Their Eyes Were Watching God Gender Analysis

Different social classes come with different perspectives and challenges, usually the belief is that higher society is much happier than those in the lower rank, but not including race into the education does not give all sides of that story. By evaluating parts in Cane by Jean Toomer, Quicksand and Passing by Nella Larsen, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston story of class and race is being told. Color and classism have gone hand in hand for many years and evaluating the lives of characters that are considered the lowest of the low and yet made it up the totem pole brings up an important discussion. The conflicting ideas of race and class actually encourage racism and ruin the lives of characters in the black bourgeoisie.

Joe is considered an average man with big dreams before arriving at the town. After taking control as mayor his whole demeanor changed. Using a banker as inspiration Joe becomes someone solely focused on image and being above the other people in the town. The life he claims as is own is nothing but a façade with Janie as an ornament. Joes view on what Janies role was going to be was clear from the beginning he believed that a “pretty baby-doll lak you is made to sit on de front porch” making it clear that Janie is a valuable thing not a person (Hurston 29). Joe’s continues the show he is giving the town until Janie tires of them and embarrasses him on the stage he has built in front of his entire audience. The destruction of the façade that has been created over the years causes him to self-destruct, literally. His image is everything to him and once it is ruined he has nothing to live for anymore. The people he believed were below him now laugh at and no longer take him seriously. His life solely depended on keeping him self above the other people in his community without that ability he no longer had anything to live for. As shown in Larsen’s novel living with this idea of classism sometimes goes hand in hand with a struggle with