Watching God
The story Zora Hurston portrayed in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God drastically changed in the movie that Oprah sought to make using her book. Many changes, such as the differences between the relationships like how Oprah sought to change it in the movie. The characters changes and how they didn't interact the same as they did or not shown at all. The symbols and how Oprah stressed some but didn't really throw in others images. The details she felt irrelevant had also removed such as entire parts of the book that didn't show at all in her movie. These changes brought with it a whole new feel in the movie than it did from the book changing it from the story of a young woman who the product of rape but, well brought up women
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The tree as portrayed in the novel came across as a symbol of Janie's growth, it enlightened the readers that Janie, a women looking for answers to maturing a women, growth so to speak. “Ever since the first tiny bloom had opened. It called her to come and gaze on a mystery. From barren stems to glistening leaf-buds;pg.10”.This, an excerpt explaining the way Janie felt about life in her teenage years growing up not knowing but wandering. This as opposed to the movie which brought it across as nothing more than Janie learning about sex. This completely changed the way this symbol's portrayed throughout the movie. “She saw the dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was marriage!pg.11” This doesn't just come out and tell you that Janie's starting to understand sex but the wording used in the description of this event lead the reader to believe this the cause. Throughout the book, the natural disasters that befell Janie used as a catalyst for God. “They seemed to be staring into dark, but their eyes were watching God,” “Looking at the...quote….the people are looking into the darkness; their fate is not illuminated, so they look to God because only he knows what will befall them.” …show more content…
The novel used to tell the story of Zora Hurston's life as she saw fit to write it, and the movie by Oprah Winfrey used to tell an unbelievable love story. The change in the symbols, when pointed out such as the pear tree and how changed from a symbol of growth to nothing more than a symbol of sex. The way Janie's portrayed whether her attitude or how strong of a character she's become. The changes to the settings also discussed, from the restaurant to the Everglades, showing just how much the story can change from taking out scenes. These two different portrayals in their own way show the changes in perspective of women from different times and just how drastically their ideas
Over time Janie begins to develop her own ideas and ideals. In Their Eyes Watching God. Each principle character has their own perceptions. towards the end of marriage. & nbsp;
The novel and movie “Their Eyes Were Watching God” both told the story of Janie developing through out life although they each showed it in similar and different ways. The movie was a depiction of Janie’s experience with her relationships and how they helped her grow while, the book focused on her relationships but also her knowledge of her what she wanted and thought of many of the things that were happining around her. I related more to the book since it was more decriptive and I actually got to picture how analyzed the story was played through my past experiences. The main point of the novel was for Janie to identify who she we find out she did when she killed Tea Cakes and picked her life over his.
In the beginning, the pear tree symbolizes Janie’s yearning to find within herself the sort of harmony and simplicity that nature embodies. However, that idealized view changes when Janie is forced to marry Logan Killicks, a wealthy and well-respected man whom Janie’s Nanny set her up with. Because Janie does not know anything about love, she believes that even if she does not love Logan yet, she will find it when they marry. Upon marrying Logan, she had to learn to love him for what he did, not for that infallible love every woman deserves.
Zora Neale was an early 20th century American novelist, short story writer, folklorist, and anthropologist. In her best known novel Their eyes were watching God, Hurston integrated her own first-hand knowledge of African American oral culture into her characters dialogue and the novels descriptive passages. By combing folklore, folk language and traditional literary techniques; Hurston created a truly unique literary voice and viewpoint. Zora Neale Hurston's underlying theme of self-expression and search for one’s independence was truly revolutionary for its time. She explored marginal issues ahead of her time using the oral tradition to explore contentious debates. In this essay I will explore Hurston narrative in her depiction of biblical imagery, oppression of African women and her use of colloquial dialect.
Oprah Winfrey mutilated the classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston by turning the movie into a story with no resemblance to the book. Throughout Janie Crawford’s life, love is a dream she wished to achieve. Oprah makes changes to Janie’s character, her marriages, and the differences of symbolism, the change of themes, and the significance of Janie’s childhood which will alter the entire moral of the story. Another difference is the way the townspeople gossip. Oprah changes the point of Janie’s life journey to find herself to a love story.
Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer.
Throughout the movie of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Oprah Winfrey alternates Zora Neale Hurston’s story of a woman’s journey to the point where nobody even recognizes it. The change in the theme, the characters, and their relationships form a series of major differences between the book and the movie. Instead of teaching people the important lessons one needs to know to succeed in this precious thing called life, Oprah tells a meaningless love story for the gratification of her viewers. Her inaccurate interpretation of the story caused a dramatic affect in the atmosphere and a whole new attitude for the audience.
“The vision of Logan Killicks was desecrating the pear tree but Janie didn’t know how to tell Nanny that. She merely hunched over and pouted at the floor.” Janie had told nanny that she didn’t love Logan but nanny just told her love would blossom, so janie married him for the sake of her nanny. “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman”. Three months later she came back to her nanny telling her that she still didn’t feel love in their marriage. Through this part of the story Janie had to give up what she wanted in love for her nanny vision for her. The Pear tree represents Janie’s love life so imagine now that she has been married to Logan and one of the Branches has rotted away.“Six months back he had told her, "If Ah kin haul de wood heah
Oprah Winfrey butchers a classic in her production of Their Eyes Were Watching God to the point that major characters and relationships become unrecognizable from the book. Throughout the entire movie, Oprah changes key aspects in character by weakening, strengthening, or removing all moral fiber in characters. She also alters every major relationship in the movie to further show these changes in character. By doing this, Oprah transforms Their Eyes Were Watching God into something completely distorted from its original.
Janie has a mutualistic and natural view of love at the beginning of the novel. She had felt different, “since the first tiny bloom had opened. It had called her to come gaze on a mystery" (Hurston 10). Hurston uses the blooming of winter to spring to parallel with Janie’s sexual awakening. She starts out in a winter childhood, covered with the innocent, white snow. Only until the spring comes and her body, like the flowers of nature, begin to bloom. She feels the hormones and emotions of becoming a women which shapes her ideals for perfection and harmony in a relationship. Janie start out sitting under “a pear tree. With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world" (11). Janie gets her sense of what love is from her spring time experiences under the pear tree. She gets this fairytale idea that true love is only natural and equal with no imperfections. Janie associates the pear tree with her idea of true love. Her view has forever changed with “flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything. A bee for her bloom" (32). Her sta...
In Christianity, trees were viewed as a primary source of life and knowledge, exhibited in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). Denver used trees as a safe haven for her; a safe place where she can hide from her mother after the trauma that transpired the night that crawling already? was killed. “Veiled and protected by the live green walls, she felt ripe and clear, and salvation was as easy as a wish,”(Morrison, 29). Contrasting with the safety of the trees for Denver, Sethe’s idea of trees has much darker connotations. As a child, she saw “Boys hangin’ from the most beautiful sycamores in the world. It shamed her-remembering the wonderful soughing trees rather than the boys,” (Morrison 6). For Sethe, the symbolism of trees has been twisted into viewing trees not as hope, but as death, and the pain from her past. As Amy had observed, the scars on Sethe only served as reminders of her painful time at Sweet Home, where she had very little hope for the future. A lesson that should be derived from this book is that the perspective from which you look at the past could help it become less painful. Sethe is too focused on the pain of her past, so therefore she is unable to see trees as they were meant to be seen, while Paul D views them as a pathway to second chances. He views trees as “inviting; things you could trust and be ear; talk to if you wanted to as he frequently did since way back when he took the midday meal in the fields of Sweet Home,” (Morrison,
Zora 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 independence.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neil Hurston, there are many prominent symbols shown throughout the story. The symbols have their own significant meaning and relation to the characters. These include the pear tree, mule, storm, and Janie 's journey. The pear tree first appears in the beginning of the novel. Janie is relaxingly sitting under the vast pear tree looking at its branches. She notices bees flying under the high branches and landing on pear blossoms. The blossoms ' "thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight" (11). Janie concludes this sight is a representation of true marriage. Throughout
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.
The contrast of these two places reinforces the theme of a search for love and fulfillment. To see what an ideal situation for an independent woman like would be, Hurston must first show the reader what Janie cannot deal with. Hurston has her character Janie go on a quest, one that was begun the day she was forced to marry Logan Killucks. The contrast in the setting is similar to one between good and evil.