Animal Motifs In Their Eyes Were Watching God And The Yippie Man

Whether it be a movement, an essay, or a novel, motifs in literature and in life are significant and deserve deep investigation. Due to a motif’s ability to reinforce themes through symbolization, imagery and recursion, it is a common sight in today’s most famous works. A prevalent motif in American literature and movements, is that of the animal. Two exceptional examples of pieces that use animal motifs successfully are, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston and The Yippie Manifesto, by Jerry Rubin. In both of these compositions, animals appear as meaningful motifs, in order to bolster a scene or movement’s emotional weight and significance, and to provide the audience with connections to the outside world.
In Hurston’s Their

This comparison is clear even later in the story, when the mule is freed, it is treated nicely by the entire town for a while, until a townsperson finds him dead, “under the big tree on his rawbony back with all four feet up in the air” (Hurston, 59). Whereafter it is dragged out of the town and fed to the vultures while the rest of the town parties (Hurston, 61-62). This parallels the story of slavery in America: ex-slaves enjoy freedom for a while in the late 1800s, before unethical Jim Crow laws are instated shortly after the turn of the century. Not only does Hurston use the mule to represent slavery, but also to help show Joe’s shallow love for Janie. He spares the mule for her, but then, after its humiliating death, he prevents Janie from attending the disgracious funeral. “No, the carcass moved off with the town, and left Janie standing in the doorway” (Hurston, 60). This moment in the story is crucial, because it is a turning point in Janie’s life, and is ultimately one of the reasons why she decides to no longer believe in her relationship with Joe. Overall, Hurston’s points on slavery and disrespect would not come across as easily (if at all) without the presence of the

Rubin uses pigs both literally in the flesh and as a pronoun to symbolize the Yippie movement’s opposition, most notably the politicians and police of the United States. This usage is a namesake of the movement, and was essential to the popularity of the movement during the late sixties and early seventies. In the manifesto, Rubin describes how the Yippies decide to run a pig for president to symbolize the perceived ridiculousness of the political climate that they so vehemently despise. He recounts the creation of the idea, saying, “And [Marvin Garson] says, ‘Let’s run a pig for president.’ An arrow shoots through my brain. Yeah! A pig, with buttons, posters, bumper stickers” (Rubin, 33). A few paragraphs later, Rubin describes the meaning of such a ludicrous idea in a comical, clever way, “At the Yippie convention, we nominate our pig and after he makes his nominating speech, we eat him. The contrast is clear: should the President eat the people or should the people eat the President?” (Rubin, 33). Using a pig to symbolize a potential President allows Rubin to shed light on his perception that the President eats the people, meaning that the President and the government abuses its power over the people. Furthermore, Rubin makes his symbolism even clearer later, when he says that, “This country is run on the