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Zora Neale Hurston's Struggles In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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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 …show more content…

The answers to her prayers came in the form of Tea Cake, a young man twelve years her junior who was a little infamous amongst the townspeople for his mischievous antics. Tea Cake loves Janie genuinely, and doesn’t try to keep her from being who she wants to be. Although he dies before he and Janie are able to spend many years together, marrying him has an effect on Janie that causes her to forget her past grievances, and consider herself as an independent person like she always hoped to be. After Tea Cake, Janie is a free woman in that she is no longer under the oppressive restraints that she once allowed to hold her back from a life she considers worth living. The exploration of gender roles and the plight of women in Hurston’s novel continues to be relevant in today’s world, despite the fact that Their Eyes Were Watching God is now 79 years old. Janie struggles with this conflict, but eventually overcomes the issues that once withheld her from pursuing what she really wanted in life. Although the novel was published in a different time, the central message to pursue the destiny that one truly desires still reaches women and girls all around the world

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Janie, however, now cares less about the judgment of the townspeople and more about her relationship with Tea Cake and decides to go as far as to marry him and go with him to Jacksonville. Once she begins prioritizing her husband over society’s judgment, she allows herself to be placed under the authority of another

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Maria Leonard AP English Literature & Composition Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay March 13, 2023 A Journey Through Janie’s Eyes The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is a self-realization psychological-fiction book about a young woman named Janie Crawford and her lessons through life and love. Throughout the novel, Zora Neale Hurston employs various literary devices to guide the reader through Janie's journey of self-discovery. Hurston uses literary devices such as dramatic irony, symbolism, imagery, and syntax to depict the downfall of Janie's inner damage, marriage to Joe Starks, and discovery of different types of romantic relationships.

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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.

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Characteristics that are out of your control are often times the ones that cause the most trouble. Janie Crawford in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, realizes this at a very early age. Throughout the novel, Janie fights desperately to be independent, but she is constantly held back by those factors outside of her control.

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A lesbian is a woman- indentified woman and Adrienne Rich calls it ‘Lesbian continuum’ she explains lesbian continuum is “Include is a range through each woman’s life and throughout history of woman indentified experience no simply the fact that a woman has had consciously desired genital sexual experience with another woman (25)”. Rich argues to embrace many more forms of primary intensity between and among women including the sharing of a rich inner life. Their Eyes were watching God is overwhelmingly centered on Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake. Whereas certain critics recognize the female search for self and need for community as key issues in the novel, most still give priority to heterosexual love and experience as the sole informers of Janie’s existence.

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Tea Cake also appreciated Janie for who she is “Not only does he appreciate Janie’s beauty, intelligence, and independence, but he also shows her tenderness, trust and respect.” (Dilbeck 102). Tea Cake allowed Janie to speak freely and be herself around him. When Janie went to court after killing Tea Cake,

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There no correct way to love someone, or how two souls show each other affection. As one grows through life they develop understanding of the kind of love that does not satisfy their desire, their own self by knowing what they gravitate toward, and what kind of love is just a fantasy and does not reflect reality. In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character Janis Crawford jumps through life experimenting with different partners that show her different styles of love. As the book unfold Janis gains more knowledge about what kind of love she is seeking and what kind of partner will help her open her soul. Janis’ near-perfect partner Tea Cake gives her the love and respect to grow.

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Life is time intervals of change that move each and every person with each passing moment, and reflect the world around us. Literature frequently reflects the culture along with the emotions and feelings of the environment and people around us. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, takes us through the life of Janie Crawford, a black woman in the early 1900’s, and her journey for love and identity through three different marriages. Janie’s different experiences and what goes on around her reflects how Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is both a reflection and departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance, from the influence of slavery, and the re-emergence of stereotypes, respectively. The Harlem Renaissance was

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The pursuit of dreams has played a big role in self-fulfillment and internal development and in many ways, an individual 's reactions to the perceived and real obstacles blocking the path to a dream define the very character of that person. This theme is evident in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, which is about the search for identity. A woman of a mixed ethnicity resides in several communities, each playing an important role and serve as crucial influences on her life. During the story, she endures two failed relationships and one good relationship, dealing with disappointment, death, the wrath of nature and life’s unpredictability.

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Conclusion Their Eyes Were Watching God is Hurston’s document to explain the impact of the history which is represented by the legacy of slavery on the present dilemma of her female protagonist Janie. As Janie’s grandmother was abused physically and exploited sexually and her mother was also raped ,Janie develops her past history within the era of post- Emancipation and attempt to find the real concept of her identity and self-fulfilment. Janie tries to put an end to the African –American women’s thoughts which are influenced by the white culture.

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Over time, women have slowly gained more and more rights. They have become more prominent in society, making more decisions that influence their lives, as well as the lives of other people. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston highlights how the gender roles of men and women differ including women being less powerful than men, how Janie had the strength and determination to gain her own happiness, and how stereotypical roles should not play a part in society. Some people view Janie as a woman who should be dependent on her husband, following the traditional roles of women, being satisfied with her life as the less powerful sex.

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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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Zora Neale Hurston’s writing in Their Eyes Were Watching God, reflects the Harlem Renaissance through Janie 's individuality, and departs from the Harlem Renaissance with the common recurrence of black woman empowerment. In the novel, Hurston reflects the ideas of the Harlem renaissance with the ways in which Janie rebels and goes against norms for women.

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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.

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In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston wrote in a way that conveyed a message through her characters, using a storytelling "frame" to express her ideas. Hurston did not stop by means to get her point across. Hurston uses Janie’s thoughts and actions to represents how during Reconstruction, African Americans were trying to find their identities and achieve their dreams of independence. At the start of the novel Hurston begins to illustrate how African Americans in Eatonville feel about their lives.

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