Characters, Themes and Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston was one of the first widely acclaimed black writers to "assimilate folk tradition into modern literature and express her interpretations of the black culture throughout her books" Bailey, She was also one of the most influential of black American writers during the twentieth century because she exceeded the barriers of race, sex and poverty.
Hurston's most acclaimed work is said to be Their Eyes Were Watching. Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Her hair conveys far deeper themes that the novel is imbued with. In chapter 1 of Their Eyes Were Watching …show more content… Jody believes that Janie has poisoned him, illustrating the magnitude of both of their unhappiness. Janie goes to the funeral inundated in loneliness and grief. However, after she emerges from the funeral Janie burns all of her head rags.
Fire represents the destruction of something; by burning the very tool that was facilitating the suppression of her identity, Janie is making a vow to never sacrifice herself to others. White bodies are put in coffins, while Black bodies are buried in a common grave. The guards decide that hair is the best means of distinguishing white people from Black.
The passage makes explicit what has been implicit throughout the story, namely that hair is a symbol of race. At the end of the novel, Janie has returned to Eatonville, having buried her beloved Tea Cake. Now she is ready to get on with her life. The act of combing her hair symbolizes Janie shaking off the past and reclaiming her life.
SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Janie amasses many accomplishments throughout the novel which build her intriguing character,. In the beginning of the book Janie, the main character, is forced into a marriage by her grandmother. Janie wanted to find love in that marriage but couldn't so she ranned off with a man named Joe Starks. She thought she loved Joe because he saved her from her previous marriage and was nice to her. Then one day, Joe physically abused Janie and she fell out of.
Zora Neale Hurston was known for expressing the facets of African-American culture in her books, but her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God has elements of gender studies as well.
At first, Jody draws Janie in with his own authority, self-confidence, and good looks. Janie becomes disillusioned and discouraged. He could be a bee to a blossom--a pear tree blossom in the spring.
He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps. The Horizon; The Road. Closely related to the theme of dreams and wishes, and often mentioned in conjunction with the pear tree symbol, is the horizon. The horizon represents better things--the possibility of change and perhaps improvement. The horizon is mentioned in the opening paragraph of Their Eyes Were Watching God: "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. Janie's dream remains on the horizon for most of her life.
She can wish and hope for better things, but she lives in reality that is very different. From the beginning, Janie's dreams are limited by her circumstances. Early in her life, "Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon--for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you--and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her.
Her wish has "come in with the tide". Hurston writes that Janie "pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called her soul to come in and see. Closely related to the horizon symbol is the road symbol. The two are frequently mentioned together.
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