Research of The Eyes Were Watching God Paper Example

Their Eyes are Watching God is a novel by Zora Neale Hurston written in 1937. The novel is a narration of the protagonist Janie Crawford who emerges from a timid and less vocal teenage girl into a woman who makes important decision to shape her destiny. The novel's setting is in central and southern Florida in the early 20th century. In the novel, Janie ends up in different towns, but it is in Eatonville, Florida, and Everglades that the writer shows her journey to self-discovery. The novel is written at the rise of racism in early 1900. In decades leading to the writing of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston, racism was gaining legitimacy. Regulations such as the Jim Crow laws (1890-1910), marked as the climax of the decline in the representation of African-Americans. Although the initial reception of the novel was poor, it has emerged as one of the most influential literary works on the literature of African-Americans and the women literature in the 20th century ("What I Learned About Love from Rereading 'Their Eyes Were Watching God? | Blog | American Masters | PBS," n.d.). In this masterpiece of work, the writer uses figurative language to clearly show what it really meant to be an African-American female in the early 1900s.

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The use of symbols in literature is the use of objects with meaning that is beyond the literal interpretation. It is found in the use of actions, names, and objects. The symbols can either be cultural or contextual ("Symbols and Metaphors). Cultural symbols depict emotions and ideas shared by both the writer and the reader. On the other hand, contextual symbols are made by the writer within the novel. Furthermore, symbols can be of different types ("Elements of Fiction: Symbolism,"). They may include metaphor, simile, allegory, archetype, and myth. In metaphor, two objects or things are compared without the use of verbal signs while in simile; the comparison of objects is by the use of verbal signs (Dilbeck 103). These two types of symbolism have been used widely in the novel, Their Eyes are Watching God develop the different themes in the novel.

At the climax of the novel, the writer says that "Before she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist" (Hurston 85)

Janie's hair is used symbolically to depict her unconventional identity. The hair is referred to in different instances, from the opening scene and the novel's conclusion. It is her long hair that gives her a sense of beauty and attraction to me. For instance, Joe Starks, one of her husband was possessive and jealous and required her to tie her hair in a Kerchief (Lamothe 70). He could not stand the thought of any other man enjoying the fragrance and the sight of her long Caucasian hair. However, Janie is reluctant to tie her hair and this shows her desire to be seen and loved for who she really is. It is this distinguishing characteristic that helps the porch sitters recognize her as she comes back to the city (Hemenway 30). Furthermore, James rebellious spirit is seen through her rebellion after the criticism by the community members due to her hair. It was seen as illegal for a girl of her age to wear her hair down. She clearly and openly defies the norms and this shows her independence and defiance. Also, her Caucasian hair is seen to bridge the racial gaps.

At the early chapters of the novel, the author writes: "It had called her to come and gaze on a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to the snowy virginity of bloom" (Hurston 10)

The use of symbolism is also seen in the use and reference of the peer tree. The tree as used in Janie's early story is charged with Janie's blossoming maturity and sexuality. Her interest in romance and love are clearly seen in how the pear tree is referred to in the book. As a sixteen-year-old girl, she lay under the pear tree and watching the gathering of pollen by bees from a pear blossom symbolizes her ideal view of a relationship (Lamothe 80). In her view, she saw how an ideal partner would not be possessive or dominant, but strives to be in an effortless union. This motif reappears in many instances in the book as Janie meets with her different suitors.

Later I the book when Janie is married to Logan Killicks, she is regretful as she turns back to Nanny and refers back to the pear tree. Her marriage with Killicks was a disappointment to Jane and made her attracted to Joe Starks. She says, "Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage, lak when you sit under a pear tree and think" (Hurston 24). He finally meets the man who fulfills her dream under the pear tree after failed relationships that made her disillusioned and discouraged. She says "he looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom-a pear tree blossom in the spring." (Hurston106).

At the beginning of the novel, Janie says, "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some, they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men" (Hurston 1).

The horizon is used as a motif to represent Janie's dreams and hopes of a promising future and a possibility of many things happening. In the opening paragraphs of the novel, the horizon is mentioned to show a possibility of change and a better future. For most of Janie's life, her dreams of an ideal relationship and better future remain on the horizon, hoping for the ideal future but living a contradicting reality (Lamothe 76). Hurston's uses the symbol to show how human beings live in a different reality with a dream and a hope for an ideal future.

In reference to the incident when Jody rescues the mule, the writer says, "A little war of defense for helpless things was going on inside her. People ought to have some regard for helpless things" (Hurston 54).

The story of the rescue of Matt Bonner's mule in the incident of the "two mules" is perhaps one of the most humorous incidents in the novel. The story shows the strained relationship between Joe Starks and Janie (Hurston 56). On the other hand, the mule can not only refer to Janie as a character but also refers to any black woman in the struggle for independence. Nanny tells Janie that the white man is the ruler of everything ("What I Learned About Love from Rereading 'Their Eyes Were Watching God? | Blog | American Masters | PBS,"). Janie relates to the mule which despite the masters beating to force it to seat down remains stubborn. Despite Jody's position and ability to rescue the mule, it is ironical that he is dominated by his pride to enslave his wife (Lamothe 90). The incident shows the constant struggle for self-liberation from the tides of discrimination as black and as females. It is the struggle that Janie constantly struggles to win and conquer.

Finally, death has a significant contribution to the novel. The death of characters marks the end and death of a season in Janie's life and the consequent transition into a new chapter of life. Two deaths are most significant; the death of her husband Joe, which shows the emancipations from enslavement and restrictions imposed on her (Lamothe 80). It is this transition into new faces that Janie finally finds herself in the realization of her dream under the pear tree when she finally meets Tea Cakes. His death, however, marks the real and true independence that Janie attains.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Hurston's work in There Was Watching God is a masterpiece that shows the life and experiences of African -Americans in the early twentieth century. Through the use of its main character, Janie, the writer uses symbolism to clearly discuss the struggles that one goes through in the journey of self-realization. Different symbols have been used. These symbols include the reference of death to mark the end of phases in Janie's life, the two mules to symbolize the struggle for liberation from enslavement, the dream under the pear tree which shows Janie's ideal relationship and the use of her Caucasian hair that not only shows her identity on the literal sense but also shows her character and rebellion against her societies norms.

Works Cited

Dilbeck, K. "Symbolic Representation of Identity in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." The Explicator, vol. 66, no. 2, 2008, pp. 102-104, doi:10.3200/expl.66.2.102-104.

"Elements of Fiction: Symbolism." users.humboldt.edu/tduckart/Symbolism.htm.

Hemenway, R. "The Personal Dimension in Their Eyes Were Watching God." New Essays on Their Eyes Were Watching God, pp. 29-50, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511570346.003.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper & Row, Publishers, 1990.

Lamothe, D. "Vodou Imagery, African American Tradition, and Cultural Transformation in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Zora Neale Hurston, Haiti, and Their Eyes Were Watching God, pp. 69-94, doi:10.2307/j.ctv47w2rj.8.

"Symbols and Metaphors." www.utm.edu/staff/jmiller/honors2005/9hurston/Symbols.htm.

"What I Learned About Love from Rereading 'Their Eyes Were Watching God? | Blog | American Masters | PBS." www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/blog/learned-love-rereading-eyes-watching-god/.