First Impressions In Their Eyes Were Watching God

A first impression of an individual is very important because it affects how that person is treated and viewed. Although first impressions are important and ground breaking, they can often be as misleading as they are helpful in regards to figuring someone out. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, a character named Joe Starks is a good example of how first impressions can be deceiving. At first glance, Joe seems like a standup guy who wants to take Janie away from a poor situation, and start a town and help it grow. Although seemingly very noble, his kindness and supportiveness wear off. After a second reading, it is easy to see through his cloak of deceit right from the get go, rather than when it is too late for Janie. …show more content…
His personality as a whole is deceiving because he seems like he is caring, but in reality he is doing it for his own personal gain. The way in which he dresses perfectly describes his character because it is an outward manifestation of Joe’s pride and confidence which leads him to dress better than those he considers his inferiors. However, his flamboyant, showboating attire also reveals his vanity. Indeed, Joe’s entire lifestyle revolves around his high esteem of his manhood. Joe mixes conceptions of manhood with his right to power, wealth, and authority. Thus, he considers himself perfectly justified not only in building up the town but ruling it, deciding who can live there, and whose opinion counts. His high-handed tyranny of Eatonville often has the inhabitants grumbling and comparing him to white slave masters. And indeed, Joe resembles the white man in more than one way. He is well-fed and somewhat portly, like the well-to-do bourgeois Caucasians. He also carries himself with all the confidence and authority of a man sure to get what he wants. Though Janie initially admires these attributes in Joe, she quickly finds that too much of this good thing can quickly become stifling and