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Spiritual Elements In Their Eyes Were Watching God

1587 Words7 Pages

In the books, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Cane by Jean Toomer, spiritual elements are displayed in the characters and their actions. While the books show these spiritual elements in most of their characters, the women in particular are other-worldly and out of reach. These characteristics are not only emphasized by the protagonists themselves but also by the characters around them, especially, although it is unknowingly, by the men. In Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie is a goddess for many characters throughout the novel, especially Pheoby and Mrs. Turner. The dynamic between Janie and Pheoby is shown to be that of a goddess and a prophet. When Pheoby follows Janie back to her house, Pheoby gives Janie some of her mulatto rice because she “knowed you’d be …show more content…

During her travels with Tea Cake in the muck, just as God appears in human form as Jesus to interact with people and guide humans to salvation, Janie’s house was “full of people every night. That is, all around the doorstep was full. [...] What if Eatonville could see her now in her blue denim overalls and heavy shoes? The crowd of people around her and a dice game on her floor!” (Hurston 133). Janie’s blue denim overalls developed a completely different image than her mourning whites. With her mourning whites Janie is holy. She is untouchable by everyone but Pheoby (her prophet) she is goddess, but with her denim blues she takes on a more human form. She is more attuned with the people in the muck, and she is part of the muck. The house that was once unreachable by her followers is now filled with people so that they’re flowing out onto the doorstep. Like god, when she is in her human form as Jesus, she is together with her worshippers. There are no holy walls separating them when she is with her people and gives them space in her

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The potency of religious observance is further demonstrated when Lily explains her inward feelings towards the Black Mary statue and religion. Lily thought, “Standing there, I loved myself and I hated myself. That's what the black Mary did to me, made me feel my glory and my shame at the same time” (Kidd 71). Kidd’s last use of Juxtaposition in the passage demonstrates how Lily feels about herself when observing the holy sculpture. Using repetition in syntax, Kidd uses two contrasting pairs of ideas “loved” and “hated,” and “glory” and “shame.”

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Personification in Their Eyes Were Watching God By: Camryn McCracken Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, author Zora Neale Hurston uses personification to convey the complex emotions of each character as well as the beauty of the setting. Text often uses figurative language to explain what even careful readers may not understand, but Hurston’s use of figurative language is what makes this book a masterclass on literary art.

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In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist Janie, is influenced by others to change her ideals. Hurston vividly portrays Janie’s outward struggle while emphasising her inward struggle by expressing Janie’s thoughts and emotions. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening the protagonist is concisely characterized as having “that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions,” as Janie does. Janie conforms outwardly to her life but questions inwardly to her marriages with Logan Killicks, her first husband, and Joe Starks, her second husband; Janie also questions her grandmother's influence on what love and marriage is.

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In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie suffers from hardship in two relationships before she can find her true love. Janie explains to her best friend, Pheoby, how she searches for love. Therefore Pheoby wants to hear the true story, rather than listening to the porch sitters. Throughout the book Janie experiences different types of love with three different men; Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Vergible "Tea Cake" Woods. At 16 Janie marries Logan Killicks.

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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.

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In The Eyes are Watching God, the author Zora Neale Hurston expresses the struggles of women and black societies of the time period. When Hurston published the book, communities were segregated and black communities were full of stereotypes from the outside world. Janie, who represents the main protagonist and hero, explores these communities on her journey in the novel. Janie shows the ideals of feminism, love, and heroism in her rough life in The Eyes. Janie, as the hero of the novel, shows the heroic qualities of determination, empathy, and bravery.

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What does Hurston achieve by employing this allusion? How does the allusion enhance the meaning in relation to the character or the situation? By alluding to Judgment Day, Hurston is revealing the true reason as to why people are heading to church. They are going to church to hear the confessions of people’s deeds, especially Janie’s deeds. The people want to know about Janie’s life with Tea Cake and how she ends up back in Eatonville.

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Thus, Zora Neale Hurston uses community as a motif to help prove her theme, using specific details such as Janie’s disallowance to go to the funeral and the community scorning her. In conclusion, the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” presents the theme of love and that being in a relationship hinders independence but in an unique way. Hurston uses symbolism like Janie’s head rag which stifled her independence and when burned, made her feel free. She also uses the motif of communities, which are ever present throughout the book, using specific examples such as when Janie isn't allowed to go to the funeral, which hinders her independence because she isn't making choices for herself and isn't doing

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Both men represented the oppression that women faced in American society. When Janie meets Tea Cake Woods, she is finally liberated and has fulfilled her quest for true love. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie represents the ideal “negro women,” a woman who does not let the abuse that she faces at the hand of her first two husbands discourage her from finding love on her own

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One of the universal themes of literature is the idea that children suffer because of the mistakes of an earlier generation. The novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" follows the story of Janie Mae Crawford through her childhood, her turbulent and passionate relationships, and her rejection of the status quo and through correlation of Nanny 's life and Janie 's problems, Hurston develops the theme of children 's tribulations stemming from the teachings and thoughts of an earlier generation. Nanny made a fatal mistake in forcibly pushing her own conclusions about life, based primarily on her own experiences, onto her granddaughter Janie and the cost of the mistake was negatively affecting her relationship with Janie. Nanny lived a hard life and she made a rough conclusion about how to survive in the world for her granddaughter, provoked by fear. " Ah can’t die easy thinkin’ maybe de menfolks white or black is makin’ a spit cup outa you: Have some sympathy fuh me.

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