Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Words: 408
Pages: 2
Open Document
Love With Bounds In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Joe and Janie actually love each other, they just do not “speak” the same love language. Joe’s love language is gift giving. He constantly buys Janie gifts to show his love and hopes she will do the same for him; however, Janie’s love language is words of affirmation. People with this love language rely on words to compliment, advise, and comfort others. They feel hurt when others do not return these actions to them. Soon after Joe and Janie get married and are aboard the train to Eatonville, we learn “Joe didn’t make any speeches with rhymes to [Janie], but he bought her the best things the butcher had” (Hurston 34). Joe shows his love to Janie by buying her the most desirable merchandise, but does not realize she hopes he will win her heart through his kind, loving words instead. These differences lead to many …show more content…
. .] She put jus’ de right words tuh our thoughts” (Hurston 58). While those around them seem to notice Janie’s efforts to show love toward Joe, he doesn’t ever seem to notice her. Instead, Joe only speaks to Janie when he needs her to complete a task. She feels belittled by her husband and begins doing only what he asks of her, no longer trying to express her love to him. When sitting on the porch, “[Janie] didn’t say anything and neither did Joe. But after a while he looked down at his feet and said, ‘Janie, Ah reckon you better go fetch me dem old black garters [. . .]’ She got up without a word and went off for the shoes” (Hurston 57). Joe does not speak to Janie when they are sitting together and this causes Janie to feel ignored by her husband. She emotionally shrinks away from him and slowly stops giving him any of her loving affection. Because Janie and Joe express and feel love in different ways, they often disagree and fail to recognize they can re-establish the spark that has fled from their marriage simply by “speaking” and interpreting a
Show More

Related Documents: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie as a character fails to meet the expectations that a hero should be able to be courageous, make independent decisions, and enlarge the lives of people around them. Throughout the novel, Janie makes little action in the setting and seems forced into a supporting role that seems irrelevant at some points. Even at the end of the story, she seems to rely on her male partner to make decisions, and often without her input. Through this…

Words 1272 - Pages 6

Zora Neale Hurston's Struggles In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God reveals the many struggles and injustices that African-American women faced during the early 1900s. Throughout the book, Janie marries three different men. Each relationship brings about its own set of struggles and helps to shape Janie’s horizon. Her first marriage, to Logan Killicks, holds particular significance. This marriage highlights the hard choice Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, makes in arranging Janie’s marriage to Mr. Killicks. In efforts…

Words 633 - Pages 3

Zora Neale Hurston's Novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God'

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author address a central question: “How does one achieve fulfilment?” Hurston analyzes the central question by her main character, Janie’s, experiences and various relationships with narration. Concluding, that a person achieves fulfilment through their struggle in finding a voice and independence. Hurston communicates one of the major themes in the novel effectively while at the same time using shifts and contrasting ideas to cement…

Words 1900 - Pages 8

Critical Review Of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

In Richard Wright’s Between Laughter and Tears, Wright offers a critical review of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God that is both inaccurate and flawed. Not only does Wright include details in his review that are objectively false, but he also downplays the complexity of Hurston’s characters and criticizes their simplicity. Before harshly criticizing Their Eyes Were Watching God, Wright briefly summarizes the novel in order to give context. However, Wright does so falsely: “After…

Words 304 - Pages 2

Zora Neale Hurston's Struggles In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel by Zora Neale Hurston that exemplifies the hardships of females during the 1900’s. These hardships are shown through the life of Janie Crawford as she struggles in a patriarchal society and evolves into a resilient, independent woman. Janie’s grandmother is a prominent patriarchal woman. It is not her fault, but the society that she has lived in has ruined any ideas of happiness and love. Accordingly, Janie’s grandmother chooses to “protect” her the best…

Words 1237 - Pages 5

Feminist Criticism On Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a relatable book that tell a story of a woman overcoming many obstacles in her life. The most important battle is accepting being independent and riding the desire to have someone to love her. While researching different texts authors either criticized or gave positive feedback about Their Eyes Were Watching God. I found that many readers view this novel as a victim of sexual content and language explicitly, while others think that the author's’…

Words 1469 - Pages 6

Their Eyes Were Watching God Reflection

Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, the lead character, Janie, tells a story of her life after she had left her hometown, explaining everything in great detail to her friend, Phoebe. Janie explains her adventure of living with her obscure husbands, and about all her houses, her jobs, and friends. Janie tells how she became to be super wealthy and very independent from learning from her mistakes and from husband's. She no longer needs to be married. Zora Neale Hurston’s…

Words 726 - Pages 3

Their Eyes Were Watching God Character Analysis

The two versions on, Their Eyes Were Watching God, form a very contrasted view between both Oprah Winfrey and Zora Neale Hurston’s interpretation on the story. The differences greatly outnumber the similarities. The ways contrasted between the two include, the altered relationship between the characters, Janie’s strength increased throughout the movie, the overall message changed the meaning, and the symbols shifted towards other symbols. By changing these factors, Oprah takes the novel’s meaning…

Words 1447 - Pages 6

Zora Neale Hurston Influence

Of the many people that lived during the 1920s and 1930s there were a small few that became great artists, musicians, and writers. The Harlem Renaissance bloomed new opportunities for many talented people. Many including Zora Neale Hurston was influenced by this post-slavery time period. People of this time shaped their morals and the pathway of which their lives will take. Zora Neale Hurston was an anthropologist, novelist, and a folk artist. She was an advocate for women’s rights and strongly believed…

Words 942 - Pages 4

Their Eyes Were Watching God Critical Analysis

through the tale of Janie’s life that Hurston shares with her readers through her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, we gain insight on many developed ideas of Harlem throughout it, however also varies from the idea of Harlem to a great extent moreover. Zora Neale Hurston's writing is a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. Within the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston expresses through the story of Janie’s life and the struggles she endured growing up…

Words 984 - Pages 4