Symbols In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the author uses three contrasting places to represent opposing forces and ideas that are essential to the novels overall meaning. The book was set in 1937 were the protagonist Janie experienced life in West Florida, Eatonville, and the Everglades. West Florida symbolizes Janie’s youth being crushed by her grandmother, Nanny, pushing her towards Logan Killicks who provides protection and security rather than love. Eatonville represents the marriage of Joe Starks and Janie where Joe fills Janie Materialistically, and when Janie reaches self-resolutions. The Everglades represents Janie reaching the horizon through the love between her and Tea Cake. Janie was born in West Florida where she was raised by her Grandmother, Nanny. The beginning of her life in West Florida it was a representation of Janie’s youth. One occasion she was lying under the pear tree where “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the …show more content…
Janie and Tea Cake moved to the Everglades after they were married. When Joe asked Janie if she is okay with working she responds “Clerkin’ in dat store wuz hard, but heah, we aint got nothin’ tuh do but do our work and come home and love” (133). Tea Cake did not class Janie off like Joe did. When they returned to their house their relationship was filled with love. Even though Janie and Tea Cake were not rich and filled with matristic items Janie was truly happy here because she finally received the love she had yearned. Unlike the porch arguments in Eatonville, the arguments in the Everglades Janie could “listen and laugh, and even talk some herself” (134). Janie tells Tea Cake “so many people never seen de light at all. Ah wuz fumblin’ round and God opened de door” (159). She was assuring Tea Cake that because of him, in the Everglades, she got to truly experience
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