...Racial stereotypes in the novel continuously changed and became less "inter-race" discrimination and more "inner-race". While Eatonville served as a platform for black people to escape from the racism present in the rest of the United, it was not lacking in discrimination. Upon the arrival of Joe Starks and Janie to the town, several members of the all-black community question Joe’s aspirations. Even an Eatonville community member voiced that “us colored folks is too envious of one ‘nother,” and that’s why any sort of progress is unlikely (Hurston 46). Furthermore, he says that Even though they are free from white intervention which kept the black race from progressing, it is really the entire black community that keeps any one of its members from moving...
Words: 994 - Pages: 4
...For instance, Joe Starks has always “wanted to be a big voice” (Hurston 28) but has been overshadowed by white men throughout his life. However, his assertion of his own independence by means of leaving his white employers allows him to travel to Eatonville to pursue his dream, where he is “set as the Mayor - post master - landlord - storekeeper” (Hurston 50). Through Joe’s attaining his independence, he can pursue his dream to be an authoritative figure, despite his race. Joe’s rejection of the stereotypical job a black man must have facilitates his ability to pursue his...
Words: 1037 - Pages: 5
...Their Eyes Were Specifically Watching Joe Starks Many people have the leadership skill, but not many put it to good use. Leaders come in various ways: best and worst. Some of the best leaders this year include Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Angela Merkel, and many more (Dishman). On the other hand, many leaders lead with a more fallacious purpose. Some of the worst leaders encompass Mao Ze-dong, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, and many more (Butler). Although, power still remains a big factor of leadership. Most of the worst leaders had/have too much power and they let that get to their head. Joe Starks resembles megalomania better than any other. Although Joe Starks possessed many leadership skills in the book , Their Eyes Were Watching God, power influenced him drastically....
Words: 898 - Pages: 4
...American society. She displays how African Americans were curtailed to nothing after the Civil War and how it was quite difficult to commence a town on their own of there own race. Her autobiography entails the very candid moments of the Harlem Renaissance. As the novel is exposed in the opening chapter the subject matter is revealed and it entails Zora Neale Hurston’s life. “So you will have to know something about the time and place where I came from, in order that you may interpret the incidents and directions of my life” (Hurston 1). The setting appears to be one of the developing subjects in the novel because her atmosphere depicted many of the events in her life. The town’s locations also foreshadowed many of her life events. “Eatonville is what you might call hitting a straight lick with a crooked stick. The town was not in the original plan. It is a by-product of something else” (1). The town setting is very symbolic in Huston’s life because she lived amongst one of the only all black towns in the state of Florida. This coincides with the possible theme of the individual in society. Living in this society had many effects on Hurston’s life. She reveals these frank moments with the reader. The setting sets up the forthcoming of the rest of the novel by demonstrating that living in the predominately black town will come with many hardships that will alter Hurston as a character. In chapter one, Hurston also discloses some of the various symbols and motifs in the novel...
Words: 641 - Pages: 3
...herself but to any black woman struggling for independence. Janie identifies with the mule, which remains stubbornly independent despite its masters efforts to beat it down. Ironically, while Jody's position in the city gives him the power to free the mule, his pride and ambition cause him to virtually enslave his wife. He can free Janie only by his death. The mule is also a symbol of the control that men have over things. Watson’s mule was worked hard and was not fed properly so he didn’t look healthy. Women are associated with this mule because the men in Eatonville made them work hard and they were not treated fairly (49). Some of the women in the town worked just as hard as the men and they were not allowed to enjoy a lot of the things men got to. The men liked to relax on the porch and play checkers. None of the women got to participate in these activities. This segregation was unfair to the women of Eatonville. Janie can sympathize with the mule because she has undergone the same hardships making the reader think back to Nanny identifying the black woman as the mule of the world. Following Janie’s comment, Jody purchases the mule to live out its days without work. It is only when she tells her tale to Phoeby from the female space of the back porch that her audience is aware that Janie is calling attention...
Words: 2158 - Pages: 9
...that nourished and developed the blossoms of love, so Janie had to find someone that could grow with her and help her find who she really was. Jody introduces himself to Janie as a singing, rhyming, flattering bee. He adores her and is disgusted at the fact that she has been put to work like a mule. Janie was never admired as a “pretty doll baby” by Logan, and Logan never spoke of such great ambitions and far off horizons as Joe Starks did. Janie realizes she can embark on her search for love and herself by following Jody to Eatonville. In Eatonville, it is quickly developed that Jody wants power and authority. He has a few good qualities that help him set up a community, but these very qualities lead him to control, neglect, abuse and suppress Janie. Instead of giving Janie compassionate attention, Jody is swept up in business. Janie is left working in the store thinking Jody is too caught up in work to be with her. His values of leadership and control corrode their relationship when Janie is forced to wear head rags and is constantly stopped from using her voice. Her hair represents her power, and he makes her confine her remarkable hair because he sees it as a threat to his dominance. Jody never married Janie for her speaking abilities or for her independence, but to simply further his egotistic lifestyle and need for superiority. Thus, Janie is not permitted to engage in porch conversation. Janie is a symbol, an image, a trophy for Jody to flaunt around. He builds...
Words: 1521 - Pages: 7
...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Their Eyes Were Watching God The novel their eyes were watching God is a story of an African-American girl called Janie Crawford. At the stage of adolescence, Janie comes across a bee pollinating a pear tree in her backyard and she becomes obsessed with finding true love. She then matures and grows emotionally through three of her marriages (Cheryl 5). Her first marriage is to, a farmer, Logan Killicks and it is arranged and carried on by Janie’s grandmother called Nanny. Logan proves to be a reliable but uninspired husband. He later gives Janie threats to kill her for being disobedient. Janie later leaves Logan for an ambitious man called Joe Starks. Upon their marriage, Janie is taken to Eatonville in Florida, which is among the first all-black city in America, by her husband Joe who is a mayor. Janie later realizes that her husband is very demeaning to women. He silences her when she speaks. He then accuses Janie of acting too younger than her age. Janie finds the situation she goes through unbearable, and she insults Joe’s manhood. When Joe was in his deathbed, Janie enters his room and speaks to him. After Joe dies, Janie stays widowed for some time, and she later meets another man, a fun-loving man whom she is twelve years older than and is called Tea Cake. Janie finds the true love she has been dreaming. They experience jealousy in their relationship but despite this, they are happy interacting with other workers while working...
Words: 2036 - Pages: 9
...African American Studies Final Question Answers M5Q1 NOTES: 1. Which of the following best describes Henry David Thoreau's response to Brown's raid? |1.|Thoreau praises Brown and seeks to defend his memory against those who viewed him as a murderer or insane man| |2.|Thoreau is horrified by the violent methods Brown used, arguing that violence will turn many Americans who oppose the extension of slavery against the abolitionists| |3.|Thoreau argues that Brown should not be put to death as this would cause sectional strife and lead to a civil war| |4.|Thoreau is one of many abolitionists who plea for Brown's life to be saved| 3 points Question 2 1. Which of the following best summarizes the letters John Brown wrote to his family while in prison? |1.|Brown is very hopeful that his wife and remaining children will come visit him| |2.|Brown calls upon his sons to continue his work. Although he speaks in very vague terms, it is clear that he hopes they will launch another slave uprising so that his death will not be in vain| |3.|Brown is upset at the fact that some of his children are ashamed to be sons and daughters of the man who planed the raid at Harper's Ferry| |4.|Brown does not write any letters to his family members while in prison, a fact John Earle makes plain in his introduction| |5.|Brown is upbeat and speaks in mostly religious terms about how there is no need to grieve for their father| Question 3 1. Which of the following is TRUE regarding John...
Words: 10305 - Pages: 42
...overthrown expelled to the lower basement of Hades, the Tartarus, after their defeat in a huge battle with the Olympian Gods. The Superior Titans are Gaea, Mother Earth, and Uranus, Ruler of the Heaven and the Sky. The Main Titans are Atlas, the Titan of Astronomy, and Prometheus, the Titan of Wisdom and Forethought. There are also several Titan Couples. These include Cronus and Rhea, the mother and father of the Olympian Gods, Coeus and Phoebe, the Titan of Intelligence and the Titaness of Brilliance and the Moon, Hyperion and Theia, Titan of Life and Sun and Titaness of Sight, and Oceanus and Tethys, Ruler of the Waters and the Seas, and Titaness of the Wet Element and the Oceans. Other Titans of Ancient Greece include Crius, Titan of Leadership and Domestic Animals, Iapetus, Titan of Morality, Mnemosyne, Titaness of Memory, and Themis, Titaness of Law, Justice and Order. The Twelve Olympians The Olympian gods were the main deities in Ancient Greece. All gods were associated with birth myths, but they were unaging. After overthrowing their ancestors, the Titans, the Olympian gods were the rulers of the Cosmos and represented the civilization of the world. The Olympian gods were majestically and democratically dwelling on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, built by the Cyclops. The leader of the Olympian gods was Zeus. All Olympian Gods were having human weaknesses and were obliged to take the full responsibility of...
Words: 11674 - Pages: 47