were used to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of this work.

    Read More

  • Summary Of A Society Of One By Zora Neale Hurston

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tea Cake, in this moment, takes the initiative for Janie allowing her to move forward in her life. Through his actions, Tea Cake breaks these boundaries set by Joe thereby creating a new impression of gender

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Three Features of "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Every novel has a protagonist and an antagonist of the story. There has to be a "good guy" and "bad guy" in order for there to be some sort of an interesting plot. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, my most and least favorite characters happen to be the protagonist, Janie, and the antagonist, Jody Starks. There are many things that symbolize these characters that are both comparable and contradictory of my personality. Symbols, objects or characters that are used to represent abstract ideas or concepts, play a major role in this novel. Janie is represented by her hair and Jody by his power, wealth and status of the town. Janie Jody and the symbolic representations are the three most appealing fundamentals of the story.

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston's They Eyes Were Watching God

    2177 Words  | 5 Pages

    It’s no wonder that “[t]he hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a famous one and [that] other writers have used it in an effort to signify on Hurston” (Mills, “Hurston”). The final, climactic portion of this scene acts as the central metaphor of the novel and illustrates the pivotal interactions that Janie, the protagonist, has with her Nanny and each of her three husbands. In each relationship, Janie tries to “’go tuh God, and…find out about livin’ fuh [herself]’” (192). She does this by approaching each surrogate parental figure as one would go to God, the Father; she offers her faith and obedience to them and receives their definitions of love and protection in return. When they threaten to annihilate and hush her with these definitions, however, she uses her voice and fights to save her dream and her life. Hurston shows how Janie’s parental figures transform into metaphorical hurricanes, how a literal hurricane transforms into a metaphorical representation of Janie’s parental figures, and how Janie survives all five hurricanes.

    Read More

  • Janie and the Pear Tree in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    It had called her to come and gaze at a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously" (10). Gazing across the garden, Janie "was seeking confirmation of the voice and vision, and everywhere she found and acknowledged answers. [she longed] to be a pear tree - any tree in bloom!...

    Read More

  • Janie's Marriages in Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hurston, Lora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1990.

    Read More

  • Janie’s Courageous Voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    This final image of Janie “pulling in her horizon” contrasts with the opening image of men’s “ships at a distance.” These metaphorical ships suggest that regardless of their ultimate success or failure, men dream of great accomplishments, of working on and changing their external worlds. Even if the ship comes in, it still originates as something external. Janie’s pulling in her horizon shifts the field of action to the interior. Her quest requires experiences of the world, of other people and places, but it is ultimately directed inward.

    Read More

  • Janie's Coping Mechanism In Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    She managed to leave her Nanny’s grasp and use the opportunity to seek out her dreams, but at the same time, she had to suffer through her relationships with Logan Killicks and get emotionally and physically abused by Joe Starks. Janie achieved her dream of love by being with and loving Tea Cake, although at the end she had to kill him (since he was trying to kill her). Although she is alone yet again at the end of the novel, Janie’s journey was a triumphant one since at the end, she managed to achieve her dream of falling in love. Janie’s journey in Their Eyes Were Watching God teaches that the journey of life is a series of ups and downs and one’s resilience through

    Read More

  • The Uses Of Symbolism In The Handmaid's Tale

    1981 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some of the main symbols of the novel are The Hanging Wall, the colours of the clothing of the different women and the Eyes. All these symbols add different features to the story which are important. Some add fear, suspense, and overall they all add an important understanding of the story line. Margaret Atwood, was able to successfully create symbols which added depth and helped with the understanding of the novel. With these symbols she used in the novel she proved the importance and the positive effects strong symbolism can have with plot and character

    Read More

More about Symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Open Document