Their Eyes Are Watching God Identity Analysis

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In Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, symbols, themes, and motifs can be found everywhere from the entirety of the book. through the main protagonist, Janie, who is not sure in what she what she wants within a man, she begins embrace her love life to help her find her own self. Through the use of Janie’s hair, Hurston helps express the motif of restriction, opposition, and freedom to convey the symbolism of power and identity. Hurston expresses the feeling of restriction through the use of Janie’s hair. When a group of men were talking about the daily gossips surrounding Joe (Jody) Starks, Janie’s jealous second husband someone points out the question to Janie on why she has her hair tied up, hidden away behind a rag. The reasoning …show more content…

Janie opposes to the gender roles that given at the time the setting takes place in a very masculine driven world. Janie is said to “Even wid dem overhalls on, [her] shows [her] womanhood." Stating even with men clothes on, Janie still shows off an extreme level of femininity to what she wears, catching the attention of not only her best friend, Pheoby, but of the daily gossipers who stare every time Janie seems to be around. Though Janie does take a very masculine role when it comes to working out in the fields, but is judged for being a woman, Starks believes "[She] ain’t got no mo’ business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday... A pretty doll-baby lak [her] is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan [her]self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for [her]”. Janie seemingly is opposed to the idea of what a woman can and cannot do, but is yet flattered by the way Starks calls her a cute little thing, and that no pretty little thing should be working hard out, but that people should be working for her instead, essentially Starks judging Janie for her

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