Their Eyes Were Watching God Theme Analysis

Words: 310
Pages: 2

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses cruelty to drive the story of the main character, Janie. Her first two husbands cruelly abuse Janie, which drives her towards her soul mate. Hurston uses cruelty within Their Eyes Were Watching God to expose themes, reveal Janie’s true independent nature, and to drive Janie towards her destiny. One of the ways cruelty is important to the novel, is that it exposes themes. A theme exposed by cruelty is power and control. All three of Janie’s husbands need control, but only the first two use cruel abuse in order to get it. The theme of speech and silence is also greatly influenced by cruelty, as Janie finds her voice in the midst of it. After dealing with verbal and physical abuse