Carelessness In Their Eyes Were Watching God

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, it is clear that Janie does not care about what people think about her when she exclaims,

“ ‘Well, Ah see Mouth-Almighty is still sittin’ in de same place. And Ah reckon they got me up in they mouth now’ ” (Hurston 21). The reason for this carelessness is most likely because of a past experience that caused her to lose trust in everyone that she was acquainted with. This also may have influenced her decision to leave town with a younger man and not look back until now. She is an embodiment of strength in women because she is able to ignore all of the rumors and keep her head held high, only acknowledging these lies when her best friend comes to check on her. Strength and women is

Ah raked and scraped and bought dis lil piece uh land so you wouldn’t have to stay in de white folks’ yard and tuck yo’ head befo’ other chillun at school’ ”(Hurston 37). Nanny worked very hard to help Janie and it is clear that they have a mutual love for one another. Because of this, the theme of love is shown between Janie and her grandmother. It is obvious that there was a great separation between races during this time period, especially since slavery had ended and segregation was common almost everywhere. Nanny reveals this when she explains her struggle to keep Janie away from white people and their schools. I can infer that Janie will try to be equal with everyone, including those of different races. This is because of her resistance to obey her Nanny’s orders to do what any other woman must do and not stick to what is normal, which causes the old woman to have to justify herself. Additionally, Nanny appears to be strong and stubborn because of her ability to work hard and her resistance to the culture and ways of other races. Hurston presents Nanny this way in order to show the connection between her and her granddaughter, who happens to be just as strong and

Their voices state hateful things and is described as, “...mass cruelty. A mood come alive. Words walking without masters, walking altogether like harmony in a song”(Hurston 18). This personification shows the great amount of rumors being spoken at once, causing all of the voices to mix together and sound singular. The massive bashful tone is created from pure jealousy and the need to know everything about everyone. Because of this, I can infer that jealousy will be a theme of the novel. I get the impression that, at some point, Jane was an important figure in the town, which is how everyone knows her. They are quick to judge her because of how much she seems to have changed since she left a year and a half ago. This i shwy their voices and opinions are so cruel and