Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston uses mid-1920s Florida in Their Eyes Were Watching God to shine light on the limitations of living in a post-slavery society. Although discriminatory limitations exist, Hurston stresses the importance of nature in disrupting these preconceived notions of race. Through her descriptions of the pear tree and the hurricane, Hurston shows how nature has the ability to overpower the hegemonic confinements of society by encouraging idealistic thought and overshadowing racial barriers.

By offering Jainie’s an idealistic escape from Nanny’s hegemonic realism, nature proves to be a force that can overcome constrictive expectations. Nanny has a limited understanding of what a woman can be because she is “born back due in slavery…[and

couldn’t] fulfill [her] dreams of what a woman oughta be and to do” (16). When Nanny communicates with Jainie, she doesn’t want her to experience the same oppressive, turbulent life she once faced.

Nanny wants Jainie to be pragmatic – to marry a rich man and to “take a stand on high ground lak Ah dreamed,” safe from all oppression (16). Lying under the pear tree, however, Jainie is overwhelmed by the power of nature. Looking at the “glistening leaf-buds…[and the] snowy virginity of the bloom,” Jainie is “stirred…tremendously” by the organic light emanating from the tree above her, showing how nature enables her “to detect the gleam of light” as suggested by Emerson (10, Emerson). Jainie’s orgasmic descriptions of her surroundings also reveal how nature encourages her idealistic perspective on life, further suggesting how Jainie has the potential to access transcendence in the presence of nature. After spending “three days” under the pear tree, Jainie reflects on her experience with nature as the “beginning of the world” she envisions for herself (10,11). The pear tree also

gives Jainie the power of critical thought and observation. “Stretched on her back beneath the pear tree,” Jainie notices “the inaudible voice…of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze,” proving herself to be a sensitive observer of the hidden, divine lying with nature itself (11). By offering Jainie an escape from Nanny’s realistic “vision…[which] desecrates” her experience with the natural world, nature offers Jainie inspiration through idealistic thought (14).
In a post-slavery society ridden with racial hegemony and discrimination, the hurricane reveals how nature has the ability to overpower these man-made societal constructs.

During the hurricane, many actively escape the force of nature. When Jainie and Tea Cake try to climb to higher elevation, they exclusively notice “white people” at the most accessible safe point, revealing the racialized nature of their society (164). Not only are white people and black people separated from each other, but white people are safe from the destruction without trekking on “miles further…[without] reset” like the black people (164). Unfortunately, many people are unable to escape the force of nature. In the thick of the hurricane, Jainie notes how “the time was past for asking the white folks what to look for through [the] door,” showing how nature overpowers racial hegemony and any preconceived notions of race (159). Before the hurricane, black people turn to the “white folks,” who have some exclusive access to information, for their information. During the hurricane, however, everyone, regardless of race, turns their attention away from race and towards nature, a far more powerful force than man itself. Furthermore, the lake getting “madder and madder” and eventually breaking through the manmade “dikes” serves as a metaphor for nature overcoming and overpowering the similarly-manmade societal constructs

(159).
By inspiring idealistic thought in Jainie and overshadowing man-made racial barriers, the natural world shows how it is capable of overcoming the hegemonic confinements of society. Lying under the pear tree, Jainie feels genuine inspiration, as she feels dreams of her future ahead of herself. Not bounded by Nanny’s limiting expectations, Jainie is free to turn inwards and seek her own truths. Likewise, the hurricane also overwhelms hegemony, albeit in a different manner. Throughout the text, Hurston establishes the racial tensions present in Florida society. By causing mass casualties of both races, Nature proves itself to be a powerful force that is capable of uprooting manmade societal constructs.