Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

Gloria Steinem remarks an incredibly important social issue by saying, “We'll never solve the feminization of power until we solve the masculinity of wealth.” Her analyzation of the feminism and masculinity problem is right on point, as it is true that the society associates man as the person with power, and the money; By doing so, women automatically becomes the weak one, who has to depend on men. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston leads the readers through a journey of Janie, from her youth to the end of her mid-ages, which usually revolves around her marriages. Hurston, through Janie’s three failed marriages, portray the society's lack of effort to notice the impact of woman in a man achieving his dreams; Society’s connection

As Tea Cake teaches Janie how to play checkers and fish, Janie feels the “moon rise” and “[beams] out with light” when she sees Tea Cake (Hurston 99,101). These symbols of light portrays the spark Janie has been missing in a husband, which proves that Tea Cake is different, and he is so to speak, the right man for Janie. However, as Tea Cake treats Janie greatly and maintain a mutual and beautiful relationship, he often feels the need to express his masculinity through wealth because of the society’s comments that Tea Cake is after Janie’s money, “throwin’ away whut Joe Starks worked hard tuh git tuhgether” (Hurston 111). Therefore, Tea Cake feels the need to use every method he can, such as gambling through violence, in order to earn money for Janie and prove the society that he is worth a husband of Janie; Even though Janie has money in her back, Tea Cake remarks that he does not “need no assistance tuh help [him] feed [his] woman” (Hurston 128). His declaration shows that the society pressures Tea Cake to associate masculinity with wealth once again, and often use means that are unneccessary in order to achieve the money. Because of Tea Cake’s insecurity that he is not wealthy enough to be a qualified husband, he expresses his masculinity through abuse and whips Janie, since “[whipping] her reassured him in possession”, even though the author’s descriptions make it clear that Tea Cake is not a kind of a man who will beat his wife (Hurston 147). As Tea Cake maintains a relationship with Janie, by treating her well sometimes and beating her the other times to prove his dominance, he at last dies after saving Janie’s life by getting bitten by a mad dog. After Tea Cake’s death, Janie feels peace as she “[pulls] in her