A motif can be an object, imagery, language, or even structure the author includes in their writing to elevate its depth and reveal things about specific characters. Throughout her novel, The River King, Hoffman uses the motif of the swans to demonstrate that the more people try to escape love, the more it will
Motifs are narrative elements with symbolic significance that connect back to a theme. Motifs are often used to help the reader understand a character or to reinforce a theme. Alice Hoffman uses the motif of swans in her novel, The River King to symbolize that when humans try to push love away, it will always come back to them. First of all, when Hoffman is explaining Betsy’s role in the book, she mentions, “...
In "Their Eyes Were Watching God," Zora Neale Hurston. Writes a novel were Janie, the main character, finds herself into two unpredictable marriages. Were one was give and the other was chosen. Nevertheless, Janie is unable to find her true love, which cause her to fail on understanding the idealistic reality of marriage.
(Hurston 55). Jody’s determination to keep Janie safe and protect her from other men causes Janie to be upset. Janie feels as if her only purpose “was there in the store for him to look at, not those others'' (55).
Is it worth risking everything in order to be happy? In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, an African American woman named Janie makes many challenging decisions in order to be happy. This novel takes place in the 1920’s which creates many obstacles that Janie must overcome in order to achieve happiness. There are many stereotypes and inequalities during this time that make life extremely difficult for Janie. Although Janie allows others to mistreat her at points throughout the novel, she is overall an excellent role model for young readers because she overcomes several stereotypes of African American females during this time period, and she makes many difficult decisions based solely on her own happiness.
Characters in Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God is a narrative that showed the life of Janie Mae Crawford and went in the direction beginning with showing her life from the present, then then the majority of the book was a flashback, finally at the very last chapters the present was bought back to the reader. The publication had 1 consistent character throughout the book, and previously mentioned it was Janie Mae Crawford. The other important characters in the book were Jody Starks and Tea Cake, they both came into her life in and in respect, in a way effected her in major ways. The development of Janie thought the novel was greatly impacted by Jody, Tea Cake, even herself with making a change in her identity.
TEEWG Essay Symbols in literature can reveal characteristics, express ideas or give meaning to the work as a whole. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, symbols reveal the identity and purpose of the main character, Janie, In this novel, Janie struggles to find true purpose and meaning in her womanhood by searching for love. In the beginning of the novel, the horizon is used to symbolize not only what the world has to offer to Janie, but her aspirations and desires too. The horizon is Janie’s goal and ticket to find what she’s looking for.
Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston used three different husbands to show how Janie’s definition of love and marriage evolved. With her first marriage, she learned that love doesn’t automatically grow after marriage. In the second marriage, Janie learned that love could be confining and eventually ruin a relationship. The third and final marriage taught Janie that she needed to depend on herself rather than someone else for contentment.
Throughout the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses odd names. Each name serves its purpose. Hurston uses name such as: Logan Killicks, Jody (Joe) Starks, and Tea Cake. In Chapter 4, Janie and Logan had had a verbal fight.
Nothing feels as liberating as lifting the heavy binders that tie your spirit down- or keep your highly treasured hair in place. At least this is how it felt for the protagonist, Janie, as she embarked on a long journey toward self fulfillment. In “Their Eyes Were Watching God’, by Zora Neale Hurston, the author uses symbols such as flowers and a head rag to contribute to the meaning of the work that in order to live a fulfilling life, one must cease to live in accordance with other people’s ideals and instead pursue freedom and happiness for oneself. In the novel, flowers are used to symbolize maturity and becoming a woman.
The black culture is very diverse in different parts of the world-even in different parts of the state. Janie as moved throughout Florida to places such as West Florida, Eatonville, and the Everglades. Residing in these different places helps develop and define the character of Janie. Throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie experiences many variations of black culture that helps build her character as she travels through Florida.
Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God reveals the role of masculinity as well as femininity in one’s life. Janie’s various relationships develop her sense of femininity, as the different men who she becomes involved with all possess different masculine traits. The progression from Logan to Jody to Tea Cake allows Janie to find her own feminine identity due to the different hardships she endures throughout her relationship with the three men. The vast difference in characteristics of the three men emphasizes the role that masculinity plays in a consensual, reciprocal relationship, and what ideal reciprocity looks like.
Zora Neale Hurston exemplifies symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God when she uses the horizon, the porch, the bees and trees (nature), and Janie’s hair as symbols. As a horizon is never out of sight, neither is hope. The horizon symbolizes hope, the possibility of things to change. "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board.
Most teenagers struggle with finding themselves. Sometimes, this struggle continues for their entire life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston emphasizes that life-long battle. She shows her readers that everyone toils with finding themselves and that loving someone won’t always help them find their identity. She uses many symbols to help describe this struggle.
Janie’s continuous interactions and experiences with nature prove its influential role in Janie’s life throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Nature is Janie’s pathway into womanhood and played a big role in starting her journey through life as a woman. Janie’s experience with the pear tree provokes this shift from childhood to womanhood for Janie. “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom [...] the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. [...] Then Janie felt a pain remorseless sweet that left her limp and languid” (11).
