Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

3249 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sexuality essay in their eyes were watching god

Equality is meant for all humans at the moment of their birth as it is said that all are created equal by god. Yet, to this day not all are equal. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston explores negative aspects of humanity and the values, morals and ethics it promotes through thematic topics. The book uses the thematic topics of sexism, domestic relationships, racism, independence, ambition, and love to prove that equality must be earned and is not given due to the values, ethics and morals that society promotes. This truth is supported and proven by narrative conventions and other writing techniques by Zora Neale Hurston in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Zora Neale Hurston uses the theme of sexism in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, to demonstrate her truth. Hurston’s truth is that equality is not given due to society’s values and must be earned. Male dominance is valued strongly and promoted by Hurston’s society which leads to inequality. This means that in order for Janie to gain equality in her relationship she must earn it. This is proven during a conversation between Janie and Logan when he asks her to help him with the farm work. Janie refuses to help him so Logan replies by saying:

‘You ain't got no particular place. It's wherever Ah need yuh. Git uh move on yuh, and dat quick.’ ‘Mah mamma didn't tell me Ah wuz born in no hurry. So whut business Ah got rushin' now? Anyhow dat ain't whut youse mad about. Youse mad 'cause Ah don't fall down and wash-up dese sixty acres uh ground yuh got. You ain't done me no favor by marryin' me. And if dat's what you call yo'self doin', Ah don't thank yuh for it. Youse mad 'cause Ah'm tellin' yuh whut you already knowed.’ (Hurston, 31)

Janie...

... middle of paper ...

...so keep in mind that inequality should never be accepted by any human as all are meant to be, by the eyes of god, equal.

Works Cited
"Domestic Violence and Abuse." : Signs of Abuse and Abusive Relationships. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
"The Fight for Women's Suffrage." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Holt, Jennifer. "The Ideal Woman." California State University Stanislaus. California State University, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.
"Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fighting for Equal Rights in America." Tavaana. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Owens, Nick, and Nazrin Wilkinson. "Forced Marriage: Ayesha Was Repeatedly Beaten, Raped and Then Twice Almost Murdered by Her Own Family." Mirror News. N.p., 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
"Virginia Memory: John Mercer Langston." Virginia Memory: John Mercer Langston. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Janie sees Logan Killicks' perception of marriage. In the beginning, it seems like that Logan is a very nice man, who is always treating her well. “Janie felt glad of the thought, fo...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Hurston

    2115 Words  | 5 Pages

    When Janie marries Logan, her life is changed completely. She was not only forced into a loveless marriage but she was also forced into a slave like position. Logan sees nothing wrong with the marriage and when Janie complains he responds with, “Ah thought you would ‘preciate good treatement. Thought Ah’d take and make somethin’ outa yuh. You think youse white folks by de way you act” (Hurston, 42). Logan sees marriage much the same way that Nanny does; he believes that because he does not abuse her and provides the necessities that Janie should be happy. According to Tracy L. Bealer’s article “The Kiss of Memory: The Problem of Love in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God,” “Though Logan does not abuse or violate Janie, even his money proves no protection from unsatisfying labor, as his ominous purchase of a mule ‘all gentled up so even uh woman kin handle ‘im’’ (26) implies the treat of compulsive labor” (316). The physical labor was only one of the problems that Janie had in her marriage with Logan; Logan looked down on Janie for having grown up with and around white people. He would insult Janie by saying, “Considerin’ youse born in a carriage ‘thout no top to it, and yo’ mama and you bein’ born and raised in de white folks back-yard” (Hurston, 40). Logan resented that Janie did not identify with other blacks as a child and saw Janie as his lesser because of this.

    Read More

  • The Ambiguity Of Janie's Voice In Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Janie does so by choosing her new found love with Joe of the security that Logan provides. Hurston demonstrates Janie's new found ‘independence’ by the immediate marriage of Joe and Janie. Janie mistakenly chooses the pursuit of love over her pursuit of happiness and by doing so gave her independence to Joe, a man who believes a woman is a mere object; a doll. By choosing love over her own happiness Janie silences her voice. The realization of Janie's new reality is first realized when Joe states, “...nah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home()" Joe is undermining Janie, cutting short any chance for Janie to make herself heard. Joe continues to hide Janie away from society keeping her dependent and voiceless. As Janie matures, she continues to be submissive to her husband, “He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it. So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush (71).” Though Janie ‘learned to hush’, and suppress herself, Janie still urges for her voice. When the opportunity came for Janie to reclaim her voice, "But Ah ain’t goin’ outa here and Ah ain’t gointuh hush. Naw, you gointuh listen tuh me one time befo’ you die. Have yo’ way all yo’ life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let yo’self heah ‘bout

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Janie’s first relationship was with Logan Killicks. She married him only because she wanted to appease her grandmother. Logan did not truly love Janie, but saw her as an asset to increase his own power. Logan expressed this through several actions. He first tries to use her to "increase his profits" rather than treating her as a wife when he travels to Lake City to buy a second mule so Janie can use it to plow in the potato field because potatoes were "bringin' big prices”. When Janie later refused to work at his command, stating that it was not her place to do so, Logan told her, "You ain't got no particular place. It's wherever Ah need yuh". After Logan told her this, Janie decided she had to either escape or face becoming her husband's mule for life. Janie stood up to her husband. This is a feminist action because Janie is willing to leave a husband who makes her unhappy, which was rare act of independence and defiance for women living in the 1930’s. To free herself from her marriage with Logan Killicks, she only needed to invalidate the elements of his symbolic vision. She recognized that for Killicks marriage was primarily a financial arrangement, and his sixty acres acted both as a sign and guarantee of matrimonial un...

    Read More

  • Facing Inner Conflict in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    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

  • Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a result of Nanny’s desire to see Janie married to wealth, she forces Janie to marry Logan Killocks, an older black farmer who owns 60 acres and a mule. Janie does not love Logan but because Nanny pushes her into the marriage she believes love will follow marriage, but Nanny quickly says “You come head wid yo’ mouf full uh foolishness on uh busy day. Heah you got uh prop tuh lean on all yo’ bawn days, and big protection, and everybody got tuh tip dey hat tuh you and call you Mis’ Killicks, and you come worryin’ me ‘bout love." (3.17-20). Nanny believes a woman should be satisfied with her amount of property and Janie has trouble agreeing. Janie feels she has done something wrong by not being in love with L...

    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 Are Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Janie’s Nanny forces her into marrying Logan Killicks for security; Logan also lacks love and compassion for Janie and silences her. Janie cannot use her voice when she marries Logan Killicks because of her Nanny. Although Janie knows “exactly whut” she wants to say; expressing her voice is “hard to do” (Hurston 8). From the beginning, Logan does not resemble her perfect pear tree love, which to Janie means a man who instills confidence into his wife and listens to her voice. Logan falls short of fulfilling that dream as he isolates her from the community, leaving her with no voice whatsoever. Realizing her marriage lacks love and compassion which she longs for, Janie comes to understand that her relationship with Logan will not last long .Not only does Janie’s marriage to Logan stifle any hopes of exp...

    Read More

  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Leader of the Civil Rights Movement

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    Garrow, David J. "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." History Net: Where History Comes Alive. N.p., Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Harlem Renaissance was all about freedom of expression and the search for one's identity. Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, shows these goals through the main character Janie and her neighbors. Janie freely expressed what she wanted and searched for her identity with her different husbands. Even though Janie was criticized by everyone except her friends, she continued to pursue. She lost everything, but ultimately found her identity. Hurston's writing is both a reflection and a departure from the idea of the Harlem Renaissance.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    2274 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gender inequality has been a major issue for many centuries now. Societies insist in assigning males and females to different roles in life. The traditional stereotypes and norms for how a male and female should present themselves to the world have not changed much over time. But individuals are more than just their gender and should have the right to act and be treated the way they want. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    Read More

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

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston portrays the journey of Janie Crawford as an African American woman who grows and matures through the hardships and struggles of three different marriages. Although Janie is an African American, the main themes of the novel discusses the oppression of women by men, disregarding race. Janie gets married to three different men, aging from a young and naive girl to a mature and hardened women near the age of 40. Throughout the novel, Janie suffers through these relationships and learns to cope with life by blaming others and escaping her past by running away from it. These relationships are a result of Janie chasing her dreams of finding and experiencing true love, which she ultimately does in the end. Even through the suffering and happiness, Janie’s journey is a mixture of ups and downs, and at the end, she is ultimately content. Zora Neale Hurston utilizes Janie’s metaphorical thoughts and responses of blame and escape, as well as her actions towards success and fulfillment with her relationship with Tea Cake, to suggest that her journey

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston’s short story Sweat

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Zora Neale Hurston’s short story Sweat is a visceral reminder of the acute oppression and sexism women have always faced in American society. The protagonist of the story, Delia, is married to a cruel and angry man named Sykes. Through a depiction of their married life this short story shows that despite patriarchal oppression, women have exercised their agency and resisted in a myriad of ways.

    Read More

  • Gender Equality: Men And Women's Equality, Inequalities, And Equality

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    Despite the fact that, everyone is important, still as per the stats given by U.S. government, only 43 out of 148 countries gives equal rights to both men and women. Moreover, gender equality isn’t still achieved because of the fear of the women empowerment. Women empowerment does not means to overload women’s with some extra rights over men or make women dominate the world. It simply means giving women more hold on their personal choices and decision rather than taking permission from men. In sum, gain for women does not imply any losses for men. Men’s are more physically strong and women’s are more emotionally aware. But this is because of our biological origins. If given equal opportunities, who can say which one is better than the other?

    Read More

More about Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Open Document