Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis free essay sample

This particular theme denounces the belief that achieving life experience should always involve happiness. Through the juxtaposition of Eatonville to the Everglades Zora Neale Hurston depicts the self-discovery of a woman, attained only by embarking on through empiricism. In the novel Eatonville serves as a symbol of the oppression that Janie endured throughout the majority of her life. When the narration commences, prior to the introduction of Eatonville, Janie she is sixteen-years-old and living with her grandmother, Nanny. Nanny is characterized as strong-willed and overbearing. Furthermore, she is the first force of oppression, against which Janie must contend. The audience is provided with insight into Nanny’s perspective of the situation when Nanny remarks, â€Å"Ah was born back due in slavery Ah didn’t want to be used for a work-ox and a brood-sow and Ah didn’t want mah daughter used dat way neither Ah even hated the way you was born. We will write a custom essay sample on Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But, all de same Ah said thank God, Ah got another chance† (Hurston 15). Because of her experiences, Nanny desires to protect Janie from all struggles in life; Nanny believes that by marrying Logan Killicks, Janie will be able to avoid the obstacles that her grandmother endured. Although Nanny’s intentions are virtuous, her actions only cause Janie to further rebel. Immediately after marrying Logan, Janie realizes that her idea of marriage involves romance and love, whereas Logan’s only intention was to find a domestic assistant. Janie’s concept of marriage relates to an interaction between bees and a pear tree, during which time Janie witnessed â€Å"the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree so this was a marriage† (Hurston 11). Because she recognizes that Logan will never be able to fulfill her ideal of marriage, Janie eagerly absconds to Eatonville with Joe Starks. In Eatonville, Janie’s marriage is initially characterized by passion and affluence. However, Joe’s desire to control Janie leads him to coerce her into repressing any personal characteristics that others may find attractive; as an act of dominance Joe convinces Janie to fasten her hair. By doing this, Janie represses her strength and sexuality. As time passes, Janie realizes that she will not become the person that she dreamed of becoming while remaining in Eatonville. After Joe’s death, Janie decides to liberate herself from the constraints thrust upon her in Eatonville. Janie’s newfound freedom is symbolized when she decides to burn the rags that Joe forced her to wear over her hair. Because Eatonville represented oppression to her, Janie escapes to discover herself. Conversely, the Everglades represent the cessation of Janie’s journey to self-discovery. Janie and Tea Cake initially move to â€Å"de muck† for Tea Cake to seek employment (Hurston 122). However, Janie becomes infatuated with the atmosphere, and decides to permanently settle with her new husband. Unlike her affluent lifestyle with Joe Starks in Eatonville, Janie lives among the lower class of the Everglades. In spite of this, Janie truly enjoys her new environment. While living in â€Å"de muck† Janie and Tea Cake become central figures in the community; they become so popular with the other residents that â€Å"the house was full of people every night† (Hurston 127). Janie’s new environment provides her with the freedom that she searched for her entire life. Instead of garish dresses, Janie wears overalls, and she allows her hair to flow untamed in the wind. Moreover, Janie no longer experiences the same constraints that plagued her life in Eatonville; this can be attributed to the treatment that Janie receives from Tea Cake. Unlike Janie’s previous husbands, Janie love is actually reciprocated by Tea Cake. Tea Cake’s fervent adoration is displayed when he begins leaving the fields early because he â€Å"gits lonesome† (Hurston 126). While in the Everglades, it seems as though Janie is finally content with her life and the person that she has become; however, tragedy strikes, and interrupts the fantasy. After a hurricane decimates the community and Tea Cake dies, Janie no longer holds the Everglades in the same esteem. Despite the misfortune that is brought about following the hurricane, the event allows Janie to determine who she is, when her fulfillment is not dependent upon another person. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God portrays a woman’s independent journey to experience life, and in the process discover herself as a person, and as a woman. The employment of two contrasting locations (Eatonville and the Everglades) illuminates the desire of women to be liberated from the constrictions of society and orthodox gender roles. Moreover, Hurston refutes the trite belief that women are obligated to repress their aspirations and sexuality. Their Eyes Were Watching God serves as a testament to the ability of women to achieve life experience, fulfillment, and happiness; although the novel also asserts that such concepts may not be realized concurrently. â€Å"She had found a jewel down inside herself and she had wanted to walk where people could see her and gleam it around. † Works Cited Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York City: Harper amp; Row Publishers, Inc. , 1990. Print.