Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

Words: 661
Pages: 3
Open Document
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a piece of literature unique to its era. Although written during the Harlem Renaissance, as African American culture was celebrated by African American authors, the book abandoned implicit guidelines for writing about black culture. In the time when Hurston was writing Their Eyes Were Watching God, African American authors were concerned with how to portray black culture in the United States-- as being good, bad, or better than other cultures in the United States. Hurston abandoned different attitudes about African American culture and simply told the truth about what she knew. While her peers were concerned about the type of language in which pieces about black culture should be written, Hurston utilized the …show more content…
Although Their Eyes Were Watching God was not intended to be a feminist novel, Hurston’s development of a strong female character turned her story of southern culture and romance into a remarkable piece of proto feminist literature. Janie, the protagonist of Their Eyes Were Watching God, is written as being unfulfilled in the beginning of the novel, but as the story progresses, Janie fulfills her goal of being happy and independent. The story begins as Janie is forced into an unhappy marriage; however, she sets herself on the path to self-actualization by escaping that marriage for what she believes will make her happy. Hurston writes, “A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south” (32). As Janie leaves, she literally and symbolically begins her journey to find freedom and happiness. Not only does Hurston give Janie the opportunity to find happiness; the story ends as Janie reflects upon the independence and contentment that she was able to find in her life. Author Alice Walker discusses the happiness found by Janie: “She is fulfilled as a woman and as a person...And Janie has managed to have the guts to actually make that journey and she has come back and so she is really fine sitting there on her porch with her fan” (Walker). By giving Janie a life that ends
Show More

Related Documents: Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

Their eyes were watching god Essay

Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston, is a novel about a fair-skinned woman, Janie Crawford, who “refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dream” (Front flap of book). Janie Crawford wants to be free, she wants to be independent, but the men she marries often kill her dreams. Janie’s grandma convinced her to marry an old man just because he had a huge amount of acres to farm. Janie was tired of the life next to her old husband and escaped with Jody, a good-looking…

Words 348 - Pages 2

Essay on Their Eyes Were Watching God

Throughout the story Janie constantly refers to the horizon as something tangible. It is also described in the story how each man she was with affected her horizon. From having her horizon taken away to having full control over it. In the story Janie is shown to want to experience love and freedom. Janie's dream of gaining life experience, love and freedom is fulfilled as she progresses through life. As a young girl Janie is brought up by her overprotective nanny that restricted her freedom of choice…

Words 599 - Pages 3

Essay On Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, tells a story about a woman named Janie who was looking for her true love. The story takes place in rural Florida, at a time in which women stereotypes were commonly used. I liked this book because it had a great theme and the way the story was told had a great structure as the author used different writing tools to keep the reader engaged. In the book, Zora Neale characterizes each character by giving each one of them a different way of thinking…

Words 638 - Pages 3

Their eyes were watching God Essay

Self-actualization a. learning at a high level : b. Creativity: she is creative because of the way she thinks (pear tree quote) c. independence: she was independent minded she didn’t want to be told what to do she didn’t like the barriers that were set for her by society.. when she left logan for Jody is and example.... in her time period she wasn’t financially independent she was young everything was decided for her she was a black woman that was poor she didn’t have any mean of being independent…

Words 1232 - Pages 5

GUILLOT Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

Noah Baudoin Guillot, 3 English III GT 1/29/14 Her Eyes Were Watching God According to a study done by Paul R. Amato, African Americans report lower levels of relationship quality. African American couples are also more likely to end their marriages in divorce. In Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, all of Janie’s relationships fail due to her need to be presiding. In Janie’s first marriage, the relationship led to failure because Janie had a lack of love for Logan and because Logan did not…

Words 595 - Pages 3

Essay about Their Eyes Were Watching God

Jaylah Lee Pickens 4B May 2015 Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis While reading Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, I was able to identify her use of literary devices to make points and draw the reader’s attention. Hurston used devices such as foreshadowing, sensory, imagery, allegory, irony, symbolism, point of view, and metaphors. Hurston used foreshadowing in Chapter 2 when Janie and Nanny were chatting about Janie kissing Johnny Taylor. Nanny raise…

Words 836 - Pages 4

Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis Essay

A Woman’s Journey to Self-discovery “She had waited all her life for something.” This quote is significant because it epitomizes the struggle of a woman to reach self-actualization. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston juxtaposes opposing places to emphasize the experience gained by the novel’s protagonist, Janie, in each respective location, and to emphasize the effect of that environment on Janie’s journey to attain her dreams. Through this comparison, the author explores the idea…

Words 940 - Pages 4

Essay about Their Eyes Were Watching God

Kaydee Wells Parker English III 07 April 2014 "Their Eyes Were Wacthing God" "Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out yourown inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intution." -Steve Jobs Throughout the course of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character, Janie, searchesto find her own voice. The author, Zora Neale Hurston, illustrates the growth of Janie's voice throughout the novel. In the beginning, she's very frail, but as she gets…

Words 460 - Pages 2

Their Eyes Were Watching God Theme Essay

Zora Neale Hurston once wrote that “love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.” Their Eyes Were Watching God, one of her well-known works, illustrates this theme. Love is what drives the characters, between one’s possessiveness, another’s bitter jealousy, and the protagonist’s ideal adolescent romance. This classic work is about a woman’s journey through life and the dream of romance she wished for since her youth. Her story is one of overcoming every hardship in her relationships, and…

Words 1567 - Pages 7

Their Eyes Were Watching God Reflection Essay

would require all new, first-time college students to read, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston. I was actually required to read this book my freshman year of high school and while I learned a lot from it, I was not in the right stage to be impacted by this book. I did not take advantage of the knowledge and lessons that I know would have made a bigger difference to me if I had been older. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” taught me to read between the lines. Reading between the lines…

Words 523 - Pages 3