Spiritual Elements In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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

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