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What Is The Theme Of Nany In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Zora Neale Hurston Nanny character in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” places non-feministic values into the character Janie at a young age. In the story, the readers follow a young girl named Janie through her life. Nanny is introduced as Janie’s Grandmother and caretaker. She pushes Janie to get married and in doing so instills values that Janie will have to overcome throughout the story. Nanny forces Janie to get married before she passes away. This is to insure she is set up to live a good life after she dies. Janie marries an older man named Logan Killicks. Nanny believed that Janie would need “protection” (Hurston, 2006, p.15). She wanted to be sure that Janie would have a set life and told Janie that could not do that on her …show more content…

Just before Janie meets Joe Stark or her second husband, Logan tells Janie he is going out to buy a mule that is so “even uh woman kin handle ‘im”(Hurston, 2006, p.27). Soon after Logan sets out on his trip, Joe Starks goes walking by Janie. Once they get to know each other he promises that if she leaves with him then he would buy “her the best things”(Hurston, 2006, p.34). He even talked about “a town all outta colored folks”(Hurston, 2006, p.28). This idea was something that Janie’s grandmother talked about as well. A place where the “black man is in power” (Hurston, 2006, p.14), she talked about this place as if it was a dream. This was another factor that caused Janie to leave with Joe Starks. He promised her a new life where she would be well taken care of and have some kind of power. Just as her grandmother stated the only way she would get this kind of power was from a man. Though after years of being together, Janie starts to learn what she does not like about Joe and the power he …show more content…

Janie was not happy about the work she had to do because Joe would not allow her to do much of anything else. She was not allowed to converse with people on the porch of the store or, go to celebrations the town was having. So when Janie decided to “fight back with her tongue as best she could”(Hurston, 2006, p.71) this just called Joe to hit her and fight for “her submission”(Hurston, 2006, p.71) to him and his will. She fought back when he was on his deathbed and after she died she lived alone for a few months. Since Joe had left the store and all his money to her she could stand by herself. She lived on her own for a while and did things she wanted to. This was the first time she did something her grandmother did not instill in her. Then she meets her third Husband Tea Cakes and, feels for him. He was different from her other husbands, he allowed her to do things the others did not. Though there were still some common traits in Tea Cake. Such as him paying for most of their dates, having fun with her, and working as a team with her. She had a real love for him and finally got to marry for

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1834 Words | 8 Pages

Nanny’s portion of the novel shines a light on how Janie really views the world compared to her grandmothers. Ultimately Nanny wants Janie to be happy and well taken care of by any means necessary, regardless of how Janie feels. Nanny grew up while being in slavery and lived a hard, loveless life. She ended up getting pregnant with a white man, which to some degree helped her life and the life of her daughter better than it was before. Nanny believes that having the “ultimate life” is based off of status and what the man can bring to the table and provide for her, not solely from mutual

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660 Words | 3 Pages

Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, forces Janie to marry a man she is not in love with out of convenience. Nanny does not want Janie to suffer the necessities of life, but Janie cares little about materials and seeks love. Nanny’s ideology haunts Janie for much of her life, influencing decisions she takes later in marriage. Huston says, “The memory of Nanny was still powerful and strong,” which shows how Janie conforms to the ideology her grandmother instilled in her. And although Janie conforms, she continues to question inwardly about love.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

(Hurston, 72) Janie realizes that she has a sense of self, and that she does not want to be defined solely by her husband's desires. She begins to develop her own voice, and she begins to assert

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1490 Words | 6 Pages

Though Janie faces loss multiple times through the deaths of these people that she loves dearly, she gains qualities in herself which she can use later in her life. In her first relationship with Joe, Janie is continually oppressed in terms of when she’s allowed to speak and how she controls her own appearance but this oppression only works to shape her personality into one that can speak back and be more assertive in front of anyone. By having to be in a situation where she has to choose whether to shoot Tea Cake, she becomes more resilient and proactive. Only through the loss of youthfulness and two loved ones is Janie able to truly discover who she, conveying Hurston’s larger message that self-discovery is fueled through loss and

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688 Words | 3 Pages

Wright argues that Their Eyes Were Watching God does not convey any ideas or themes of importance, but I believe that his masculinity blinds him, and he is unable to see how this novel is able to call attention to how women of color are oppressed by men. Throughout the entire story, Janie is constantly being oppressed by, not by a person, but by an idea, which was created by men. The idea that black women were at the bottom of the social pyramid, they are forced to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, therefore they were “de mule uh de world.” Hurston communicates this idea through Nanny by writing, “So de white man throw down de load and tell de n***** man to pick it up.

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1254 Words | 6 Pages

Janie realizes what she deserves in a marriage and runs off with Starks to live a happy life with him. Things do not go as planned for Janie as she starts to realize how manipulative Joe Starks is of her. Starks has full control over Janie with his tyrannical behavior and takes things even further when he establishes complete dominance over Janie. Janie soon realizes that Starks has taken advantage of her “It was her image of Jody tumbled down and shattered. But looking at it she saw that it never was the flesh and blood figure of her dreams.

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897 Words | 4 Pages

During this marriage Janie found true love and happiness when being with Tea Cake. This was the first time Janie felt respected and equal in a relationship since the last two men ended up treating her very poorly. After spending time with Tea Cake she realized that the horizon she once dreamed of reaching was possible and all had to do with the man she chose to be with. Janie was given another chance from God to relive her golden days, and she saw it as a rebirth in which she had the chance to experience the fun and adventurous side of herself. After Tea Cake decides to take Janie's money and throw a party behind her back, janie is more mad at the fact that she didn’t share those memories with her. "

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2241 Words | 9 Pages

He is constantly trying to fill his love with possessions to give to janie instead of caring for her and telling her how much he really loves her. Joe also is very controlling of Janie and even begins to tell her what to wear and how she should put up her hair, “‘Whut make her keep her head tied up lak some ole ‘oman round de store?’” (Hurston 68). Joe begins to force things upon her and separate her from her friends. Joe loves power and change much more than he loves Janie and as a result he tries to control her and create her into something she is not.

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724 Words | 3 Pages

Finding her identity was a very difficult and powerful process and Janie is deemed as a strong independent woman because of it. Janie shows this when the novel states that “She was looking for the kiss of life. She was searching for something that was inside herself, and always had been” (Hurston 9). This proves Janie’s quest to find herself and who she is because she knows she has a purpose and that her life has meaning. Janie’s determination shows how she’s trying to fight the expectations for her and doesn’t want to die just being a normal woman.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

As their marriage went on, his dominant and controlling nature became apparent. He viewed Janie as his possession, his trophy wife. He had no problem throwing her around or yelling at her in front of the townspeople. She was pulled deeper into isolation by letting him push her around. She didn't believe in a man-controlled world, but settled for the security he provided.

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1584 Words | 7 Pages

Janie’s relation with Joes till his death is another step to realize the real meaning of domination and liberation. The moment that Janie kills her third husband Tea Cake is a must in the novel. Although Tea Cake liberated Janie from two different kinds of domination for a period of time but he turns to practice another kind of domination through his physical abuse and his jealousy; so his murder is a momentary freedom for Janie. Janie in her development and growth contends to replace the old culture concept that places women’s wishes on material and economic demands by love and affection.

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1301 Words | 6 Pages

Ah raked and scraped and bought dis lil piece uh land so you wouldn’t have to stay in de white folks’ yard and tuck yo’ head befo’ other chillun at school’ ” (Hurston 37). Nanny worked very hard to help Janie and it is clear that they have a mutual love for one another. Because of this, the theme of love is shown between Janie and her grandmother. It is obvious that there was a great separation between races during this time period, especially since slavery had ended and segregation was common almost everywhere.

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1819 Words | 8 Pages

The love Tea Cake gives and accepts from her allows for her once divided selves that sought affection become unified, blossoming within her a passion that shines for her

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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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530 Words | 3 Pages

Jody controlled major aspects of Janie’s life, such as her appearance, when he forces her to keep her hair up. Janie does not like that Jody feels the need to control her: “This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it... that was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was” (Hurston 55).

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