The Characterization of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

780 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: modernism in literature thesis

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston which is set in the 1930’s explores the life of an African American women from the south, that trying to find herself. The protagonist of this novel is Janie Crawford. In the novel, Janie is going on a journey to find who she really is and to find spiritual enlightenment. To help shape Janie character in this novel Hurston is influence by the philosophical view from the Romanticism, and Realism movement in addition she is influence by the social events that were happing in the Modernism period. Even though when Zora Neale Hurston wrote the inspiring novel in 1937 right at the end of the modernism era, Hurston was influence by the philosophy from the modernism movement. During this time, which took place between 1880-1860 people, determined things by using their feeling over reason and nature over civilization? “That brought her wide awake. She bolted upright and peered out of the window and saw Johnny Taylor lacerating her Janie with a Kiss. “Janie!” the old woman’s voice was so…in command and reproof…that Janie half...

Show More
Related

  • Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Janie In Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    Janie represents all of the independent women of her time because she never gave up her happiness. The one moment that brought the whole story together and the one moment that really showed Janie as one strong woman, was the moment she let down her hair. After many years and multiple men burdening her of societal expectations she finally became a woman that she wanted to be. The moment quoted when she became herself was, “She went over to the dresser and looked hard at her skin and features. The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place. She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight, the length, the glory was there”(Hurston 86), was the climax of the story, and the beginning to Janie’s

    Read More

  • Janie's Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Finding one’s soul mate is a difficult and lengthy process for most, as it is for Janie in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. She marries Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake Woods who seem to be alike; however, the motives for the actions they each take are completely different.

    Read More

  • Janie's Marriages and Personal Growth in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford the main character goes through some big changes. Throughout this book Janie struggles to find her inner voice and purpose of love. She looks high and low for a sign of what love really is and she finds it as being the pear tree. The pear tree is very symbolic and ultimately shows Janie what love is and how it should be in a healthy relationship. This tree, with the bees pollinating the blossoms, helps Janie realize that love should be very mutual and each person needs to provide for the other equally. Janie tries to find this special kind of love through her three husbands, but she comes to realize it is going to be much harder then she expected. Each one of Janie’s husbands are a stepping stone for her finding her voice.

    Read More

  • Janie’s Learning Experiences in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches" (8). When Janie was a teenager, she used to sit under the pear tree and dream about being a tree in bloom. She longs for something more. When she is 16, she kisses Johnny Taylor to see if this is what she looks for. Nanny sees her kiss him, and says that Janie is now a woman. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, the main character, is involved in three very different relationships. Zora Neale Hurston, the author, explains how Janie learns some valuable lessons about marriage, integrity, and love and happiness from her relationships with Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake.

    Read More

  • The Ambiguity Of Janie's Voice In Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author takes you on the journey of a woman, Janie, and her search for love, independence, and the pursuit of happiness. This pursuit seems to constantly be disregarded, yet Janie continues to hold on to the potential of grasping all that she desires. In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Hurston illustrates the ambiguity of Janie’s voice; the submissiveness of her silence and the independence she reclaims when regaining her voice. The reclaiming of Janie's independence, in the novel, correlates with the development and maturation Janie undergoes during her self discovery.

    Read More

  • What Does Janie's Hair Symbolize In Their Eyes Were Watching God

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, is a novel that is a perfect representation of its time period. The novel was written in the 1930’s which was a time period filled with racism and sexual oppression, and this time period caused black women in American to become the most oppressed. The numerous symbols within the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God are able to capture these cultural ideals at the time and were influenced heavily by the time period. Specifically, Janie’s hair and her rags are representative of her non-conformity to society's standards which further characterizes her as independent.

    Read More

  • Facing Inner Conflict in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Janie and the Pear Tree in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Janie and the Pear Tree in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    Read More

  • Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie struggles to find herself and her identity. Throughout the course of the novel she has many different people tell her who she should be and how she should behave, but none of these ideas quite fit Janie. The main people telling Janie who she should be is her grandmother and Janie’s 3 husbands. The people in Janie's life influence her search for identity by teaching her about marriage, hard work, class, society, love and happiness.

    Read More

  • Janie’s Courageous Voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God

    3388 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    The relationship between Janie and her grandmother is full of love and compassion. Nanny was born directly into slavery, and lived a very depressing life. The daughter of nanny, Leafy, also lived a gruesome life, at the age of seventeen she was raped by her schoolteacher, then after giving birth to Janie, she became an alcoholic and quickly abandoned her family. Janie and Nanny then proceed to live with the Washburn family, along with four other white kids, and did not realize she was black until she sports a photograph of herself, and out of shock she says " Aw,aw! Ah'm colored"(9). Because of the families past, all Nanny wants is for Janie to feel treasured and secure. Nanny wants Janie to immediately get married, and she tells her that by saying " Yeah, Janie, youse got yo' womanhood on yuh. So ah mout ez well tell yuh whut Ah been savin' up for uh spell. Ah wants to see you married right away" (12). Janie immediately responds by saying " Me, married? Naw, Nanny, no ma'am "(12).

    Read More

  • Belief in Freedom in Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

    3104 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, discussed the existence of freedom in life and overcoming the challenges that comes with it. Firstly, she used the differentiation between the two races. Secondly gender sexuality between the males and females. Thirdly, slavery of African- American suffered while and after the civil war from the whites. After is the history of Eatonville, Florida and the changes it had on the world. Next, is the culture and tradition the African-American had and practiced and its effect on the world. Lastly, the positives and negatives power impacts on people. Hurston wanted to portray in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the existence of freedom comes with restrictions and limitations, but believing in freedom allows one to overcome these challenges.

    Read More

  • The Quest For Identity

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zora Neal Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reveals one of life’s most relevant purposes that stretches across cultures and relates to every aspect of enlightenment. The novel examines the life of the strong-willed Janie Crawford, as she goes down the path of self-discovery by way of her past relationships. Ideas regarding the path of liberation date all the way back to the teachings of Siddhartha. Yet, its concept is still recycled in the twenty-first century, as it inspires all humanity to look beyond the “horizon,” as Janie explains. Self-identification, or self-fulfillment, is a theme that persists throughout the book, remaining a quest for Janie Crawford to discover, from the time she begins to tell the story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Hurston makes a point at the beginning of the novel to separate the male and female identities from one another. This is important for the reader to note. The theme for identity, as it relates to Janie, carefully unfolds as the story goes on to expand the depths of the female interior.

    Read More

More about The Characterization of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Open Document