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. Janie's outlook on life stems from the system of beliefs that her grandmother, Nanny instills in her during life.
The oldest sister Cathy begins to encounter a role conflict within herself. She takes on the role of a sister and she also depicts a mother, because she is the one that cares for her young sister and brother. Strangely, she takes on the role as the sexual partner of her brother, Chris, because they do not yet understand that this is wrong because of their entrapment from society. Mrs. Dollanger then receives a sanction when her father dies, which is to inherit her father's estate. This was her reward for her father thinking that she hadn't had children.
The quest of finding true love may be a journey of hardship and betrayal. Two individuals willingly being in each others presents and uplift each other is a relationship. In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, readers are exposed to the toxic and deadly shapes of multiple abusive relationships. Janie being a black women in the 1900’s wasn't exposed to love all of her life, it was important to her to find that support system love brought. Janie was not thought the focus point of a woman's journey to independence and self awareness lies in her marital life.
Then they act and do things accordingly.” (Page 1) Janie is a young girl raised by her “old-fashioned” grandmother who has a fixed outlook on marriage. Her grandmother believes marriage is not for love but it is simply for protection. She accepts her limitations as a woman, having gone through slavery and having lived a difficult life. But Janie has the dreaming qualities of both men and women. She has a different vision of love, seeing it as an eternal and passionate sensation of mutual respect between the husband and the wife.
Kincaid was dominated by her mother because in the story “Girl”, she is showing the reader how her childhood was while living with her mother. Her mother thought it was okay to be dominated by a male figure and Kincaid didn’t agree. She also wanted to break free from that stereotype that all women must answer to a man. After Kincaid divorced her husband she also became an independent woman and began to write more stories. Sometimes married men and women can stop their lives or put in on hold for their other significant loved
In Henrik Ibsen 's play, “ A Doll House “, Ibsen depicts a female protagonist, Nora Helmer, who dares to defy her husband or forsake her “duties” as a wife and a mother, to seek her individuality. “ A Doll House “ challenges the patriarchal view that most people in Norway during that decade thought to be as true, that a woman 's place was in the home. Like many women Nora felt trapped by her father and when the time came she received the same feeling from her husband, however the rules of the society hindered them from acknowledging their own voice. Through this play Ibsen stresses the importance of individuality. “ A Doll House “ combines realistic characters, fascinating imagery, explicit stage directions, and an influential setting to develop
Because she feels that a piece of the life that she wanted to have (the life of a preacher's wife) is taken away from her, she tries to go into seclusion and ends up marrying a man that she persuaded to love. Her first time having sex with Jim is written as a near rape: "A tearing sound of starched fabric, and the garment was being dragged ruthlessly down her legs.
She was then forced by her grandma to marry an older man who would provide her with security and a nice home. Her marriage lacked love, which was replaced with the control of her husband. She was then swept away by a young black man, Joe Starks, who at first promised her a life of the love that she deserved. Joe became the beloved mayor of Eatonville and was knee deep in wealth. For twenty-years this love was the same as the marriage before.
Janie’s Growth in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie has allowed us to better understand the restraints that women in society had to deal with in a male dominated society. Her marriage with Logan Killicks consisted of dull, daily routines. Wedding herself to Joe Starks brought her closer to others, than to herself. In her final marriage to Vergible Woods, also known as Tea Cake, she finally learned how to live her life on her own. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie suffered through many difficult situations that eventually enabled her to grow into an independent person.
One day Nanny caught Janie kissing the neighborhood riff raff Johnny Taylor, and Nanny becomes convinced that Janie has entered her womanhood, and needs to marry. Nanny chooses Logan Killicks for her granddaughter simply because he has sixty acres of land on the main road. Nanny believes that this would provide Janie with the added security needed to be a black woman during the time in which the novel is set. Three months into the marriage, Janie realizes that she still does not feel any love for Logan, so she decides to give Nanny a visit. When Janie addresses her concerns to her grandmother, Nanny immediately dismisses them and tells Janie that her mind will change as time passes, and to think about Logan’s sixty acres of land.