Theme Of Racism In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Superior Essays
Racism is “the unfair treatment of people who belong to a different race” (Hornby 1248). In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston comments on race relations. “The novel seems to ask if race is not, after all, socially constructed—that is to say, categories not based on biology but on concepts thought up by humans” (Sharon 189). Hurston focuses on the loss of the Blacks’ identity in society. A significant example that sheds the light of the history of blacks in America is the character Nanny. She has said: “colored folks is branches without roots” (Hurston 16). Thus the character of Nanny, Janie’s grandmother, plays a very important role. She does not only represent the slave past and the liberation, but also the disorder that accompanied …show more content…
Janie has been called “Alphabet” by others because many people have named her different names. So, she has lost her real name in the process of giving her many names. This is manifested in “Dey all useter call me Alphabet ’cause so many people had done named me different names” (Hurston 9). Furthermore, Nanny points out to Janie that the black woman is like the “mule”, bearing the burdens of labor and work for others and not being appreciated. Black women are always treated like animals. That is why she has told her grandchild: “And Ah can’t die easy thinkin’ maybe de menfolks white or black is makin’ a spit cup outa you” (Hurston …show more content…
The jury consists of all white men. Both whites and blacks attend the trial, although they are described as being separate. “Ironically, the black people act more negatively to Janie, suggesting that they would have judged her more harshly than the white men. The white women, on the other hand, have applauded when the prosecutor silences a man who wants to testify against Janie; these women sob in joy when the verdict is handed down. After the trial, some suggest that the white male jury ruled in Janie’s favor because of her Caucasian features and light skin color; others note that killing is seen as acceptable when it involves black people, and that white men and black women are the most free people” (Sharon 192). This scene explains that even justice has been affected by race. The judges are white men whom judge a black woman in a black community. The scene is a commentary on the injustice of the judicial

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Janie grandmother was born into slavery, she then pressured Janie into a secure but loveless marriage. Like Janie, Hurston childhood was not together with her parents, when Hurston as nine her mom died, she was then also…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Hurston’s book “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, the tone shows deep appreciation and celebration of the affluence of African-American culture. Many scenes dwell on colorful stories and playful conversations among neighbors in black communities. More than anything, Hurston’s text is compassionate toward all of its characters. Although Janie -the main character-condemns some characters for their unforgivable sins, the text takes the time to explain the thoughts and emotions of every major character giving readers the context necessary to understand why each character acts. Readers can see the often-logical, and emotional motivations for each character’s…

    • 96 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, the protagonist, struggles between two identities, her exterior life, a life drawn from the white world foisted upon her, and her interior life, a more vigorous free black woman, this being the one she tries to forge for herself throughout the novel. The relationship that Janie has with her Nanny ultimately set’s the stage for the conflict regarding her interior and exterior life. In addition to Nanny, her first two husbands Logan and Joe act as the sole cause that separates Janie’s interior and exterior lives while Janie’s third and final husband, Tea Cake, is what causes her to begin the reconciliation of the conflict regarding these two lives. As the novel begins we come…

    • 1919 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston explores the life of a southern black woman, Janie Crawford whose three marriages of domineering control of men make her acknowledge her independence and self-satisfaction as an African-American woman. Set in the early 1900s, Hurston reveals the dominant role of men in southern society and one woman’s journey toward finding herself and God. Summary: Janie Crawford is a southern African-American woman who grows up under the care of her grandmother.…

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, she uses a lot of symbolism and references to nature through the story of the main character, Janie, in her lifetime. The use of tree symbolism is the most common in the first half of Hurston’s novel starting with how “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) In the beginning of the book, we understand that Janie has just been on a journey full of wonderful and terrible things. When Janie arrives home from her journey, her friend Pheoby goes to Janie’s house and Janie begins telling her life story to her friend whom she hasn’t seen in a long time.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The documentary The African Americans Many Rivers to Cross tells that nearly 1.6 million African Americans migrated north into the booming economy of places such as Harlem that was predominately white. That is, until 1910 when African Americans quickly outnumbered the white population in 1980 and actually made up more than 90 percent of the city’s population. Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance as represented in Janie’s self-discovery, self-acceptance and changing independence in rural black communities within Florida during the 1920s and 30s. Mrs. Turner in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel reflects the general relationship between black and white people during the Harlem…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    During one time or another one will go about trying to find their one and true love. Similarly, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie searches to gain unconditional and true love like that between the pear tree and its surroundings in Nanny 's backyard. As a result of her quest for this love Janie realizes that although her marriage with Tea Cake was far from perfect, it worked for her as she found and realized that true love does exist. Hurston by no way wants us to aspire to be like them but shows the coming together of two individuals to create something much bigger. Hurston displays Janie 's chase after her vision of ideal love through the use of symbolism and nature imagery to show that as love strengthens perfection loses its meaning.…

    • 1940 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    (539) Hurston, however, quite enjoyed when strangers would pass through and would sit on top of a gate post to talk to them. She did not quite grasp the difference between herself and white people except that “they rode through the town and never lived there” (539) As racism was not a large part of her community and because of her upbringing, she did not fully realize the negative impact it had on her fellow African-Americans. It was only until her move to Jacksonville, where she was put into a school with white children, that she understood this. She states that she is “not tragically colored,” the constant judgement holding no effect over her unlike so many others.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Character development in literature can be extremely well illustrated through literary techniques. One novel in particular, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, is written in such a way that literary devices accomplish this purpose. Because of her use of various literary techniques, Hurston is able to develop Janie as a character and free her from the judgement that she experiences throughout the novel. The novel opens with the conclusion of Janie’s struggles.…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout this essay, Hurston says that she does "not always feel colored" (Hurston 1111). She means that she is more aware of her color when she is against a "white background" and "when covered by waters...the ebb but reveals me again" (1111). Despite being more aware of the stark contrast of skin color, Hurston recovers from any discomfort and revels in herself. She also says she is a "brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall...in company with other bags, white, red and yellow" (1112).…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, a Marxist view is displayed in the setting of the twentieth century. During this period of time, the blacks were finally receiving some freedom from the whites, but there was still segregation between the two colors. There were also distinctions in class. Janie is an African American that has fairly white skin, and she has three marriages, each in different classes. Throughout the novel, she experiences different classes and social relations.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “How it Feels to be Colored Me”, Hurston talks about these early instances of her oblivion to her skin color or “otherness” as called by White American Society. Hurston claims that although racism and other determents have happened in her life, she is “not tragically colored” (1041). Hurston refuses to undermine her place in the world. She encourages a sense of empowerment rather than playing the “victim card”.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One things that continuously goes on around in the world is racism. Racism is the belief that all of one race has things they can or can’t do and can also bring one race higher than the other. Everyone knows how it has affected our country. Zora was one to put that fact behind her, and did what she wanted, or what she has to bring out into this world. Zora Neale Hurston, who was born in 1891 on January 6th, was educated in public schools until going to a university, worked at several other jobs before becoming a published author and has won many awards for her writing, including, Anisfield-wolf Book Award, Charles mac author award, and the Guggenheim fellowship award.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie battles cultural norms by marrying for love instead of the traditional reasons of money and security. Throughout the novel Janie is dissatisfied with inability to voice herself and in finding a voice she is able to break free of societal constructs. Janie has to negotiate how to carry herself in response to others, which leads to Janie breaking the mold women are expected to fit into. She is able t find herself through her ability to recognize she does not want to live as a pawn in someone else’s life.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This novel is the story of Janie’s journey to find herself, which is--in this case--synonymous with finding God. This journey is a complex one, spanning over much of Janie’s life. It is such a lengthy road due to the corruption Janie has suffered from those she has been surrounded by--in fact, consumed by. It is not a singular experience which Hurston relates through the character of Janie, it is a universal one.…

    • 2245 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays