The Eyes Were Watching God - 963 Words

At its first development and publishment, African American literature and works were originally dedicated to the expression of their plight from slaves, to a second class, and eventually first class citizens. However, many authors have been able to drift away from that cause and began to express the importance of identity for individuals and how trials and experiences through life can add to or detract from someone s personal character and define them as the best that they can become. Author’s of these works had usually conveyed a theme of being able to adopt a new identity through the experiences that a character is able to face through their life. A well written example of this would by in the story of Their Eyes Were Watching God, as the main character, Janie, finds new loves in her life and with each new relationship is able to adopt an identity or add onto her persona, as she adjusts to her new roles, such as becoming a mother, a wife, and an independent woman. As she is married to her first husband, Logan, she works with him on the farm performing daily duties, such as â€Å"milking the cows† (Morrison 73) or â€Å"tilling the land† (79). However she didn t love him as a person, but she was promised by both Logan and her grandmother then she would â€Å"grow to love him†(65), so as it was the role at the time to be the faithful wife beside her husband. She eventually loses her sense of individuality as she begins to venture less and less from the farm and begins to spend moreShow MoreRelatedTheir Eyes Were Watching God1064 Words   |  5 Pagessignificant than death. In Zora Neale Hurston’s famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie Crawford is plagued by the deaths of loved ones. Janie moves from caregiver to caregiver searching for true love and happiness, only to have it stripped away from her once she finds it in her third husband Tea Cake. At the end of the novel, having realized true love and loss, Janie is a whole woman. Their Eyes Were Watching God portrays the growth of the human spirit through both the emotionalRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God1780 Words   |  8 Pagesshort story â€Å"Sweat† and novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the focus is on women who want better lives but face difficult struggles before gaining them. The difficulties involving men which Janie and Delia incur result from or are exacerbated by the intersection of their class, race, and gender, which restrict each woman for a large part of her life from gaining her independence. Throughout a fair part of Zora Neal Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s low class create problemsRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God932 Words   |  4 PagesJanie Crawford: The Woman Whose Clothing Conveys Her Relationships In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist, Janie, endures two marriages before finding true love. In each of Janie’s marriages, a particular article of clothing is used to symbolically reflect, not only her attitude at different phases in her life, but how she is treated in each relationship. In Janie’s first marriage with Logan Killicks, an apron is used to symbolize the obligation in her marriage. â€Å"Read More Eyes Were Watching God Essay711 Words   |  3 Pages Their Eyes Were Watching God provides an enlightening look at the journey of a quot;complete, complex, undiminished human beingquot;, Janie Crawford. Her story, based on self-exploration, self-empowerment, and self-liberation, details her loss and attainment of her innocence and freedom as she constantly learns and grows from her experiences with gender issues, racism, and life. The story centers around an important theme; that personal discoveries and life experiences help a person findRead MoreAnalysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God 1061 Words   |  5 PagesDivision: Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God was written in 1937 by Zora Neale Hurston. This story follows a young girl by the name of Janie Crawford. Janie Crawford lived with her grandmother in Eatonville, Florida. Janie was 16 Years old when her grandmother caught her kissing a boy out in the yard. After seeing this her grandmother told her she was old enough to get married, and tells her she has found her a husband by the name of Logan. Logan was a muchRead More Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay1757 Words   |  8 Pages Their Eyes Were Watching God Book Report 1. Title: Their Eyes Were Watching God 2. Author/Date Written: Zora Neale Hurston/1937 3. Country of Author: 4. Characters Janie Mae Crawford- The book’s main character. She is a very strong willed, independent person. She is able to defy a low class, unhappy life because of these factors, even though the environment that she grew up and lived in was never on her side. Pheoby Watson – Janie’s best friend in Eatonville. Pheoby is the only towns person whoRead MoreWhose eyes were watching God?1400 Words   |  6 PagesWhose eyes were watching God? In the movie Their Eyes Were Watching God, Oprah Winfrey manipulates events that happened in the book by Zora Neale Hurston. Oprah morphs many relationships in the movie Their Eyes Were Watching God. She changes the role of gender, and also makes changes in Janie’s character strength. Oprah also changes the symbolism in the movie to where some important symbols in the book change to less important roles. Oprah changes many important events in the book Their Eyes WereRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God Essay724 Words   |  3 PagesTHEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD ESSAY  ¬Ã‚ ¬ Janie Crawford is surrounded by outward influences that contradict her independence and personal development. These outward influences from society, her grandma, and even significant others contribute to her curiosity. Tension builds between outward conformity and inward questioning, allowing Zora Neal Hurston to illustrate the challenge of choice and accountability that Janie faces throughout the novel. Janie’s Grandma plays an important outward influenceRead MoreEssay on Their Eyes Were Watching God921 Words   |  4 PagesTheir Eyes Were Watching God An Analysis So many people in modern society have lost their voices. Laryngitis is not the cause of this sad situation-- they silence themselves, and have been doing so for decades. For many, not having a voice is acceptable socially and internally, because it frees them from the responsibility of having to maintain opinions. For Janie Crawford, it was not: she finds her voice among those lost within the pages of Zora Neale Hurston’s famed novel, Their Eyes Were WatchingRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Hurston Essay1233 Words   |  5 PagesHurston In the novel â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† by Zora Neal Hurston is about a young woman named Janie Crawford who goes on a journey of self discovery to find her independence. The book touches on many themes like gender roles, relations, independence and racism however racism isn’t mainly focused upon in the book which some writers felt should have been. Some felt that the representation of black characters should have been better role models. Zora Hurston’s novel wasn’t like other black literature