The s Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

Societal standards are set in place so one can stay inside the box. But what happens when the boundaries begin to be pushed open and torn down? It has been discovered through many classic novels and historical events that alienation can occur as a result of these broken barriers. By definition, alienate means â€Å"to cause (someone) to stop being friendly, helpful, etc., towards you† (Merriam-Webster). This is a major factor in Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston is able to grasp the moral values and societal standards of gender and race in an African American society in the early 1900’s perfectly. She does this through her subjective alienation and psychological progression of the main character, and protagonist, Janie. Most directly, Janie was alienated by her Grandmother. Janie sought after a natural and passionate relationship with a man from the beginning, believing that marriage was the only option for a young woman such as herself. Throughout her journey she desired a perfect relationship. She thought that a mutual love would quench her desire, while her grandmother sought for her merely a good man, which caused resentment to arise inside Janie. â€Å"Please don’t make me marry Mr. Killicks†¦ Lemme wait, Nanny, please, jus’ a lil bit mo,† ( Hurston 15). Her Grandmother forced upon her a marriage she did not want. â€Å"Neither can you stand lone by yo’self,† a statement that her grandmother made quite evident (Hurston 15). It is from her grandmother that sheShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Zora Neale Hurston s The Eyes Were Watching God Essay1690 Words   |  7 PagesIntersectionality is the study of identity that looks at how different aspects of identity intersect with each other to form specific and differing experiences of oppression. Zora Neale Hurston deals with the intersection of race and gender through the story of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. However, rather than seeing the way in which Hurston deals with this intersection, the author Richard Wright claims, â€Å"The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. In the main, her novelRead MoreAnalysis Of Zora Neale Hurston s The Eyes Were Watching God 2388 Words   |  10 PagesZora Neale Hurston grew up in a predominantly African American town and because of how she grew up, she did not experience the segregation and prejudice that other African Americans felt in their daily lives until she moved from her hometown at a much older age. Because her community was predominantly colored, she grew up embracing her ethnicity instead of learning she should feel ashamed of her ethnicity and the white people surrounding her had more worth. Hurston, shows in her works Their EyesRead MoreZora Neale Hurston s Their Eyes Were Watching God1913 Words   |  8 Pagesas Janie uses her experience with the pear tree to compare each of her relationships, but it is not unti l Tea Cake that she finds â€Å"a bee to her bloom.† (106). The aim of this essay is to critically examine the pear tree in Zora Neale Hurston’s â€Å"Their eyes were watching God.† Furthermore, how it influenced Janie, and the term pear tree will be used in its broadest sense to refer to love. The significance of the pear tree for Janie reflects the view of love, nature, sexuality, been seen as aRead MoreAnalysis Of Zora Neale Hurston s Their Eyes Were Watching God1429 Words   |  6 Pagesthreatened by the undermining of their power, and one of these men committed a heinous act in order to suppress efforts to achieve equal rights for women. The concept of sexism embedded within the basis of society is reflected in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston’s Reconstruction era tale centers on Janie, a character who attempts to find her own identity in a social structure that seeks to find it for her. The sexism underscores the struggles Janie must face in order to growRead MoreAnalysis Of Pico Iyer s The Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston1984 Words   |  8 Pagespeople. In his TED talk, Pico Iyer, discusses these questions about home, which aids in formulating a definition. One of his definitions is the place â€Å"where you find yourself,† which corresponds to the discussion of home in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (Iyer). The broadness of the definition makes it difficult to pin-point one location or person. Through Janie’s experience, a home for her is a place where she has a voice. This is paramount for Janie as it allows her to vocalizeRead More Zora Neale Hurston and Racial Equality Essay1284 Words   |  6 PagesZora Neale Hurston and Racial Equality       On September eighteenth, nineteen thirty-seven, Their Eyes Were Watching God, one of the greatest novels of this century, was published. It was met with mixed reviews. The major (white) periodicals found it enjoyable and simple, while black literary circles said it carries no theme, no message (Wright,1937). These evaluations are not mutually exclusive, but rather demonstrate the conception of Hurstons work as telling whites what they want to hearRead MoreJody Starks s All Of The Men1716 Words   |  7 PagesAs we can see Janie is using her voice to defend herself against what Jody Starks says to her, but Janie embarrasses Jody in front of all of the men because of what she says about Jody. This is the first time in the novel that Hurston gives Janie a voice/agency because usually Janie stays quiet and keeps her thoughts to herself. As the novel evolves Janie finally begins to gain a sense of voice and agency and gains the ability to be able to speak up for what she wants bec ause in the beginning ofRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God1571 Words   |  7 PagesZora Neale Hurston and her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God During the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans experience a cultural exposure in literature art. It was a period of great achievement in African-American art and literature during the 1920s and 1930s. This surge gave birth to several authors, playwrights and dramatists, such as Zora Neale Hurston. Zora Neale Hurston is now considered among the foremost authors of that period, having published four novels, three nonfiction works, andRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston988 Words   |  4 PagesZora Hurston was an African American proto-feminist author who lived during a time when both African Americans and women were not treated equally. Hurston channeled her thirst for women’s dependence from men into her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. One of the many underlying themes in her book is feminism. Zora Hurston, the author of the book, uses Janie to represent aspects of feminism in her book as well as each relationship Janie had to represent her movi ng closer towards her independenceRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching By Zora Hurston1172 Words   |  5 PagesThe book their eyes were watching was written by Zora Hurston, and she tells the life story of a girl named Janie. It starts off with a metaphor explaining that women are the type to chase their dreams and even when it seems they can never accomplish it they never lose sight of it. Men on the other type to have dreams but instead of chasing like how Zora says women do they want their dream to come to them. The book is a frame narrative being and told by Zora but switches from Janie s point of view