New forms of literature reveal themselves to the world everyday. In many ways, they are all different from each other; the style, the composure, the tone just to name a few. However, one major item unites them all, this item being a integral message hidden in the shadows and cracks of the piece of art. This is often accomplished through the use of symbolism and imagery, two crucial items which, when combined, transform the mind of the reader to Rembrandt’s white canvas. Few novels are able to transcend time using their messages, and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of them. As Janie Crawford, the protagonist of the novel, embarks upon her journey to the horizon in a desperate search for love, Hurston fills the novel’s
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The pear tree and the bee are introduced early on in the novel in Janie’s youth. It was at a time when “[s]he was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees...” (Hurston 11). Shortly after, the symbol of the bee “[sinking] into the sanctum of a bloom..” essentially depicts Janie’s sexual awakening, leaving her “limp and languid”(Hurston 11). This rapid maturation show the Janie’s first desire for the bee for her blossom, and thrusts her into this journey to find her bee. Later on, against her wishes, Janie is placed into a marriage with Logan Killicks, and it is at this point when Janie realizes that Logan fails to be the bee in her life. Janie tries to love Logan. She really does. In fact, she goes to speak with her grandmother, telling her “Maybe if somebody was to tell me how, Ah could do it” (Hurston 23). However, when her grandmother blatantly tells Janie that love, she realizes that her quest for love has been truncated, especially when she compares Logan’s residence in the woods to “a stump in the middle of the woods” (Hurston 21). As Janie goes on with her quest in the novel, she finally finds love, in the form of a young man named Tea Cake. She believes “[he] could be a bee to a blossom - a pear tree blossom in the spring” (Hurston 106). Janie finds …show more content…
Hurston, like a painter, uses these simple items to illustrate a much larger idea, something that Janie is fighting society for. Checkers first appear during Janie’s oppressive marriage with Joe Starks. Joe treats Janie like an abused animal, rarely respecting her and constantly bringing her to her knees using his power. He never allows her to participate in anything, as shown in a scene where he denies her the right to play right after stopping her from speaking to other people (Hurston 75). This oppressive relationship eventually allows for Janie to summon the courage to find her own voice, and she finally finds Tea Cake, a person who respects, her individuality and her equality. Tea Cake teaches her how to play checkers, thinking that “[Janie’s] gointuh be uh good player too, after while” (Hurston 96). And it’s not only checkers. Tea Cake, in addition, teachers her how to wield a gun (Hurston 131). Janie’s equality is an idea that Tea Cake admires and respects. Hurston, like a magician, create a grand idea using simple items like the gun and the game of
The pear tree and the bee are introduced early on in the novel in Janie’s youth. It was at a time when “[s]he was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees...” (Hurston 11). Shortly after, the symbol of the bee “[sinking] into the sanctum of a bloom..” essentially depicts Janie’s sexual awakening, leaving her “limp and languid”(Hurston 11). This rapid maturation show the Janie’s first desire for the bee for her blossom, and thrusts her into this journey to find her bee. Later on, against her wishes, Janie is placed into a marriage with Logan Killicks, and it is at this point when Janie realizes that Logan fails to be the bee in her life. Janie tries to love Logan. She really does. In fact, she goes to speak with her grandmother, telling her “Maybe if somebody was to tell me how, Ah could do it” (Hurston 23). However, when her grandmother blatantly tells Janie that love, she realizes that her quest for love has been truncated, especially when she compares Logan’s residence in the woods to “a stump in the middle of the woods” (Hurston 21). As Janie goes on with her quest in the novel, she finally finds love, in the form of a young man named Tea Cake. She believes “[he] could be a bee to a blossom - a pear tree blossom in the spring” (Hurston 106). Janie finds …show more content…
Hurston, like a painter, uses these simple items to illustrate a much larger idea, something that Janie is fighting society for. Checkers first appear during Janie’s oppressive marriage with Joe Starks. Joe treats Janie like an abused animal, rarely respecting her and constantly bringing her to her knees using his power. He never allows her to participate in anything, as shown in a scene where he denies her the right to play right after stopping her from speaking to other people (Hurston 75). This oppressive relationship eventually allows for Janie to summon the courage to find her own voice, and she finally finds Tea Cake, a person who respects, her individuality and her equality. Tea Cake teaches her how to play checkers, thinking that “[Janie’s] gointuh be uh good player too, after while” (Hurston 96). And it’s not only checkers. Tea Cake, in addition, teachers her how to wield a gun (Hurston 131). Janie’s equality is an idea that Tea Cake admires and respects. Hurston, like a magician, create a grand idea using simple items like the gun and the game of