In Their Eyes Were Watching God and in Of Mice and Men, both novels have, in a sense, tragic endings. However, in Of Mice and Men, the ending has a greater deadly conclusion. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie has the ever present dream of achieving her hopes of a equally happy and mutually respectful marriage. Janie, in a way, achieves her dream of happiness, even though her husband, Tea Cake, is no longer present, yet she finds a sense of peace by the ending of the novel. In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie also aspire to fulfill their dreams of a country house, isolated from the horrors of society that lets them lead their lives as they want. But, in contrast, George and Lennie never attain this goal and the conclusion of the novel
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In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie is a black woman in the early 1900s, pressured by her grandmother to get married. Hurston portrays Janie’s ideal lifestyle as a marriage consisting of the simplest attributes; equality, happiness, and love. By the end of the novel, Janie attains this ideal love with Tea Cake. For example, “The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall” (Hurston 193). Hurston illustrates her dream and lets the character Janie access this goal and find peace by the end of the novel. For instance, “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish net…She called in her soul to come and see” (Hurston 193). Janie attains the nirvanic state she has been striving for since the beginning of the novel and reaches her optimum ambition. Dissimilarly, George and Lennie are hard working men, with all signs pointing them to being farm hands for the rest of their days. For instance, George states, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place” (Steinbeck 13). Lennie and George’s ultimate goal is to break off from the stereotype and be able to provide for themselves, as well as to live their life as they want. For instance, as George tries to sooth Lennie, he says, “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future” (Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie strive to attain this aspiration, yet they never reach this goal. Steinbeck portrays their dream, even though it is never reached to emphasize the conventional theme of The American Dream, which was a common idea at that time
In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie is a black woman in the early 1900s, pressured by her grandmother to get married. Hurston portrays Janie’s ideal lifestyle as a marriage consisting of the simplest attributes; equality, happiness, and love. By the end of the novel, Janie attains this ideal love with Tea Cake. For example, “The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall” (Hurston 193). Hurston illustrates her dream and lets the character Janie access this goal and find peace by the end of the novel. For instance, “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish net…She called in her soul to come and see” (Hurston 193). Janie attains the nirvanic state she has been striving for since the beginning of the novel and reaches her optimum ambition. Dissimilarly, George and Lennie are hard working men, with all signs pointing them to being farm hands for the rest of their days. For instance, George states, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place” (Steinbeck 13). Lennie and George’s ultimate goal is to break off from the stereotype and be able to provide for themselves, as well as to live their life as they want. For instance, as George tries to sooth Lennie, he says, “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future” (Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie strive to attain this aspiration, yet they never reach this goal. Steinbeck portrays their dream, even though it is never reached to emphasize the conventional theme of The American Dream, which was a common idea at that time