Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God recognizes that there are problems to the human condition, such as the need to possess, the fear of the unknown and resulting stagnation. But Hurston does not leave us with the hopelessness of Fitzgerald or Hemingway, rather, she extends a recognition and understanding of humanitys need to escape emptiness. Dem meatskins is got tuh rattle tuh make out theys alive (183) Her solution is simple: Yuh got tuh go there tuh know there. Janie, like characters in earlier novels, sets out on a quest to make sense of her inner questionings--a void she knew she possessed from the moment she sat under the pear tree. She found an answer seeking her, but†¦show more content†¦Hurstons later life was that of the economically disadvantaged-- what Ellison, Wright, and other male black authors penned their novels in protest of. Brilliant, talented, she could not rise above the economic limits imposed on her and thus a talented anthropologist with two Guggenheims end ed up buried in an unmarked grave. Its not chance that the three main characters besides Janie are men. Hurston was writing in a society where men were still dominant in the literary field. The struggle Janie emerged from to find her inner self needed men as a catalyst. The male/female relationship cannot be duplicated with a female/female one. Logan Killicks ownership of her being could not have happened with a woman counterpart. After marrying Killicks for protection rather than love, Janie realizes that she is living Nannys dreams rather than her own. She also realizes that with protection comes obligation--Killicks feels he deserves to slap her around. With that discovery, she makes the choice to escape with Jody and his ambitious ideas. Joe seems closer to her ideal, closer to the dream of marriage that she has nourished despite opposition. Jody is complex. He represents a whole host of things, including the attempt of the black man to gain wealth and power, his effort to pattern success and failure after the model of the white man (she was proud of what she saw. Kind of portly like white folks), and the false sense of ownership that money brings.Show MoreRelatedTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston And Of Mice And Men1508 Words   |  7 Pageswants the same things in life which are love, social acceptance and companionship, in the hope that once these things are obtained one will feel complete. In the novels Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, readers witness the characters struggle to find their identity while also trying to meet the need for partnership. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, readers see the main character Janie, grow as a women while showing that marriage doesRead MoreA Womens Search for Identity in Zora Neale Hurstonâ€⠄¢s Their Eyes Were Watching God729 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"It’s uh known fact, Pheoby, you got tuh go there tuh know there†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hurston 192). The theme of identity can be seen throughout Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, of a story of a women’s journey for self-identification. Through symbolic imagery, such as the pear tree, Janie’s hair, and the horizon, Hurston ultimately shows a women’s quest for her identity. As a young teenager, Janie becomes infatuated with the idea of an idealistic romance: â€Å"She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into theRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston988 Words   |  4 PagesZora Hurston was an African American proto-feminist author who lived during a time when both African Americans and women were not treated equally. Hurston channeled her thirst for women’s dependence from men into her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the many underlying themes in her book is feminism. Zora Hurston, the author of the book, uses Janie to represent aspects of feminism in her book as well as each relationship Janie had to represent her moving closer towards her independenceRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching god, by Zora Neale Hurston1054 Words   |  5 Pagesperson has a different poetic style, and each poetic style uses different poetic techniques: personification, simile, hyperbole, imagery, or irony. Zora Neale Hurston reveals her uniqu e poetic style through Their Eyes Were Watching God, the story of Janie Crawford and her journey to finding unconditional, true love. Her journey begins with an arranged marriage to Logan Killicks, a physically unappealing man with a considerable house, to an elopement with Joe Starks, a power-hungry and egocentric leaderRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God Critical Analysis1502 Words   |  7 PagesAn analysis of Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God Certain goals or visions are often withheld for the simple fact that what we want sometimes does not look right in the eyes of people we hold dear. In The novel â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† by Zora neale hurston, skillfully uses characterization to vividly portray how gender superiority impacts one’s decisions in life. Janie Crawford the protagonist struggles trying to find who she is through the men she meets in her life becauseRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston1078 Words   |  5 PagesIn the novel, Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston there are many hidden symbols. The most important and strongest is the horizon, a glorious symbol portraying Janie’s dream, a lifelong search for true love and happiness. The horizon is created through Janie’s tough experiences seeking to find the future. Hurston suggests, She searched as much of the world she could and leaned over to gaze up and down the road. Looking, waiting, breathing short with impatience. Waiting for the worldRead MoreSelf-Actualizing Through Loving Others1685 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others (Mahatma Ghandi). In order to successfully achieve self-discovery and happiness in life one must serve and love others. Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God moves around from place to place in order to find happiness. Author Zora Neale Hurstons life parallels with this story, as she attended four different schools after growing up in Eatonville, Florida, Americas first African-American town, where Janie first escapesRead More Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston1403 Words   |  6 Pagesgoes through trials and tribulations as being a twenty-century African American such as slavery and feeling like she belongs. Imag ine every time you think you are finally happy with whom you are and it turns out that wasn’t the case. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie embarks on journey in search for her own identity where each of her three husbands plays an important role in her discovery of who she is. Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891 to the parents of John Hurston and Lucy Hurston. AccordingRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God Thematic Research Paper1541 Words   |  7 PagesTheir Eyes Were Watching God Thematic Research Paper In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, emotions such as love and hatred are showcased through the multiple marriages of Janie Crawford and her three husbands, impacting her life with bitterness, torture and ultimately peace due to Janie’s naive ideals of lust and desire. Nanny arranges Janie’s marriage to Logan Killicks, a responsible and financially stable man, after she catches Janie kissing the handsome Johnny Taylor. AlthoughRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Their Eyes Were Watching God 944 Words   |  4 Pages She moves from an inaudible one to one that carries the lessons she has learned back to the community. Discuss the development of Janie’s voice, of her verbal abilities, in the novel. Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Janie Crawford, the main character of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, strives to find her own voice in the course of the novel. Throughout the novel, the people with whom Janie lived tried to restrict her to an understood, stereotypical role, but Janie was able