Many consider mules to be substandard animals, only useful for labor-intensive tasks. Yet, in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, mules represent more than just a poor, defenseless animal. The way men treat them in Eatonville reflects the condition of the black female, as it serves as a symbol of Janie’s struggle in her relationship with Joe. In fact, the mule and its subsequent mistreatment represents how African-American females are comparative to these second-rate workhorses, thus justifying their oppressors’ abuse over his possession, whether that possession is his wife, or his mule. To begin, Matt Bonner mistreats his mule by not feeding him enough food.…
Janie a young African American lady was faced with a choice between, love, romance, happiness and stability, sensibility and family approval. One man an old farmer asked for her hand in marriage. Janie knew if she said yes she would be taken care of but not always happy. A young man with lots of money how ever, stole Janie 's heart and gave her the choice to risk her future and run away with him. This risk would allow janie 's romantic desires to run wild and let her child like freedom sing.…
Weather plays an important part in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, specifically during the hurricane. Just as Janie begins to live an ideal life with Tea Cake, it is destroyed by the hurricane. The hurricane both changes the mood of the book and eventually leads to the demise of Tea Cake. It marks the turning point in Janie and Tea Cake’s perfect lives and relationship before they begin to face the hardships brought about by the hurricane.…
Ages of Love Being in love is tough, but after craving affection for so long, our main character finally found what she was looking for. Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, we, the readers, follow Janie, the main character’s life over a number of years. In the beginning, Janie lies under a pear tree dreaming about what love is like, but by the end of the book, she achieves the love desired. It defiantly took longer than she expected, but her dreams finally came true with her last husband, Tea Cake. Some other main character included Nanny, Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, Tea Cake and Phoebe Watson.…
Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Namesake - Compare and Contrast Essay Experiences and overcoming conflicts can either help one achieve self realization or hinder their view of himself. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, both Janie and Gogol Ganguli struggle to find their true identity due to a lack of support from their relationships, societal discrimination and negative experiences. Ultimately, both Janie and Gogol are able to overcome these obstacles through determination which helps them achieve self-realization.…
The ending of Their Eyes Were Watching God is overall optimistic. Janie Crawford, at a young age, saw a glimpse of the excitement of freedom, but once she realised the fullness in life that she desired, she could not have it. Her grandmother, who only had her best interests in mind, was the first of many to repress Janie’s character along with her identity. Janie spent most of her life being someone other than her true self, and struggled to accept the restrained freedom. From husband to husband she discovers different types of freedom but is never truly happy until she found Tea Cup, her first real love.…
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Janie Crawford dreamed of a love which resembled a pear tree from her childhood. The pear tree was simple, sweet, and symbolized reciprocal love. Through her journey to discover this ideal love, Janie encountered people who failed to tie her down and control her and their own fate. However, despite multiple characters attempting to control their fate, the hurricane scene reveals that none of the people had or will ever have any control over their future.…
Love is crucial to one of the most important themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, love in many different forms are displayed. In this novel, when Janie marries Logan for the sake of her grandmother’s satisfaction, she immediately realizes that she doesn’t love Logan as a husband in any shape or form. Logan rarely shows Janie any form of affection to display that he loves her. Janie’s relationship with Joe Starks is somewhat similar to the relationship that she had with Logan.…
Janie was a young girl who was willing to do anything to find love. She compared her life to a pear tree. Janie wanted to be loved and kissed by someone like the bees loved the tree. Throughout the book, Janie was struggling to find her identity because she kept looking to find happiness in guys instead of making herself happy. Janie aimed to make everyone else happy and please them, but then she realized that she needed to make herself happy and do things for herself.…
Society has the tendency to worship famous or well achieved people, but do those celebrities really deserve to get that credit? Even above God? The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is set in a post slavery time before the Great Depression. The central character, Janie Crawford, grew up in Florida as a member of the low class, because she and her family are black. Her only family is her nanny who encourages her to get married and have a life she believes Janie deserves, but her first marriage does not go well and she runs away.…
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a novel about Janie Crawford, an African American girl with white heritage, recalling her life since she left Eatonville, Florida. The book begins with Janie telling her story to her friend Phoebe. Starting at her childhood, Janie explains how she was raised by her grandmother and fills Phoebe in on the most defining events during that time. She explains how she found out she was not white like the other children she was around and recalls her first kiss with Johnnie under a pear tree, which fueled her grandmother’s desire to marry her off. Less interested in whether or not Janie was in love, she was soon married off to a farmer by the name of Logan Killicks in order to ensure she had a good social status and financial security.…
A way to mark a new beginning in your life is to dive into a pond and watch god - at least that’s what Janie does in the film adaptation of Their Eyes Were Watching God. The central theme of the film centers around the main character, Janie, and her search for true love and happiness. We get to see Janie struggle through two painful relationships before she finds “the one”. The film follows Janie as she pushes through a failed arranged marriage to Logan Killicks, and an abusive relationship to Joe Starks. She eventually meets a much younger man named Tea Cake, who shows her a new way and meaning to life.…
The roles of women in Their Eyes Were Watching God vary and are very interesting in chapter one through six. In the beginning, Nanny tell how men were able to take the innocence, sexually, from women. Nanny was raped by her slave owner, and then she had her baby daughter. She then was abused by the slave owner’s wife when she saw the complexion of the baby and knew it was her husbands’. Nanny was able to escape without being killed herself and having her baby taken away.…
Alice Walker states,“While many women had found their voices, they also knew when it was better not to use it.” Janie Crawford must find her voice in a world where oppression of women is common. For Janie, finding her voice does not only mean being able to speak up for herself, but also realizing who she is as a person. In her early years, people limit Janie’s voice because of the belief that a woman’s opinions are not valuable. As she grows older, Janie finds her voice, and she also learns how to respect others’ opinions.…
Symbols are commonly used in writing and some authors have a special talent for applying them. Zora Hurston uses many symbols in her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. I believe her use of living organisms as symbols allows her to convey ideas about people. For example, she uses mules, buzzards, and a pear tree to symbolize complex ideas including her idea of a perfect relationship. To start off, the mule in Their Eyes Were Watching God represents hardworking people who deserve a break in their lives.…