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Theology their eyes were watching God
Theology their eyes were watching God
Essay on janie in their eyes are watching god
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- Zora Neale Hurston, born January 7th, 1891, was an African-American author, widely known for her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Being raised in Eatonville, Florida, the first black township of the United States, Hurston was indulged in black culture at a very early age. Zora was described to have a fiery, yet bubbly spirit, befriending very influential people, one being American poet, Langston Hughes. With heavy influence from her hometown, along with the achievement of the black women around her, an abundance of motivation came when Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel promotes black power, all while rejecting the stereotypes held against women.
Tea Cake is introduced as a clever, younger man that Janie takes interest in. Janie clearly pays attention to this man because he is handsome and actually wants her to play checkers with him, which Jodie Starks always forbid her to do. She realizes this and explains, “Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play. That was even nice”
“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” Jane Austen. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston depicted the travels of Janie Crawford and her understanding of womanhood and freedom through her several marriages. Throughout the book, Hurston portrays the growth of Janie and her ideals, her hair being a major recurring symbol.
In the novel “Their eyes were watching god” the author, Zora Hurston does a good job of showing how Janie was able to learn how to balance a relationship and keeping her independence as well and everything that led up to that. Janie basically went on a “love” search but was looking in all the wrong areas. As an infant Janie was abandoned by her mother who was raped and got pregnant so she was brought up by her grandmother who was also raped. Her Nanny only wanted the best for her. She wanted Janie to have a life of purpose.
In Zora Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” the protagonist Janie Crawford experiences the tension of outward conformity while she questioning inwardly, until she finds herself through love meeting her third husband Tea Cake. In other words, Janie goes through a transformation throughout the novel from what others want her to be, to the person she really is, overcoming the pressures of her husbands, as well as the expectations of society. Throughout the book, she grows from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman who has control of her own destiny. As a young girl, Janie is sitting under a pear tree and looks up, “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight.” which is where she realizes what love and sexuality is and this is where her quest for love begins.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston contains many elements of racism, sexism, and elitism. Janie spends a lifetime of going from one relationship to the next in an effort to find out who she is. Along the way, there are elements of feminism, or the advocacy for gender equality, that touch her journey as she learns to make her own decisions and speak her mind. While Janie would not necessarily be the most typical conception of a strong feminist character, the context of the southern African American society of the 1920´s, Janie has made some decisive actions that would constitute her as a feminist character.
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston argues that relationships provide guidance in Janie’s life journey in order to showcase Janie’s three different and challenging marriages, ultimately illustrating that independence and freedom is necessary for self-discovery. Janie and Logan’s subpar marriage helped Janie ultimately become a woman. Hurston provides a direct characterization of
Their Eyes Were Watching God: Prompt 10 In Zora Neale Hurston’s famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, main character Janie Crawford struggles through many of life’s trials, including poverty, discrimination, and three consecutive marriages that each come with their own challenges for Janie. While many tribulations of the era are discussed during the novel, the featured conflict revolves around Janie, and what it means for her and her dreams of being independent to be alive during a time when she is discriminated against for both her race and gender. Hurston’s novel explores how deeply generations of oppression and poverty can affect a person, and how Janie slowly but surely overcomes the obstacles of ignorance and prejudice barring her
“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.
Zora Neale Hurston, an author during the Harlem Renaissance, wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, an amazing novel written about the losses and loves of a lady named Janie Crawford. The author describes the way Janie found out who she really was and what love was throughout her three marriages. Janie’s first two marriages were unfulfilling and not healthy for herself. Janie realized what true love was when she met Tea Cake. Janie’s first marriage was to a man named Logan Killicks, which was forced upon her by her grandmother.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston depicts the life of Janie Crawford, and the adversity she endures. During this time, many adhere to traditional gender roles. Men are the authoritative figures who hold positions of power while women take care of the house and the family. Janie’s past husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks, and Nanny force her to maintain this customary role as a wife; however, Tea Cake breaks this mold, showing Janie how to break these rules. From the start, Nanny inculcates in Janie these beliefs and the importance of marriage.
Zora Neale Hurston as a woman and a writer in Harlem Renaissance Hurston published a surplus of literary works in her lifetime, including “essays, folklore, short stories, novels, plays, articles on anthropology and autobiography”(Aberjhani163), Their Eyes Were Watching God being one of the most widely read. Hurston did not write for the greater political good but rather just for the sake of writing. Many argue her place in the Harlem Renaissance, referring “her flat refusal to politicize her early writings by adopting the prevailing notions driving African-American social reform” (Dawson, Aberjhani, 165). Nevertheless, Hurston wrote influential and powerful works that were broadly read by both races alike.
Self-discovery is essential to a prosperous life. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie, the main character, discovers who she is through her relationships. Janie learns from each of her experiences, but the most significant are her husbands: Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake. Each of these people attempt to control her thoughts and actions, but Janie rebels against them. Janie stands up for what she believes in, and through these confrontations, she better understands herself.
Zora Neal Hurston was an African American novelist who was born in the year 1891. Her most notable novel was of course, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” which is a story of a young attractive woman named Janie who is voiceless but wants to control her own destiny. In Zora’s book, she not only discussed the racial malcontent in the 1900’s but gender roles in society. She also greatly discussed how African American women are valued or even devaluated in marriages. Zora Neale Hurston has such a timeless appeal to the youth of the upcoming 21st century is due to the fact, that a lot of what she mentioned in her literature involving life for blacks in the south still relevant and true today in some forms but it greatly differs from what it was for an African American person in the 1900’s in the south.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the long-lasting effects of slavery have taken a toll on Janie Crawford. Janie’s grandmother was raped by her master and had a child named Leafy. Leafy, although not born into slavery, endured a similar fate, which led her to run away, leaving her mother to raise her child, Janie. Janie’s appearance, showing strong European features, was both praised and shamed by society. This double standard was created by racism and was able to remain present due to segregation.
