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Comparison Of Power In Their Eyes Were Watching God And Hills Like White Elephants

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Power dynamics between male and females is a sensitive subjec that has impacted society throughout time. Addressed by Zora Neale Hurston and Ernest Hemingway, both writers depicted the power and control men exuded over females while also choosing different ways to highlight the results of this misuse of power. But while both works analyze the subject of power, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston highlights lack of equality over a lifetime , whereas in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway emphasizes the manipulation of power at one point in time. Hemingway portrays his message through dialogue, lending the reader ques to unveil the hidden message. In contrast, Hurston allows the reader to feel the …show more content…

Her second husband, Jody, was a very powerful man that restricted Janie's freedom in many ways. A significant way Jody physically confined Janie was by creating the rule, “Her hair was NOT going to show in the store” (55, Hurston). This is significant because Jody restricts Janie's freedom by removing her hair, resulting in a loss of power for Janie. Jody becomes jealous of the attention that Janie's hair draws and he wants to oppress that freedom to remind Janie who is dominant in the relationship. Hurston also includes this in the novel to display how Jody has control over Janie's body and the power that he holds over it. Similarly, in “Hills like White Elephants”, the American man uses toxic masculinity to over power the girl. This is displayed when the girl tries to get the American man to stop talking about the abortion, but he does not. “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” she begs, to which he responds with, “But I don’t want you to, I don’t care about anything” (478). The American man's ignorance to Jigs asks conveys his belief that he is above the girl and has the power over the girl in the relationship. Additionally, it is implied that he believes his words hold much more importance than hers because of his gender in the

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932 Words | 4 Pages

Janie expresses this by stating, “ Tain’t dat ah worries over Joe’s death, Pheoby. Ah jus’ loves dis freedom” (93). This demonstrates Janie’s current state of freedom, and suggests that she is finally free from the shackles of marriage that Joe established upon her with male dominance, abuse, and inequality. All these discontents in Janie’s marriage are embodied by the head rag because it showcases the mindset of Joe, which was having Janie unwaveringly submit to his commands and not giving her a say in their decisions. Furthermore, Janie showcases her rejection with her man by rejecting clothing that connects her to him, but once she found the man that fulfilled her desires in loving her, Janie

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776 Words | 4 Pages

“Jaine, if you think Ah aims to tole you off and make a god outa you, youse wrong. Ah wants to make a wife outa you,” says Jody, knowing he only wants Janie for her looks (29). Jody displays an act of respecting Janie at the beginning of the book, but his act doesn’t last very long. His desire for Janie was only until her looks, nothing beyond that. He would never let Janie act on her own, and always disregarded the things Janie wants to do, “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’.

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1354 Words | 6 Pages

One example of this criticism comes from Lynn Domina’s essay Novels for Students. Domina is an author and instructor at Hofstra University and analyzes Janie’s progression of feminism throughout Hurston’s novel. Domina says, “Silence, then, is sometimes used as a tool of oppression and at other times as a tool of power” (Domina 312). The duality of Domina’s quote shows both the limiting power of silence and the self-expression that comes with it. Silence is used to control and deny the use of women’s power to speak out and be recognized as an equal part of society.

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1653 Words | 7 Pages

Power dynamics come in several forms, including wife to husband, slave to master, and worker to boss. This concentration of power often affects societal feelings and actions, as abuse and corruption may occur. These topics are focal points for Zora Neal Hurston’s investigations into if power is the true source of fate. Throughout both the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and the short story “Sweat '' by Zora Neale Hurtson, the topics of destiny and power dynamics are evident through each work's central theme. In “Sweat”, Hurston highlights the idea of self determination, whereas in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston looks at the fragility of social norms and the importance of fate.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

Another example of how Joe impacted Janie’s identity development was when Joe forced Janie to keep her hair up in the store. But when he did, Janie learned of her independence and her personal power. After Joe dies, Janie took control and let her hair down in public again. “Before she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist.” (Hurston

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800 Words | 4 Pages

This time, while living with her second husband. The head rag covered something she loved about herself- her hair. It concealed her beauty and her womanhood, making her feel less desirable. Janie’s hair symbolized her free spirit and her defiance of the town’s expectations. By covering it up, as her husband, Joe, demanded her to do, she also covered up her individuality.

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166 Words | 1 Pages

When Janie married Jody, she expected everything to be all colorful and exploding with happiness, however she promptly realized this was not the case when it comes to Jody, Jody is stands with pride and intimidation. Overall Janie is suppressed by Jodie, furthermore Janie regretfully submits with her displeasure. In chapter 5 when Janie and Jody arrive at the colored town, they oversaw the rows of dilapidated shacks of the colored folk, Janie was disappointed in the quality of the place she would soon call home. Meanwhile Jody had plans for the town, one of these was building the first store in the town for the people.

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911 Words | 4 Pages

When taking the way society views one another nowadays into perspective, it is very clear to see how unjust a system has been set up. The actions of one person can be praised, while someone else can be shamed and attacked for that very same thing. This idea of unfair treatment can be seen in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. The various love interests of the protagonist Janie all have different levels of admiration. Some may say that each of these characters earned this by their individual actions, but I say that Hurston’s portrayal of these characters is what led them to their differences in respect.

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937 Words | 4 Pages

While both works analyze the subject of power, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston highlights equality, whereas in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway emphasizes the manipulation of power. Hemingway portrays his message through dialogue, lending the reader ques to unveil the hidden message. In contrast, Hurston allows the reader to feel the inferiority of her main character, Janie, and experience the abuse of power firsthand. Utilizing symbolism and dialogue, both authors exemplify the idea that men obtain a toxic power. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the reader is introduced to Janie through the eyes of the “porch sitters.”

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717 Words | 3 Pages

After Joe dies, Janie “[tears] off the kerchief from her head and [lets] down her plentiful hair” (87). For all of her marriage, Janie was forced to hide her beautiful hair because it made her husband jealous of other men. Once Joe passes away, she is finally free of the control he had on her. Janie forcefully “tears” the cloth that covered her hair, which demonstrates how much she longed to be free from her husband’s control. By tearing off the kerchief, Janie’s hair turns from a symbol of oppression by men to a symbol of freedom.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

but it didn’t do her any good” as Jody kept on fighting for her “submission” (71). As Jody continues to make Janie submit, less of her individuality is present as she is reduced to the ideal wife in Jody’s eyes. He does this by covering her hair, confining her to the store, and insults her. Again, In one scene,

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530 Words | 3 Pages

Jody controlled major aspects of Janie’s life, such as her appearance, when he forces her to keep her hair up. Janie does not like that Jody feels the need to control her: “This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it... that was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was” (Hurston 55).

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1062 Words | 5 Pages

By discussing power in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” it reveals the importance of having your voice be heard in patriarchy, language, and agency. Power is disguised as hills that appear to be just another barrio that is seems to be in the way, but if given a chance and taking a better look it can be prettier than what you expected it to be. Back in earlier times it has been said that men are always right and that women are to obey their husband, but women have progressed and since then and women have the right to speak their mind and not be frowned upon. Usually older men are said to acquire more knowledge and experience because of their age. In “Hills Like White Elephants” the young girl, Jig, is powerless, but expresses ideas of her own in the end and takes her power back.

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252 Words | 2 Pages

Power dynamics and control are prominent themes in the book "Their Eyes Were Watching God," affecting Janie's relationships and the overall story. The first poem demonstrates the control and ownership in Janie and Jody's relationship, Jody makes her tie her hair up and keep it hidden from others, out of jealousy and to constrain Jaine. Janie's hair is a symbol of her freedom and something she loved about herself, but Jody forces her to keep it hidden allowing him to assert his power over her and take away something he sees as a threat to his control. In the second poem, it is evident that Jody has effectively utilized his power to establish authority over the town and exercise his power over the residents. Becoming Mayor allows him to elevate

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750 Words | 3 Pages

He did not want the other men to see it; he considered it to be for his enjoyment only. By forcing Janie to wear hair rags, Joe tried taking her power and freedom away. Even the men wondered why she wore her wear tied up, “Whut make her keep her head tied up lak some ole ’oman round de store?” “Nobody couldn’t git me tuh tie no rag on mah head if Ah had hair lak dat” (Hurston

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