Were Watching God Symbolism

Throughout Foster’s book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he supplies his audience with knowledge on how to analyze literature. He explains that figuring out if an object is a symbol can be tricky. Foster then states that a symbol usually doesn’t have one meaning but can have a range of possible meanings. Foster tells his readers to figure out a symbol meaning use multiple instruments: questions, experience, and preexisting knowledge. Foster justifies his explanation by providing his readers with different pieces of literature, showing how symbols can differ. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God the author presents a woman Janie who is searching for love and her independence. In the novel the author takes the reader on a on a journey through Janie’s three marriages. Through her marriages Hurston uses Janie’s clothing to indicate her gradual self-awareness and independence.

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses an apron to show how Janie’s husband views her as servant and housewife. Logan accustomed to what his last wife did tells Janie, “If Ah kin haul wood heah and chop it fuh yuh, look lak you oughta be able tuh tote it inside. Mah fust wife never bothered me ‘bout choppin’ no wood nohow. She’d grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man.” (Hurston 26). Logan comparing Janie to his last wife shows that he didn’t really love Janie. Instead he just needed someone to take over his last wife responsibility. Janie didn’t have any independence because she was forced into a marriage that she was not ready for. She also showed a lack of independence by having Logan order her around and obeying him. Furthermore Janie had a lack of self-awareness because she had to live up to the expectations of his first wife i...

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...nts grief instead she wears what she feels like wearing. Janie is now completely independent. She is not controlled by anyone and she doesn’t have to live up to anybody’s expectations. Additionally, she also has gotten her identity back. She has rediscovered herself and knows what makes her happy.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God you see the woman Janie trying to rediscover herself. In doing so she goes through three marriages. In her first two marriages she had the same experience. Both of her husband’s where controlling and made her live up to certain expectations. Her third marriage changes this allowing Janie freedom and showing her love. By being with Tea cake she gains back her independence and self-awareness. People today do things similar to Janie. They try to find happiness within others instead of taking time to themselves to discover who they really are.