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Their Eyes Are Watching God Character Analysis

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he ambition of Joe Starks In Their Eyes Are Watching God Ambition is a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. Ambition often leads to great rewards but often times too much ambition can lead to misfortune. The Character of Joe Starks in Their Eyes Are Watching God has a very prominent amount of Ambition. Stark’s bullied and manipulated people in order to satisfy his own Ambitions. Through the use of indirect characterization, Zora Neely Hurston exhibits how Joe Stark’s ambition destroyed the relationships he had with other people in Their Eyes Are Watching God. Hurston uses both direct and indirect characterization to develop the Joe Starks’ character. “He whistled, mopped his face and walked like he knew where he was going (Hurston Chapter 4).” This dialogue, which is a form of indirect characterization, shows the confidence and drive Starks possessed. Readers can infer, that starks is a motivated individual who “gets things done”. The Hurston provided with a mission to become the mayor of the first all-black town of Eatonville, Florida. By expressing Joe’s desire for the mayor's position, the author shows how ambitious …show more content…

Despite having drastically different personalities, each of her three Marriages ended in failure or tragedy due to the pride of the three men. Hurston’s characterization of Janie’s three husbands represents three different types of men: Logan- The work-horse, and Teacake - The Free spirit and Joe. Joe Starks is clearly the most ambitious of these three men. however, Joe is also the cruelest and most despicable of the three husbands. The author uses Joe’s ambition to Justify his actions and in doing so shows the consequences of them such as His relationship wife deteriorating, the townspeople resenting him, and his public shaming, and cursing of his wife on his

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803 Words | 4 Pages

Joe once thinks of selling his land to the Devine owning to the financial problems in raising his family. However, after much persuading by Ruby Archuleta and Charlie Bloom, a progressive lawyer who fights for the rights of the villagers, Joe decides to continue to work in his beanfield despite all the difficulties he has to endure. The Devine keeps on oppressing him by sending its minions to thwart Joe’s efforts to irrigate his beanfield. In one of the incidents, the Devine tries to accuse Joe for allowing his cow to graze the grass of the Federal Government, but fails miserably as Joe is advocated by the villagers who exculpate him from the acrimonious allegation. With the help of Charlie Bloom, Ruby and the villagers, Joe becomes the hero of the village, the leader who successfully suppress the evil land developer’s movement.

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441 Words | 2 Pages

In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Janie is held back from growing to her full potential. Janie is married three times and in each marriage there is one item that restrains her. In her marriage with Joe she was forced to wear a head rag to cover her hair because it is so long and beautiful. The red rag resembled the restraint Joe put on Janie.

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1356 Words | 6 Pages

He is alone; he has no job opportunity in Washington because Roy has died. But Joe is happy. Joe has finally faced unlocked that “hidden thing” and he has embraced it. Joe’s secret exists no more, and he gains that confidence and sureness that he was missing. Although Joe loses everyone else, he finds himself.

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769 Words | 4 Pages

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses speech as a tool to show the progression of the story. Janie Crawford, the main character of the novel, finds her true identity and ability to control her voice through many hardships. When Janie’s grandmother dies she is married off, to be taken care of. In each marriage that follows, she learns what it is to be a woman with a will and a voice. Throughout the book, Janie finds herself struggling against intimidating men who attempt to victimize her into a powerless role.

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543 Words | 3 Pages

Here, Joe buys 60 acres of land to expand the town. He is soon, then declared the

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584 Words | 3 Pages

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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1660 Words | 7 Pages

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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920 Words | 4 Pages

Janie Crawford Killiks Starks Woods is the main character in the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, where she learns what's it's like to go from marriage to marriage looking for love. In the novel, Hurston utilizes the pivotal moment when Janie realizes that marriage doesn’t always mean love to show Janie's coming of age and psychological development which is used to show that love doesn't always come first. Logan Killicks was Janie's first marriage, which was brought about after Nanny (her grandmother) decided that she need to be married after she caught Janie and a young boy kissing when she was 16. After that Janie finds herself being thrown into some random marriage with some man she barely knew, and for a reason

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722 Words | 3 Pages

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston. The novel portrays Janie, a middle aged black woman who tells her friend Pheoby Watson what has happened to her husband Tea Cake and her adventure. The resulting telling of her story portrays most of the novel. Throughout the novel, Zora Neale Hurston presents the theme of love, or being in a relationship versus freedom and independence, that being in a relationship may hinder one’s freedom and independence. Janie loves to be outgoing and to be able to do what she wants, but throughout the book the relationships that she is in with Logan,Jody and Tea Cake, does not allow her to do that.

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1657 Words | 7 Pages

Hurston tells the story of Janie, a black woman who because of her grandmother experiences and beliefs was forced to marry into a loveless marriage with Logan Killicks, a hard-working farmer who had 60 acres of land and could provide for Janie. This marriage ended when Janie ran away with Joe Stark, a man that she fell in love with and thought could give her the love absent between her and Logan. But Janie soon realized that her second marriage wouldn’t turn out better than her first. Joe was just as controlling and degrading as Logan. He hardly expressed his love for Janie and spoke to her like an incompetent child.

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227 Words | 1 Pages

In the story Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston by giving people control of your life you would not be able to fully live your life. In 1937 West Florida all Janie Crawford wants is to choose her own path in life in a journey of self-discovery and broken hearts. Janie grew up in the care of her nanny who always told her how to live her life her nanny marries her off to an older man named Logan Killicks. He has Janie work hard and treats her like she isn't his wife. She then runs off with Joe Sparks a determined man with dreams everything was going fine until Joe starts to treat her like a trophy wife.

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711 Words | 3 Pages

Her Story, Her Voice The unique story that is Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of voices collected together to create one big voice. Hurston uses many characters’ voices to help Janie find her own, actual voice and tell her story by the end of the novel. The story by Zora Neale Hurston is a frame story which is a story within a story. Hurston, like many other authors, uses the frame narrative to help the story come full circle and create a sense that the reader is part of the story.

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1171 Words | 5 Pages

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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697 Words | 3 Pages

Porch. A covered shelter projecting in front of the entrance of a building. This inanimate object served to develop various themes throughout the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. She reveals the theme of jealousy and envy, gender inequality and a sense of community with the help of the porch.

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349 Words | 2 Pages

The two works from this African American Literature class that developed the theme of relationships the most were “La Amistad” and “The Eyes Were Watching God.” The point here is that relationships between Cinque, Roger Sherman Baldwin, and John Quincy Adams saved the free Africans lives and allowed them to return back to their home. The relationship between Baldwin and Cinque were pivotal for them to be free. Cinque gave Baldwin a sense of perspective of the pain, unjust treatment, and ludicrous accusations that they were facing from the courts. That relationship catapulted Baldwin to win his case and to bring out the best of him in the courtroom.

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