Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God - 1793 Words

At some point in any person’s life he or she will be the victim or victimizer of stereotyping. This all too familiar aspect of society is one of the most unfortunate occurrences in life. For many, the harsh generalizations that stereotypes are based on crush the spirit of free will. Yet there are some brave people who choose to counter these stereotypes and live life as they choose, despite what judgments may come. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character, Janie—an African American woman of the 1930’s, struggles with accepting the stereotypes that affect her life. She tries to fit in with them at the cost of her happiness and self-expression. Through her revelations and life changes that defy these†¦show more content†¦Because Mrs. Turner cannot liberate herself from the labels her culture is given, she is unhappy and seeks to fit into the stereotypes of white culture even though this desire is unattainable; thus, prolonging her discontent with her life. Stereotypes are so damaging to culture and self-expression, not necessarily because they are false or racist, but more so because people, like Mrs. Turner, often feel obligated to fit in with a stereotype. People go to desperate measures to play the role that they feel is socially acceptable and at times will sacrifice their own happiness. Janie’s character is submissive to the stereotypes that dominate her life which in turn causes her to sacrifice her happiness and her dream of being in love. Hurston uses Janie to show her readers how harmful stereotypes are when a person follows them. Readers can witness this through Janie’s relationship with Joe Starks. When Janie is offered to make a speech Joe imposes a sexist label on her that dictates Janie’s life for the rest of their marriage. He humiliates her in front of the town saying, â€Å"Mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’ . Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home† (Hurston 43). Because Janie still has the mindset that she must do as she is told, she allows Joe’s sexist stereotype to limit her self-expression despite her discontentShow MoreRelatedJanies Three Marriages in Hurstons There Eyes Were Watching God 1075 Words   |  5 PagesThe book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about Janie Crawford and her quest for self-independence and real love. She finds herself in three marriages, one she escapes from, and the other two end tragically. And throughout her journey, she learns a lot about love, and herself. Janie’s three marriages were all different, each one brought her in for a different reason, and each one had something different to teach her, she was forced into marrying Logan Killicks and hated it.Read MoreEssay on Love in Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God869 Words   |  4 Pag esLove in Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) is a search for self-fulfillment and true love. On a porch in a small town called Eatonville a story is told about an attractive African American womens journey. Her name is Janie Crawford. Her struggle to find companionship and herself starts as a young girl who had lost both of her parents. She lives with her grandmother who is a nanny for a wealthy white family. JanieRead MoreLogan, Jody, and Tea Cake in Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God1964 Words   |  8 Pages Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie had three marriages. â€Å"The three marriages and the three communities in which Janie moves represent increasingly wide circles of experience and opportunities for expression of personal choice. Nanny, Janies grandmother, had in fact been a slave and had borne a child to her master.† (Cathy Falk. Vol.61.). A young lady and her relationships with three guys. Over her life time she experiences love, hurt, an d pain in the three relationships. Logan her first husbandRead MoreHarlem Renaissance in Zora Neale Hurstons Novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God2881 Words   |  11 PagesHarlem Renaissance Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, was written in southern dialect so that the African American audience can relate, mainly because Hurston could only write about what she knew. â€Å"In the case of Hurston, dialect, as a regional vernacular, can and does contain subject, experience emotion and revelation.† (Jones 4) when Hurstons novel first was released many people didnt not accept the writing for what it really was. â€Å"When Their Eyes Were Watching God first appeared inRead MoreMythology in Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God1023 Words   |  5 PagesMythology is a key part of many of Zora Neale Hurston’s short stories and novels. She researched the stories of her home town and many other areas of the world. Hurston used this knowledge of myth s and stories to help her carry them on to later generations in a form that almost everybody could relate to. Through out all of Zora Neale Hurston’s stories, mythology has been a crucial keystone. Her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, has been influenced by three different ancient myths: the myths ofRead More Violence in Hurston’s Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God895 Words   |  4 PagesViolence in Hurston’s Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God Several scenes from Seraph on the Suwanee parallel scenes from Their Eyes Were Watching God. The scene beginning â€Å"The gun came up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  on page 183 of Their Eyes Were Watching God and ending â€Å"†¦pried the dead Tea Cake’s teeth from her arm† on page 184 echoes the scene in Seraph on the Suwanee beginning â€Å"She flung her hands up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  on page 145 and ending â€Å" ‘†¦just as fast as you can’† on page 146. The premise for each sceneRead More Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay1399 Words   |  6 PagesZora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"’†¦but she don’t seem to mind at all. Reckon dey understand one ‘nother.’† A woman’s search for her own free will to escape the chains of other people in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. In the continuing philosophical debate of free will versus determinism, the question arises as to whether or not free will exists. Do people really have the capability of making decisions on their own? OR Is life already determined, andRead More Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God as a Creation Story2572 Words   |  11 PagesZora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God as a Creation Story Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is, among other things, a creation story. For creation stories are not simply myths about the historical origins of the universe and humankind but metaphors for individual maturation. Individual perception is, to a large extent, what constitutes the world. Hence, the individual is the source and embodiment of the world; Janie is, the narrator tells us, â€Å"the world and the heavens boiledRead More Zora Neale Hurstons They Eyes Were Watching God Essay2163 Words   |  9 PagesZora Neale Hurstons They Eyes Were Watching God It’s no wonder that â€Å"[t]he hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a famous one and [that] other writers have used it in an effort to signify on Hurston† (Mills, â€Å"Hurston†). The final, climactic portion of this scene acts as the central metaphor of the novel and illustrates the pivotal interactions that Janie, the protagonist, has with her Nanny and each of her three husbands. In each relationship, JanieRead More Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay1504 Words   |  7 PagesZora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston portrays the religion of black people as a form of identity. Each individual in the black society Hurston has created worships a different God. But all members of her society find their identities by being able to believe in a God, spiritual or other. Grandma’s worship of Jesus and the â€Å"Good Lawd,† Joe Starks’ worship of himself, Mrs. Turner’s worship of white characteristics, and Janie’s