Gender Roles In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the prevalent topic of gender roles and its significance in African culture is exemplified through the author’s use of figurative language and literary techniques. The novel’s plot in which the protagonist Janie tells the story of her many failed relationships is conveyed in a deeper level through her use of metaphors, personification, symbolism; the very unique African-American vernacular used in the novel also adds to the effect and message the novel conveys about gender roles in the African American culture.
Personification and metaphors are widely used in the novel to convey gender stereotypes that were typical of that time period and culture. Implications that women should …show more content…
Just like how one would beat a mule if it did not behave, it was not uncommon for a husband to beat his wife if they misbehaved, as we witness in the novel. The allusion in the following quote, “You sho loves to tell me whut to do, but Ah can’t tell you nothin’ Ah see!” “Dat’s ‘cause you need tellin’, It would be pitiful if Ah didn’t. Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves” shows Joe’s true feelings about women (71). He not only feels that women should know their role as a spouse and a woman, but also implies that they have the same amount of knowledge as an idiotic animal that cannot think for itself.
The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, presents the many problems African American women faced in the early 1900s through the character of Janie: love, marriage, gender roles, and freedom. Through Hurston’s use of unique dialogue incorporating African American vernacular, metaphorical references to the mule, and solid use of symbolism, she captures the many hardships and emotions Janie encounters as she strives to find her
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