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Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

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Zora Neale Hurston (1901-1960) is a widely known African American author. She grew up in the town of Eatonville, Florida, where her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is set. The novel features the life of Janie Mae Crawford, and her story is told as a flashback as she was describing it to her friend, Phoebe. There are many characters that impact her life, and they all seem to have a stereotypical ideal of how Janie should live, based on the fact that she is a woman in the 1900s. However, Janie does not want to conform to the standards where she is placed, and she often goes against the ‘norm’. This is shown distinctively throughout her different marriages. In today’s world, it is more common to see millenial women break out from the rest of
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- Zora Neale Hurston, born January 7th, 1891, was an African-American author, widely known for her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Being raised in Eatonville, Florida, the first black township of the United States, Hurston was indulged in black culture at a very early age. Zora was described to have a fiery, yet bubbly spirit, befriending very influential people, one being American poet, Langston Hughes. With heavy influence from her hometown, along with the achievement of the black women around her, an abundance of motivation came when Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel promotes black power, all while rejecting the stereotypes held against women.

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Tea Cake is introduced as a clever, younger man that Janie takes interest in. Janie clearly pays attention to this man because he is handsome and actually wants her to play checkers with him, which Jodie Starks always forbid her to do. She realizes this and explains, “Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play. That was even nice”

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“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” Jane Austen. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston depicted the travels of Janie Crawford and her understanding of womanhood and freedom through her several marriages. Throughout the book, Hurston portrays the growth of Janie and her ideals, her hair being a major recurring symbol.

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In the novel “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Hurston their are a few key points in the main character’s life, Janie were after that moment her life either takes a turn for the best or for the worst. This is something people can all relate to because it happens to all of us whether we realize it or not. There are some decisions people make without thinking that change our whole lives forever. All of her key decisions seem to correlate with her being happy or trying to be a better version of herself.

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In the novel “Their eyes were watching god” the author, Zora Hurston does a good job of showing how Janie was able to learn how to balance a relationship and keeping her independence as well and everything that led up to that. Janie basically went on a “love” search but was looking in all the wrong areas. As an infant Janie was abandoned by her mother who was raped and got pregnant so she was brought up by her grandmother who was also raped. Her Nanny only wanted the best for her. She wanted Janie to have a life of purpose.

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997 Words | 4 Pages

Characteristics that are out of your control are often times the ones that cause the most trouble. Janie Crawford in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, realizes this at a very early age. Throughout the novel, Janie fights desperately to be independent, but she is constantly held back by those factors outside of her control.

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529 Words | 3 Pages

emotions of the main character. Their Eyes Were Watching God shares the lie of Janie Crawford, a girl who is obsessed with the idea of finding true love. Throughout the whole novel she shares her emotional growth as a woman and maturity through all three of her marriages. Zora Neale Hurston planted a mental image in readers to follow along in the story. The bee and the flower are one example of imagery in this novel.

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1021 Words | 5 Pages

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of time in history where African Americans revived their cultural and intellectual self. Key ways African Americans achieved this was through self determination, destroying outdated racial stereotypes, being racially conscious, group expression, modern ideas, and through political and civil rights. In literature there has been a major debate about books marked as Harlem Renaissance reads and whether or not the book meets the criteria of the Harlem Renaissance. One book in particular that has been criticized for not meeting the Harlem Renaissance Ideals is “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. After reading this book, I determined that it should still be considered a Harlem Renaissance book.

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Set in Eatonville Florida, the story of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, is told from a third person narrator who recounts Janie Mae Crawford’s life to her best friend Phoebe Watson. Although the narrator isn’t Janie, it seems as if the narrator is framed around her character. Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama to a teacher and a Baptist preacher. Hurston moved to Eatonville Florida where the story takes place at a young age. Eatonville was known as the first all black incorporated town.

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1490 Words | 6 Pages

From a young age, many people are told that they have free will to do what they want and that their actions are what define them as a person; however, what people are told isn’t always the complete truth. In the realms of reality, individuals are always influenced by the people they spend the most time around to such an extent that it can change who they are as a person. Zora Neale Hurston 's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, epitomizes such truth through the development of Janie, a women who grows from not knowing her own race or what love even means to someone that has gained and lost countless relationships with people. Initially, she marries a wealthy man named Logan Killicks for financial security, but then runs away with a man named

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1647 Words | 7 Pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston contains many elements of racism, sexism, and elitism. Janie spends a lifetime of going from one relationship to the next in an effort to find out who she is. Along the way, there are elements of feminism, or the advocacy for gender equality, that touch her journey as she learns to make her own decisions and speak her mind. While Janie would not necessarily be the most typical conception of a strong feminist character, the context of the southern African American society of the 1920´s, Janie has made some decisive actions that would constitute her as a feminist character.

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The casual ignorance of history: The writing of Zora Neale Hurston A growing divide in society makes social commentary easily very impactful, with Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston failed this easy task. When Zora Neale Hurston published Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1936, there were major tensions growing in the United States, especially those between the African-American and White communities. In this book Hurston tries to make social commentary on this growing divide, she fails at this because she ignores racial relationships at the time and severely oversimplifies African-Americans.

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219 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, one of the main characters, Janie has a level of low class as an African American women. When Janie and Jody got married, everything changed for Janie as a person. The two of them moved to Eatonville and Jody bought tons and tons of land. He would get carried away with his money and power. He then became mayor of the town.

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2020 Words | 9 Pages

The late 1890’s and early 1900’s were an oppressive time for people of color, but one woman overcame the oppression and made a name for herself. Anthropologist and novelist, Zora Neale Hurston, became a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance. During her life, Zora wrote multiple short stories and her most recognized piece, ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’. Coming from a family with lots of brothers and sisters, Zora was the only one to become something big. Her life was very thrilling and interesting, but ended in an unfortunate way.

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1518 Words | 7 Pages

The Harlem Renaissance was a time where the African American community was able to dig deep and self discover what their life journey was for them. Through jazz, art, and many other stems of expression, the Harlem Renaissance served as an outlet for many to express their journey with others. Zora Neale Hurston was a notable writer during this period in history, creating works that included the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and the essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” Hurston's writings both adheres to and departs from Harlem Renaissance values, Because Hurston composed these writings to send a message to our community about self discovery and values of life.

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