...In the movie Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, there is an exploration of the paradigm of sexual identity from nature through the pear tree, the bee and the flower, and the hurricane. The film follows the transition from childhood to adulthood of Janie Crawford, a mixed girl of black and white. Their Eyes Were Watching God tells the story of the development of Janie's ideals of love and independence. As a child, Janie sees a bee pollinating a flower in the pear tree of her backyard and from there becomes determined to find true everlasting love. According to Robert Solomon, “This "traditionalist" definition of sexual identity has sometimes been associated with one or more of the following additional positions: that certain...
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...In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston depicts the life and struggles of a black woman named Janie Crawford. Hurston uses the literary technique of symbols to represent the plot and emotions of Janie throughout the work. The two prominent symbols pertaining to the growth of Janie is the symbolization of her hair and the hurricane, which act as a symbols for restraint and oppression. Although the hair symbolizes confinement, while the hurricane representing Janie’s continual struggle, they also reveal her strengths and advancement as a character when she breaks free of those bonds. Through the symbolization of Janie’s hair and the hurricane, two themes are highlighted: the struggle to discover the individual stems from language and power, and liberation comes from self discovery found in personal loss. Hurston utilizes the connection between themes and the symbolization of Janie’s hair and the hurricane to give meaning of Hurston’s interpretation of Janie. Their Eyes Were Watching God is unique as a novel because of Hurston choice of conversational dialect for the characters. Throughout the novel Hurston uses the Southern black dialect in order to bring a realistic feel to the setting and plot line for the reader. The irony in the novel’s unique choice of conversational dialect is that the protagonist, Janie, is often hidden behind the other characters in the novel. This brings about the first theme which is, the struggle to discover...
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...As a hero herself, Janie goes on journey of hardships where she persists through them with her endurance. But with endurance comes with her determination and her want to go forward with her life. Not only does she stand against those that hurt her but Janie wants to keep going. Wanting to move forward, Janie exhibits the heroic quality of determination in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Meeting Jody, Janie finds that he could be the new start in her life and is determined to begin a new. But with the journey she realizes that along with Logan, Jody fails her too shown s she looks over her life “She had been getting read for her great journey to the horizons in search of people . . . But she had been whipped like a cur dog and run off down a back...
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... She struggled with poverty throughout most of her life despite her hard work. From 1925 on, Ms. Hurston lived in New York and eventually joined the Harlem Renaissance. She was one of the shapers of the black literary and cultural movement of the twenties. Ms. Hurston was the first black scholar to research folklore on the level that she did. From 1930s to the 1960s, Zora Neale Hurston was the most prolific and accomplished black woman writer in America. During that thirty year period, she published many short stories, magazine articles, plays, and seven books. She gained a reputation as an outstanding folklorist and novelist. She drew attention to herself because she insisted on being herself at a time when African Americans were being urged to assimilate in an effort to...
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...Outline Thesis statement: In addition to the frequent references to nature, certain animals have symbolic weight in Their Eyes Were Watching God. The animal with the greatest symbolic charge in this novel is the mule. Mentioned frequently throughout “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, the mule obviously represents the carrier of heavy loads and burdens, but it can also, and does, represent stubborn resistance. The mule serves to illustrate the strained relationship between Janie and Joe Starks. The figure of the mule can also refer not only to Janie 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...
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...The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston, is about a woman named Janie telling the story of her life to her friend, Pheoby. Janie, at sixteen, was on a quest for her ideal love and identity in Florida. Zora Neal Hurston portrays Janie after herself, as Hurston had a similar childhood to that in her story. Hurston had parents who were slaves and had lived in Eatonville when she was very young. She also had a fascination with nature, which added to the idea of Janie's idealized view of nature. Janie's journey to find what she was looking for was rough but she ultimately succeeded. In Their Eyes Were Watching God the author uses many symbols to characterize Janie's search for love and identity. In this story, Janie Crawford...
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...Aisha Sylvain Dr. Kemp AML 4101 5 October, 2011 House of Mirth and Their Eyes Were Watching God are both novels dealing with issues concerning woman’s roles and capabilities in a certain societies. To completely understand the plight of woman during this era, one must understand how the societies in which they came from function. Lily Bart is by no means from a lower class; however, the most elite class in which she wishes to become a part of requires strategic finagling and unfortunately, harsh criticism her peers. Janie Crawford, who was raised by her grandmother, is capable of being “somebody” because of her Caucasian like beauty and her grandmother’s will that she does so. Both stories were written in the early 19th century and include young women finding their places in society, discovering love, and attempting to find self-fulfillment. Lily Bart attempts to socially climb her way into an elitist class and similarly, Janie is expected to get into and stay in a good class. No matter the means to get on top, these women were expected to do so. Although all things that were expected of Lily Bart and Janie Crawford were not completely reached, a better understanding of themselves was gained in each story. The societies in which both characters lived were also accurately depicted. Lily Bart is beautiful, smart, and strategic in seeking membership into the highest class in New York in the early 19th century. When the novel begins, Lily is 29 years old and has allowed years...
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...As once said, “A relationship is someone who accepts your past, supports your present, loves you and encourages your future,”perfectly blends with the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, as it describes the ideal man that the main character is searching for her whole entire life. Janie, the protagonist has several relationships with men to find her “blossoming bee” but, never did she know the true meaning of love. Through the relationships that she had, she comes to discover her true identity. The two relationships that impacted her life immensely are the two characters, Joe Starks and Tea Cake. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie goes through multiple relationships that changes her beliefs, ultimately demonstrating that experiencing trails of love will eventually lead them to self-realization. Janie's relationship with Joe Starks constrains Janie from experiencing the outside life and shapes her into an emotionless person. Joe Starks is a working man who always wanted to have a big voice in the society. He meets Janie when she was working in Logan’s farm and grabs her attention. Soon after their encounter, they get married and move to Eatonville where Joe Starks becomes mayor. After Joe gives a speech, Janie is asked to say something. However, Joe responds, “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don't know nothin’ bout no speech-making. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in...
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...Their Eyes Were Watching God The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of a woman’s growth as a person physically, emotionally, and intellectually while on a journey for life fulfillment. Janie lives her life how her grandmother wants her too, and then tries to take her own course only to find out that she is still unhappy. Finally she finds happiness within herself. During the Harlem Renaissance Janie faces all of these feelings and conflicts. The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that included the new African-American cultural expressions across United States during the 1920’s. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses the style element of conflict to reflect from the Harlem Renaissance ideal of asserting agency, while she departs from the ideals of the movement with her use of conflict to reflect from the Harlem Renaissance ideal of...
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...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...
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...Gwinnelly Bota December 1, 2014 English III – Honors Their Eyes were watching God Test Essay In today’s world, hair is one of the most important things in society. We as a society identify with hair just to bring ourselves up to the trends. Some of the most common interests in hair are focused on hair growth, hair types, hair textures, and just all around hair care. The truth is that hair is one of the most vital sources of energy and confidence for humans. As exhibited in the book, Janie’s hair is one of the most important symbols shown. Janie’s hair is a major symbols because it represents power and possession, her strength and individuality, and it gives insight to the other characters in the story. Janie’s hair represents power and possession. When she marries Joe Starks, he later exhibits traits of a very jealous and possessive husband. Because people were admiring it, more specifically men, he makes Janie cover up her hair with old rags. In the story it is said that, “This business of head-rags irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was not going to show in the store. It didn’t seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was. He never told her how often he had seen other men figuratively wallowing in it as she went about the things in the store. And one night he had caught Walter standing behind and brushing the back of his hand back and forth across the loose end of her braid ever a lightly so as to enjoy the feel of...
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...In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston expresses her worldwide view on social justice issues of gender and identity in the world today. Hurston shows the contrariety between personal identity, and how conforming to society comes in conflict with the development of knowing your true identity. Hurston uses Janie’s three marriages to portray her point on how women, in a male-dominated society can become empowered by counteracting social norms in society and developing their own voice and identity. Throughout the novel Janie lives her life with no voice; with many husbands where she believes they will make her life better. In the beginning of the novel Janie is in a relationship with Logan Kilicks. When Janie marries Logan she wanted her relationship to be as a perfect union of harmony within nature. In her relationship with Logan Killicks, Janie is treated like a vassal being compared to Logan’s mule. Nanny says, “De nigger women is de mule of de world so fur as ah can see. Ah been prayin fuh it to be different wid you”(14). The mule symbolizes Logan and Janies farfetched relationship in which Janie is used as a vassal, which connotes the oppression of women in a male-dominated society....
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...A broken heart can cause someone to be in a lot of pain. A person whom is broken should fill their heart with God. Only God can fill a heart wholly. The question that came to mind in this story was: Is God Good? This question filled my head with more and more questions of why or more specifically, why me? Growing up in a broken home, with a broken family, ultimately led to a broken heart. It was not until I understood that I could not go on, on my own. God showed me that it was time for me to let go and allow the Lord to start working in my life. Through all of the tough times in my life, I have come to realize that in the bad, with God behind it, blessings will come. Not only have I learned that, but I have also seen that just because you can not hear God speak directly, it does not mean God is not at work in your life. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Bible Gateway) It may be hard for me to believe, sometimes, when all things are evil and tragic around me that God is near, but the silence of God is not proof that He is not...
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...there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” This quote is especially apparent in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God as Hurston uses symbolism to express Janie’s life experiences. Multiple uses of symbols can be found in this story such as the pear tree to follow in Janie’s journey of self awakening. Many symbols focus on aspects of Janie’s identity including the pear tree which is brought to attention throughout the novel. The pair tree in her...
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...“Their Eyes Were Watching God” novel personifies a resilient, strong-minded black woman who finds herself through numerous loveless marriages. Janie is not one to silence her voice nor will she let a man walk over her. All of these characteristics represent that of a feminist point of view. Therefore, Zora Neale Hurston’s story, “Their Eyes..”, is a feminist novel. Nanny had morals of a women who had been in a box her whole life. She taught Janie that the most important thing in life was to find a man that is financially stable enough to provide for you. She didn’t teach her to get an education so she could make a living for herself. “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see.”...
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