Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston follows the life of Janie, a black woman in the South during the early 1900s, as she grows up and discovers the complicated nature of life and love. The novel begins with Janie, as a young girl, being raised by her grandmother. Worried about her old age, and inability to protect her granddaughter, “Nanny” arranged for Janie to marry an older man, Logan, when Janie was only sixteen. In this relationship, many of Janie’s expectations were not met. Janie anticipated living like a “proper” woman where she cooked and cleaned and was well taken care of by her spouse. Logan rejected that idea and instead demanded she help with outdoor tasks, like chopping wood, which she believed to be a man’s job.
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Following years trapped in her loveless marriage, Janie became enthralled with a younger, dazzling man, Joe Starks. Contrasting Logan’s unconventional requests of Janie, which were antithetical to her belief of a “woman’s role”, Joe instead strongly enforced gender roles. In one of the first encounters between Joe and Janie, Joe criticized Logan’s treatment of Janie, claiming “A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on the front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you” (29). Her passion for Joe, and the life he promised, enticed Janie, leading her to leave Logan and start a new life with Joe. In their new town, Eatonville, she was taken under the spell of Joe’s grand promises of luxury and love, however, they turned out to be empty promises. While Janie lived more like a “proper woman” and was given material luxuries, she learned that traditional gender roles failed to protect her from …show more content…
Firstly, when depicting Shukumar and Shoba’s morning routines, the author describes how their habits have shifted after the loss of their baby: “Until September he had been diligent if not dedicated, summarizing chapters, outlining arguments on pads of yellow lined paper. But now he would lie in their bed until he grew bored, gazing at his side of the closet which Shoba always left partly open, at the row of tweed jackets and corduroy trousers he would not have to choose from to teach his classes that semester” (4). This quote depicts many reversals of gender roles that led to resentment between the couple. While Shoba returned to work after the loss of their child, Shukumar remained sheltered at home - seemingly aimless. This contradicts classic gender roles of a woman staying home while a man works, as well as the idea that a woman takes maternity leave and a man returns to his career after the birth of a baby. In this case, due to the death of their child, it seems Shukumar took “grief” leave, while Shoba returned to work hastily. The author is using a literary strategy, “show not tell” to depict the growing resentment between the pair. When referring to the part of the closet that Shoba always left partly open that exposed Shukumar’s unused work attire, the author is showing the reader
Following years trapped in her loveless marriage, Janie became enthralled with a younger, dazzling man, Joe Starks. Contrasting Logan’s unconventional requests of Janie, which were antithetical to her belief of a “woman’s role”, Joe instead strongly enforced gender roles. In one of the first encounters between Joe and Janie, Joe criticized Logan’s treatment of Janie, claiming “A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on the front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you” (29). Her passion for Joe, and the life he promised, enticed Janie, leading her to leave Logan and start a new life with Joe. In their new town, Eatonville, she was taken under the spell of Joe’s grand promises of luxury and love, however, they turned out to be empty promises. While Janie lived more like a “proper woman” and was given material luxuries, she learned that traditional gender roles failed to protect her from …show more content…
Firstly, when depicting Shukumar and Shoba’s morning routines, the author describes how their habits have shifted after the loss of their baby: “Until September he had been diligent if not dedicated, summarizing chapters, outlining arguments on pads of yellow lined paper. But now he would lie in their bed until he grew bored, gazing at his side of the closet which Shoba always left partly open, at the row of tweed jackets and corduroy trousers he would not have to choose from to teach his classes that semester” (4). This quote depicts many reversals of gender roles that led to resentment between the couple. While Shoba returned to work after the loss of their child, Shukumar remained sheltered at home - seemingly aimless. This contradicts classic gender roles of a woman staying home while a man works, as well as the idea that a woman takes maternity leave and a man returns to his career after the birth of a baby. In this case, due to the death of their child, it seems Shukumar took “grief” leave, while Shoba returned to work hastily. The author is using a literary strategy, “show not tell” to depict the growing resentment between the pair. When referring to the part of the closet that Shoba always left partly open that exposed Shukumar’s unused work attire, the author is showing the reader