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Metaphors In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston, many symbols and metaphors appear to fully depict how Janie lived her life and what kinds of things she believed in. Hurston uses metaphors to describe the lessons Janie learned as well as the expectations that she set for herself growing up in such an unstable environment. Janie, the main character, references many symbols, as they all have a great influence on her life as well as the decisions she made, the metaphors in the novel bolster our understanding of why Janie was the way she was, and why it was important for her to find a stable relationship that would give all that she wanted. Janie always viewed the horizon as ever changing, because she could always go further and …show more content…

After Jody becomes controlling and is no longer loving towards Janie, she expresses “no more blossomy opening dusting pollen over her man. Neither glistening young fruit where petals used to be” (Hurston 72). The author uses the words “blossomy”, “pollen”, “fruit”, “petals” to describe how Janie was feeling towards the men in her life. In this part of the book Janie begins to lose feelings for Jody, therefore not feeling these anymore. In the beginning of the novel it is described that blossoms, flowers and nature represent perfect love for Janie, however when she begins to no longer feel love towards Jody she reveals that she no longer feels these emotions, causing her to be eager for change yet again. After being with Tea Cake for a little while, Janie begins to feel strong feelings towards him which she describes as if “he could be a bee to a blossom–a pear tree blossom in the spring” (Hurston 106). Hurston utilizes the words “pear tree blossom in the spring” to portray how Janie felt towards Tea Cake. Janie felt like Tea Cake was like spring, and pear trees, which is how she wanted to feel when being around someone that she loved. Janie creates an image for herself which she looks back on every time she meets someone, because if she does not feel this way about someone she believes that he is not the right person. Through the use of these metaphors we are able to understand how Janie really did want to find someone who would be the perfect match for

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A kiss of a memory and a great tree is all Hurston needed to illustrate a picture of Janie’s feelings. The novel is about a woman named Janie, who 's had many different types of emotions, through her ups and downs. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses symbolism to interpret Janie’s emotions.

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Imagery and metaphors are used in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" to help the reader get a better understanding of the book. These forms of figurative language are used throughout the book to grab the reader's attention and make them feel more connected to the book. Without these forms of figurative language, the book would be bland and wouldn't connect with the reader in any way. There are many examples, including metaphors and imagery, spread evenly throughout the story of "Their Eyes for Watching God." They use imagery to give the reader an idea of what it looks like inside the story.

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The light in her hand was like a spark of sun.¨ (ch. 20 pg. 192) That quote is from Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel was written in 1937 by famous African American writer Zora Neale Hurston. The novel goes through Janie (the main character) and her complicated relationships with Logan, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake (all the men she was married to) throughout her life.

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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.

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Their Eyes Were Watching God uses figurative language in the form of metaphors, figures of speech, symbolism, and similes throughout the story. tI would like to focus on how Zora Neal Hurston uses figures of speech and figurative language in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The way she uses figurative language helps to develop her story in a way that readers can really understand and follow the story. The way she uses personification and symbolism and metaphors helps all readers to have a better understanding of what life in America was actually like for African Americans during the 20th Century. A time where African Americans were not yet seen as equals, but the main character, Janie, showed strength, independence, and defiance.

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For the first ‘bare’ part of her life, Janie is a mule not to a man but to her own grandmother. In her youth, Janie yearns for relationships and objects that to her symbolize freedom. She is drawn to a blossoming pear tree because of how its “barren brown stems [turn] to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds from snowy virginity” (10), Here, Janie is awed by something changed from ‘barren’ to beautiful as she struggles with the suppression of her grandmother, who goes on to bash Janie for kissing a boy through a gatepost. It is clear Janie associates the pear tree with freedom, as she was avoiding her chores to sit under it. Thus, the beauty she finds in the turn from stem to blossom is directly correlated with the joy she finds in the escape from her grandmother and discovery of freedom.

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Zora Neale Hurston is the author of the book based on the 1930’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston is a skillful author in the way she exercises the use of language in her writing. The one specific use of English that contributes to evolving the novel’s overall meaning is figurative language, which also transforms the aesthetic impact of reading the book. Hurston’s use of figurative language immerses the reader as it develops the theme that humans are small compared to the big world, offering us a deeper connection with the characters and the emotions in each particular scene. The leading class of figurative language that Hurston uses is metaphorical comparisons.

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Throughout the book, we see an idealistic view of love linked also very closely with innocence and youth. This is illustrated when Janie says, “‘Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think.”’ (Page 24). In this quote, Janie expresses her idealistic desires surrounding marriage. Her reference to the pear tree perpetuates the theme that we see in the novel of Janie’s youth, and perception of love, evoking a reference to

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Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston utilizes a variety of symbolism and imagery related to the natural world to convey Janie’s complex desires for impeccable life experiences. Additionally, Hurston employs figurative language through nature sources to represent the satisfactory and traumatic experiences that have occurred throughout her lifetime, as well as the journey that she has completed in order to fulfill these experiences. Juxtaposition and similes are present throughout this novel, which further parallels Janie’s connection to the natural world, while additionally demonstrating the intellectual strength that she possesses. Since the early parts of the novel, the reader has been continually reminded of Janie’s

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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.

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She often refers to love and the way love can blind her as pollen. Before Janie is sold off to Logan Killicks, she fights in her head over what love is, and when she realizes that although she is being married off to someone she doesn’t love, marriage doesn’t make love “the pollen again [gilds] the sun and [sifts] down on the world”(29). Unable to have the love she once idolized, the kind brought together and bound by marriage, she shifts her views and decides that she may not get love from this current marriage, but love can still exist and be created. And the love that drifts from her heart once again floats down and pollinates the pear tree in her heart. Janie is going about her mundane, love-lacking life with Logan one day when she met Joe Starks, he interests her; however, he doesn’t represent what she looks for: “he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees”(35).

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1326 Words | 6 Pages

In “Their eyes were watching god” by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie’s hair is a symbolic expression that holds experience and meaning about her life with her past loved ones. Janie’s hair is a crucial part in demonstrating the influence that Joe and Tea Cake has on her character; Janie’s hair being down represents her freedom, while being tied up shows how restrained she is. Throughout the book, Janie's development from feeling unsure and anxious to becoming confident and self-reliant is demonstrated through the change in her hair. In the beginning, Janie’s hair was down, conveying that she was free at first, but after marrying Joe Starks, he became superior over her, making her put her hair up and ultimately feeling controlled. When Janie meets

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“ She couldn’t make him look just like any other man to her. He looked like the love thoughts of a women. He could be a bee to a pear tree blossom in the spring.” “He was a glance from God.” Tea Cake was so different than any other guy Janie had been with, he fulfilled her ultimate goal of physical and mental attraction.

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After Jody dies Janie encounters Tea Cake, a young man that not only lets her assert her voice but encourages her to do so. Janie's feelings are revealed about Tea Cake when she thinks, “He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom-a pear tree blossoms in the spring.” (Hurston 106) Tea Cake’s relationship is different for Janie for he taught her the value of a healthy relationship where “there is no imbalance of power,” they respected “each other’s independence” letting Janie form her ”own decisions without fear of retribution or relation, and share decisions” as proven in the article “What Does a Healthy Relationship Look Like?”

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Many symbols are used throughout the book to represent this struggle. Two of the main symbols Hurston uses are the horizon and the pear tree to help symbolize Janie’s future and Janie’s youth. These symbols are also used to represent Janie’s life and her want for

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