Analysis Of Hurston's Hierarchy Of Needs

As demonstrated by psychologist Abraham Maslow, it is impossible for one to achieve a higher level of human prosperity if basic human needs remain unfulfilled. Maslow is memorialized for his creation of a structured model known as the hierarchy of needs. It models individual’s growth, beginning at basic human needs and moving upwards towards esteem, belonging, ego, and eventually self-actualization. Maslow once wrote, “[i]f the essential core of the person is denied or suppressed, he gets sick sometimes in obvious ways, sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes immediately, sometimes later.” Through these words, Maslow demonstrates his belief that all aspects of one’s life work collectively. If one’s “essential core,” or true identity, is suppressed, …show more content…
Later in the novel, dehumanizing imagery is seen when Joe blames Janie for misplacing a document. As he becomes heavily aggravated, he lashes out at Janie by stating, “"It would be pitiful if Ah didn’t. Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows”(#). By Joe’s confining images of Janie such as “chicken and cows”, Hurston implies that through this oppression, Janie is dehumanized. Chickens and cows are farm animals, most often seen caged in fences. In choosing these specific animals, Hurston creates a connection between farm animals in captivity and Janie’s free will being subdued by Joe. By creating this parallel, Hurston argues that through societal divides such as gender gaps, a repressive social ranking similar to that hierarchy between humans and animals is formed. Individuals lower in this social order are unable to express their voice effectively. Women and racial minorities were viewed as ignorant during the Harlem Renaissance because of their low position within their society, thus their voices were neglected. However, as women and African Americans have continued to voice their opinions, the hierarchy has begun to diminish. Hurston displays this strong correlation between dehumanizing hierarchal position and voice throughout her novel, arguing that the two interact …show more content…
Hurston uses degrading imagery in comparison to lack of speech, showing that without an active voice, one cannot grow as a self-actualized individual. While narrating Janie’s lack of speech in regards to Jody, Hurston writes, “No matter what Jody did, she said nothing. She had learned how to talk some and leave some. She was a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels”(). Through the phrase “no matter what”, it is clear that Janie is unable to express her voice and must remain silent in the presence of Jody. “No matter what” implies ‘under no circumstance’, and by choosing this specific phrase, Hurston illustrates that Janie remains silent in all instances, not only when she chooses to be. Additionally, through the diction choice of the word “learned”, the reader is able to understand even more deeply the root of Janie’s silence. “Learned” means to have acquired knowledge based on one’s surrounding environment. Janie’s silence is not a form of power or rebellion, it is something she has determined to be in her best interest. Hurston then compares Janie’s forced silence with the term ‘rut in the road’. A rut in the road is a groove or depression formed in the road caused by continuous wear of wheels traveling over it. A rut is essentially the lowest point on the ground,