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The Eyes Are Watching God Character Analysis Essay

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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. Janie shows determination as she persists and struggles to define love on her own terms through her marriages. First, her determination shows when Janie runs away with Jody. She becomes aware that her marriage with Logan does not satisfy her goals and dreams for love, so she takes a chance and marries Jody. Hurston states, “Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Jody was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good” (32). The quote shows how Janie is thinking for herself and starting to release her mentality to always look to someone else. Logan threatened to kill Janie if she left, but her determination to reach her goals let her go past that fear and put her own life on the line to push towards her goals. Also, if she left Logan, Janie would leave her known world to venture off into potential dangers and her safety from their marriage would be gone. Even with all these threats and dangers over her head Janie was determined to reach her dreams for love, so nothing could stop her. Next, Janie continues on her determined journey for love when she goes off to marry Tea Cake. In the quote, …show more content…

Janie is the symbol of feminism and independence for women in the novel and shows her heroism in many instances. Some of her heroic qualities include determination, empathy, and

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Janie's character in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a fluid character that changes, but also remains constant in some aspects. During chapter 5 and 6 her tendencies are called to attention through Joe's criticism. As he verbally attacks Janie and pushes her around her feelings and reactions illustrate who she is as a character, in this point of her life. During a meeting, in which Joe becomes Mayer, they ask Janie to say a few words about it in encouragement. Before she had a chance to respond, Joe did for her.

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(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).

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Janie has become fully aware and blossomed into a full tree in her quest to find herself. In the beginning, Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship was too good to be true. Janie quickly realized that what you want may be what you should live without. Hurston writes “But to kill her through Tea Cake was too much to bear.

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