Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston revolves around one woman, Janie, on her journey to self-discovery. Janie loses herself amidst the chaos that is society and must struggle through difficult circumstances and through many long years before she finds what she is looking for. Janie is not only searching for herself, she is on that universal quest all people must make in order to understand life. She says, “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves”(Hurston 192). 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. Human beings are created and evolve through their personal connections and relationships to those around them. In Janie’s case, the people …show more content…
Through the other characters in the novel it can be seen how vastly the world and society has changed people and turned them away from the natural state of life and living to a state of obsession with worldly things. “… Their Eyes Were Watching God casts a disapproving eye on modern man who has lost his “natural-ness”--killed the flesh and blood of his body, as it were, in his incessant pursuit of power, industrialization, and money. … modern man, by suppressing his sexuality, his “flesh and blood,” has chosen the lesser part and by doing so has denied himself LIFE”(Howard 95). Janie lives in a world where all others are concerned with position and advancement, completely overlooking or casting aside the importance of happiness and fulfillment in the human