Their Eyes Were Watching God Symbolism

To achieve a dream is to achieve your horizon. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston introduced readers to the value of the horizon by the main character in the book Janie who played a role in achieving her horizon. Janie was on a search for her horizon, yet during that search came a journey filled with many obstacles. Janie went through a few obstacles to reach her horizon to the point she ended up having hate towards her Nanny and Joe Starks for trying to take the horizon away from her. Janie revealed to readers that the horizon had different meanings. To Janie the horizon meant freedom, love, and so much more. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the horizon is created through Janie’s involvements through her journey …show more content…
Many of the phases of Janie’s life trusted on her goal of searching and reaching the horizon she felt her grandmother took away from her. While married to Joe Starks, her second husband, the appearance of the horizon appears while watching the sunset on the porch. The image of the horizon describes the fact that Janie is not satisfied with the marriage she has with Joe Starks, due to the fact Joe was controlling, mean, jealous, and abusive with his words towards Janie. In the words of Joe “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothing’ bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothing lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (Hurston, 43). Joe Starks was taking away Janie’s horizon by the way he treated her during the time they were married. After Joe’s death, Janie felt a weight of her shoulder, but in the process of that weight being lifted of her shoulders, she also meets Teacake. Later on teacake convince her to change her location. Janie goes to the train station at sunrise to meet and marry Tea Cake. The train supports the sign of Janie’s hope that it will lead to the horizon she been long looking for. Right there and then readers identify the horizon represents Janie’s future and her journey to find freedom, love and …show more content…
Janie battles through her marriage associated with hardships she encountered with Logan, and Starks, searching for this state of gratification, shown by Zora Hurston which is the “horizon.” To Janie, the horizon implies to true love and the freedom to do what she wants. When Janie moved away from Nanny to Logan, then away from Logan to Jody, and finally away from Jody to Tea Cake, within that movement and change of location Janie was closer to the horizon she was in search for which was happiness, love and