Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

Everyone is impacted by the society that they live in. Even if someone actively works against the “norms” of their society, it’s still impacting them. This idea is explored in almost every work of fiction, especially in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Throughout the book, our protagonist Janie Crawford strives towards her dream: a love that makes her feel the way she feels when she’s watching bees pollinate a pear tree. Every time she tries to make a choice that would lead her closer to that, society puts up a wall between her and the pear tree. The first time society interferes with Janie’s love life is through her grandmother. Janie has her first taste of the pear tree love when she kisses Johnny Taylor, and immediately her grandmother goes out and yells at her. Janie’s grandmother slaps her and tells her that she’s going to be married to Logan Killicks. Janie’s pure vision of a pear tree style love is forever tarnished from the moment she imagines marrying Logan. Her grandmother presents the argument that what Janie needs more than …show more content…
Janie already knows that Joe won’t be what she wants, but he’s better than Logan. Society in the form of Joe himself is preventing her from the pear tree love. Throughout the years Janie and Joe are married, Joe forces his ideas of what a wife should be onto her, saying things like “she’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (43) and thinking that only he has the right to see Janie’s hair. That is definitely not the symbiotic love she dreamed of. However, Janie keeps going, all the while hiding half of herself from everyone else. Then Joe slaps her. Janie realizes that inside of her is still hope for a pear tree love that she probably won’t ever get. From that moment until Joe dies, Janie is numb all the time so that she never feels too much and gets hurt