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.
Janie is told continually by her grandmother, Nanny that love should not drive a relationship, but instead should look for security implying to Janie to marry a man with wealth and status. Nanny Indicates, “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (Hurston 14). Black English Vernacular is used to develop genuineness while establishing an affectionate connection between the characters. Nanny is
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Jody orates, “ ‘mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout speech-makin’.’ “ (Hurston 43). Through black idiom Jody neglects Janie’s feelings diminishes any sense of her voice. He does not give Janie the option to give a speech instead humiliating her illustrating that he views her more as an object for display. Janie felt, “It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything one way or another that took the bloom off of things” (Hurston 43). This metaphor depicts Janie’s decrease of desire towards Joe through the use of the word ‘bloom’ linked to the nature motif mirroring Janie’s sexual desires. Yet Janie stays in this relationship for twenty years, “But anyway, she went down the road behind him that night feeling cold” (Hurston 43). Janie clearly does not prioritise her own feelings and rather neglects her emotions and abides by Joe’s