Jan 01, · “Their Eyes were Watching God” is one of the texts which were written during that time, and Hurston succeeds in presenting the “black protest” literature. The essay offers an analysis of the text in reference to other African American literary works. Get Help With Your Essay Their Eyes were Watching God Literary Analysis In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, author Zora Neale Hurston shines light on to the harsh reality of the life of an African American woman during the early 20th century. Women of this time were accustomed to feeling silenced and powerless by their male counterparts Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis Words | 7 Pages. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses imagery to show how going anywhere in life keeps being unobtainable to Janie due to her position as a black woman. “She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her” (Hurston 11)
Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Examples - Free Argumentative Essays and Research Papers
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston in It is a story about an African American woman, Janie Crawford, her lifelong search for love and self-assertion. Inthe times of the Great Depression, the novel did not get recognition as it gets today. Black people criticized the ideas presented in the story a lot.
They said that Hurston had not underlined the real treatment of whites to South blacks. They argued that demoralization had not been described as it was in real. Only in the s, the book was rediscovered and began studied by students. One of the peculiar features of the work is the form chosen by the author. Hurston begins and ends the story with one and the same setting and people.
The main character, Janie, tells the story of her life to one of her friends, Pheoby Watson. First of all, it is necessary to clear up what a metaphor actually means.
In the novel, there are three brightest examples of metaphors: a pear tree, the image of the horizon, and mules. Janie climbs the pear tree to see the horizon. She wants to know what else is around her. She has a dream to make a trip and discover what is so special beyond the horizon. Hurston tries to underline the plight of African American workers by comparing them with the mules, their eyes were watching god analysis essay.
The literary analysis essay on Their Eyes Were Watching God evidences consistent usage of symbolism in the novel. With each stage of her life, Janie realizes more and more that her life is almost like the life of an ordinary mule. When Janie is a child, her grandmother, Nanny, usually compares black women and mules.
Nanny tries to explain to her granddaughter how helpless the status of African American women in society is. Nanny does not see another way for a good and free life for her Janie but a marriage. It is not that important to marry for love and happiness.
Granny tells that love and joy may come with time. A family is the very place where true love will appear. This is why Nanny finds a good option for her daughter. Inexperienced Janie has nothing to do but obey her granny, and she agrees to get married to Logan Killicks, an old farmer who needs a wife to keep the house and helps on the farm. She truly believes that in this marriage, she will find true love and become happy. Unfortunately, it was only her dreams. Their eyes were watching god analysis essay like a mule, Janie is forced to work in the field with her husband.
Janie continues to believe that, working together, she will be able to become closer to her husband. However, being closer was not the objective of her husband.
The primary purpose that Logan wants to achieve is his financial prosperity, nothing more. Janie cannot stand such an attitude anymore, their eyes were watching god analysis essay.
The only way she sees is to leave her husband and start a new life. She desperately thinks that her new lover, Jody Starks, will help her. They come to a new town, where Jody becomes a major. However, the situation their eyes were watching god analysis essay not change considerably. As is clear from the summary, Jody Starks tempted Janie with his money and burning ambitions.
He made her fall in love with him and took away from the husband. He buys the mule and takes it away from Bonner just to make it his property. This mule becomes one of the major themes for discussions.
Janie feels sorry for that poor mule. Maybe, it happens because she compares herself with it. She also suffers from abuse and sneers from other people. Even though she has a better job now, their eyes were watching god analysis essay, she should not work in the field but in the officeshe does not feel satisfied.
When the mule died, Jody does not allow Janie to go to the funeral. What are the reasons for such a decision? In this case, why does Jody allow the mule to die and be eaten by the birds?
Does he want the same destiny for his wife? Or, can it be that Jody wants to prove that even after the death, he can control the situation? This death changes Janie in some way. Now, she is more or less ready to leave Jody and continue her search for freedom and happiness. It was yellow. Yellow is referred to light-skinned African Americans, just like Janie Crawford is. Is it a coincidence or one more technique used by the author? Maybe, it is one more attempt to underline an unbelievable resemblance to the status of an African American woman and a working mule.
Of course, the way Hurston chooses to describe the status of working black women was a bit offensive. To represent the terrible attitude of whites to black workers, the writer picks out mules. These animals have to obey their masters.
They have nothing to do but work all the time. In Their Eyes Were Watching God resolution,the main character of the novel, Janie Crawford, should follow the same way. She wants to find true love and become free as it is in human nature. Unfortunately, her path is not that easy. Too many obstacles are in her way. At the end of the story, Janie kills her true love. She has to do it to save her own life. Such a decision is the brightest evidence of her strengths and her only desire to survive and be their eyes were watching god analysis essay. Zora Hurston created the novel during the times of the Great Depression.
These were the times when African American female writers were rather rare. Because of serious critiques and discontents of either whites or blacks, lots of her works were overlooked and even not published. Zora Hurston described Janie as a strong and courageous woman who never stopped her searching for independence and happiness. It was an unusual theme for those times. The essay on Their Eyes Were Watching God showed that the vast majority of African American women could not demonstrate their characters and represent their own ideas at the time.
It was a risky step, their eyes were watching god analysis essay, and the writer was not afraid to take it. Her attempt may be justified as the book is great, and all the techniques are appropriately used. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. United States: University of Illinois Press, Hemenway, Robert.
and Walker Their eyes were watching god analysis essay. Zora Hurston: A Literary Biography. Kövecses, Zoltán.
Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. United States: Oxford University Press US, Need a custom Critical Essay sample written from scratch by professional specifically for you? certified writers online. Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis Essay. Table of Contents. General Analysis Mule as a Main Symbol in the Story Novel Criticism Conclusion Work Cited. Learn More. We will write a custom Essay on Their Eyes Were Watching God Literary Analysis Essay specifically for you!
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Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - Book Summary, Analysis, Review
, time: 33:27“Their Eyes Were Watching God” Summary and Analysis
Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis Words | 7 Pages. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses imagery to show how going anywhere in life keeps being unobtainable to Janie due to her position as a black woman. “She had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her” (Hurston 11) Jan 01, · “Their Eyes were Watching God” is one of the texts which were written during that time, and Hurston succeeds in presenting the “black protest” literature. The essay offers an analysis of the text in reference to other African American literary works. Get Help With Your Essay This is an essay on their eyes were watching god authored by Zora Hurston. This was in and within a period of 7 weeks. It was first published in September the same year. Their eyes were watching god narrates the story of a middle-aged black woman, Janie Crawford, who seeks to attain fulfillment in life both outwardly and internally regardless of what others might think
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