How do we as individuals come to know ourselves in the world? Many would argue that the individual is the socialized product of his or her environment but it is often by distinguishing one’s self from a collective identity of this space that the individual comes to assert his/her own identity. We must also ask ourselves if it enough to be heard. I do not intend here to engage here in a primarily existential discussion regarding interactions between the self and the community, but I submit the assertion of voice does not happen in isolation, but is made possible through communication with another person/party. Both Hurston and McCullers present distinct representations of that an individual’s development of selfhood within and in resistance to established communal conventions. I will discuss the ways in …show more content…
The protagonist of her novel is Janie, a light-skinned female who makes her way travels southward to Florida on her journey to discover her voice. This novel takes place in the post-civil war south and exposes the treatment of racism, or more accurately colorism, within the African-American community. In light of the displacement that occurs, Janie journey’s is in some ways, a longing for home. Her return back to the town of Eatonville is meant to represent a full circle moment. She is now aware of herself but also capable of living independent of an attachment to a male suitor. Her sororal ties with Pheoby, however, are still quite significant. Death/departure in McCullers novel seems to be indicative of some kind of loss but in Hurston’s work, the loss of Janie’s male companions functions as a moment of liberation in Janie’s life-path. At the end of the novel, she is no longer defined by her relationship with these men and at moment of narrative erasure, each man has taught Janie something and has fulfilled his purpose in her
..., she found her identity. It did not come easy for Janie. It took her years to find out who she really was.
Zora Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” depicts the journey of a young woman named Janie Crawford’s journey to finding real love. Her life begins with a romantic and ideal view on love. After Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, soon grows fearful of Janie’s newfound sexuality and quickly marries Janie off to Logan Killicks, an older land owner with his own farm. Janie quickly grows tired of Logan and how he works her like a slave instead of treating her as a wife and runs away with Joe Starks. Joe is older than Janie but younger than Logan and sweet talks Janie into marring him and soon Joe becomes the mayor of an all African American town called Eatonville. Soon Joe begins to force Janie to hide not only her
The first time one experiences betrayal from a close friend is the hardest situation to go through. Betrayal is clearly defined as to break the faith of an enemy, or to disclose a violation of confidence; but more specifically, and with less clarity in real life situations, betrayal is a complex action that occurs to everyone at some point in life. For a person that has been betrayed before, the simple definition does not do justice to the effects betrayal has on their life or how one can be betrayed. Apparent examples can be seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God, for the main character is clearly betrayed many times in her life.
The Harlem Renaissance was all about freedom of expression and the search for one's identity. Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, shows these goals through the main character Janie and her neighbors. Janie freely expressed what she wanted and searched for her identity with her different husbands. Even though Janie was criticized by everyone except her friends, she continued to pursue. She lost everything, but ultimately found her identity. Hurston's writing is both a reflection and a departure from the idea of the Harlem Renaissance.
Since the founding of the United States of States of America, race as played an incredibly important role in society. This idea is true in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston uses race to play important parts of Janie’s life, starting in her youth and ending during middle aged life, when the book ends. As a child Janie is raised with a white family, and only realizes she is black when she sees a picture of herself. Additionally, Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, was raped by her white master and got pregnant; this causes her to make some hasty decisions with Janie’s life. As a young adult, Janie is married off to a wealthy black man, even though she is not remotely in love with him. This is done because Nanny believes black woman have no power and need someone with power and wealth to protect them. As a middle-aged adult, Janie meets Mrs. Turner, a black woman, who is obsessed with white people and believes they are superior to black people. This shows that not only white people are racist towards black people. Additionally, when Janie goes to trial for Tea Cakes murder, she is proven innocent based on the fact that Tea Cake is black, showing the lack of caring for those in the black community. The fact that Janie’s race plays such an important role in her life shows that, despite people’s effort, race still plays an important role in the lives of black people in America.
In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston there were many contrasting places that were used to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of this work.
Zora Hurston's character, Janie has already had two husbands. After being widowed by Joe, her second husband, Janie is content to be alone and says, “This freedom feeling is fine. These men didn't represent a thing she wanted to know about. She had already experienced them through Logan and Joe.” (Hurston 90). Janie is content being single and she does not plan on entering into another relationship. She finally achieves independence and is enjoying all the freedom that it encompasses. All of the appreciation that Janie has for her liberty is quickly abandoned for love when Janie meets Tea Cake, who is twelve years her junior. Now, Janie is married for the third time and her relationship with Tea Cake is the only marriage is actually if full of true love. The novel describes, “He drifted off into sl...
In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the character of Janie Crawford experiences severe ideological conflicts with her grandmother, and the effects of these conflicts are far-reaching indeed. Hurston’s novel of manners, noted for its exploration of the black female experience, fully shows how a conflict with one’s elders can alter one’s self image. In the case of Janie and Nanny, it is Janie’s perception of men that is altered, as well as her perception of self. The conflict between the two women is largely generational in nature, and appears heart-breakingly inevitable.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford, the protagonist, constantly faces the inner conflicts she has against herself. Throughout a lot of her life, Janie is controlled, whether it be by her Nanny or by her husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. Her outspoken attitude is quickly silenced and soon she becomes nothing more than a trophy, only meant to help her second husband, Joe Starks, achieve power. With time, she no longer attempts to stand up to Joe and make her own decisions. Janie changes a lot from the young girl laying underneath a cotton tree at the beginning of her story. Not only is she not herself, she finds herself aging and unhappy with her life. Joe’s death become the turning point it takes to lead to the resolution of her story which illustrates that others cannot determine who you are, it takes finding your own voice and gaining independence to become yourself and find those who accept you.
In “The eyes were watching God” by Zora Neal Herston is about Janie Crawford who the main character's search for love. In Janie’s Journey, she faces different trial and errors in each relationship. Janie learns from these past relationships to show the progression of the women she is now. The men’s treatment of women is clearly shown through the relationships with Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake.
The biography on Zora Neale Hurston’s life helps me understand her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God in many way. For instance, to me, it seems like much of the plot seems to have been inspired by events she may have experienced in real life, or people around her experienced while she was growing up. Not only that, but I believe the dialect is majorly influenced by her early life. It is very hard to write a book in that strong of a Southern dialect, and I believe that Hurston’s background in these types of settings, helped her capture the proper use of the dialect within her novel. It helps me understand why she would’ve chosen this Southern dialect as opposed to any other dialect. She clearly has experience in this field, and the book becomes
The Harlem Renaissance was a time during the early twenties when African american arts, and music became extremely popular in the country and was centralized in Harlem, New York. Zora Neale Hurston was a notable writer during this period, creating works that included the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and the essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.”Hurston’s style both adheres to and departs from Harlem Renaissance values because of her usages of southern dialect that was part of the new African American culture, she shows the development of the “ New Negro “ through the eyes of Janie furthermore, how she develops an identity during her travels and experiences with Joe and Tea Cake.
Through her use of southern black language Zora Neale Hurston illustrates how to live and learn from life’s experiences. Janie, the main character in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a woman who defies what people expect of her and lives her life searching to become a better person. Not easily satisfied with material gain, Janie quickly jumps into a search to find true happiness and love in life. She finally achieves what she has searched for with her third marriage.
It is strange that two of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance could ever disagree as much as or be as different as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Despite the fact that they are the same color and lived during the same time period, they do not have much else in common. On the one hand is Hurston, a female writer who indulges in black art and culture and creates subtle messages throughout her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand is Wright, who is a male writer who demonstrates that whites do not like black people, nor will they ever except for when they are in the condition “…America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.” Hurston was also a less political writer than Wright. When she did write politically, she was very subtle about stating her beliefs.
... Janie is free-spirited and unconcerned about what others think of her. When she returns to Eatonville after Tea Cake’s death, she shows no shame for what she has done or where she has been, because she is finally able to live the life she always wanted to lead. Hurston’s own struggles in life for individuality and an outlet for her suppressed spirit clearly contribute to the development of Janie’s character. Just as Hurston struggled for recognition, equality, and purpose in the literary world during the Harlem Renaissance, Janie’s struggle for the recognition, equality, and purpose in her relationships.