Zora Neale Hurston best known as the author of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” published in 1937. Hurston was an author of many other masterpieces and also an anthropologist. After her mother’s death at the age of nine Zora Neale Hurston upbringing was uneasy as she jumped from house to house of relatives. After this period of sadness and reaching upon adolescent Hurston was determined to become and be someone, in the words of her mother to “jump at de sun” meaning to follow her dreams. In “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, Janie – the main character endured catastrophic relationships before finally finding what she has been longing and missing from her previous marriages. Zora Neale Hurston placed critical symbols throughout Janie’s relationships,
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She finds this out later after they marry and move to Jacksonville, Florida – where Janie was able to interact with Tea Cake’s black community and engage in society without restrictions due to her gender. Janie learns how to fish, play checkers and hunt; unlike her previous marriages “their relationship is more equal” and “satisfies Janie's spiritual needs” Telgen describes. Although Tea Cake was the ideal match for Janie, their duration of being together was only for 2 years because Tea Cake dies. His cause of death happens after the hurricane, which is the symbolic figure in this marriage. During the process of trying to escape the Everglades, Tea Cake rescues Janie from a rabid dog who bit him which results in him having a mental illness, and while experiencing this madness he accuses Janie of infidelity and tries to kill her and in order to protect herself she shoots him. The hurricane represents nature’s destructive fury and God’s power, complete opposite of the visionary behind the pear tree and horizon where nature is beautiful and pleasurable. It also displays how damaging the world can be but the aftermath provides hope for restoration, this reflects back to Janie especially “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (227) meaning she’s finally at peace with herself and no longer has to seek. At the end of this exploration, Zora Neale Hurston placed significant symbols in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” which were uncovered during this exploration. The discovery behind each symbol enhanced the plot context and added more meaning behind Janie’s story. It wasn’t just about a woman finding true love but also finding and loving herself – her identity. The tribulations each marriage put her through taught her a lesson and gave her strength to continue going. Diane Telgen,
She finds this out later after they marry and move to Jacksonville, Florida – where Janie was able to interact with Tea Cake’s black community and engage in society without restrictions due to her gender. Janie learns how to fish, play checkers and hunt; unlike her previous marriages “their relationship is more equal” and “satisfies Janie's spiritual needs” Telgen describes. Although Tea Cake was the ideal match for Janie, their duration of being together was only for 2 years because Tea Cake dies. His cause of death happens after the hurricane, which is the symbolic figure in this marriage. During the process of trying to escape the Everglades, Tea Cake rescues Janie from a rabid dog who bit him which results in him having a mental illness, and while experiencing this madness he accuses Janie of infidelity and tries to kill her and in order to protect herself she shoots him. The hurricane represents nature’s destructive fury and God’s power, complete opposite of the visionary behind the pear tree and horizon where nature is beautiful and pleasurable. It also displays how damaging the world can be but the aftermath provides hope for restoration, this reflects back to Janie especially “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (227) meaning she’s finally at peace with herself and no longer has to seek. At the end of this exploration, Zora Neale Hurston placed significant symbols in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” which were uncovered during this exploration. The discovery behind each symbol enhanced the plot context and added more meaning behind Janie’s story. It wasn’t just about a woman finding true love but also finding and loving herself – her identity. The tribulations each marriage put her through taught her a lesson and gave her strength to continue going. Diane Telgen,