Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston:...

Exploring a character’s life through the course of a novel provides an interesting perspective on the changes of they go through. These characters or groups of characters go through “awakenings” which cause them to not conform to societal constructs while providing the reader with a better understanding and appreciation for the novel. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist Janie Crawford goes through a series of awakenings as she grows up through her early, middle, and late periods of her life. With the help of her husbands Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake, these awakenings create major milestones in her life that can be both symbolic and literal, and they reflect her desire for independence. First, she has …show more content…
For example, she is awakened to the fact that she is actually black and not white. The novel states, “‘... Ah couldn’t recognize dat dark chile as me… Aw, aw! Ah’m colored!’” (9). She did not realize that she was black until after the picture of her and the Washburn family was taken. This awakens her to the fact that she is different from the other children around her making her the other in the novel. This makes her want more independence as she now is in here separate category between the black community and the white community. Also, she finds her “sexual awakening” when she leans over the fence to kiss a boy named Johnny. The novel states, “[Nanny] had spied Janie letting Johnny Taylor kiss her over the gatepost” (10). The gate is symbolic for Janie’s want of independence and freedom. She is on the locked inner side of the fence while the other side is open to the outside which is free. Kissing Johnny over the gate shows the extent she will go to break free. Moreover, she has another “sexual awakening” while sitting under the pear tree in her yard. The novel states, “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to …show more content…
For example, Janie is awakened to not caring what other think of her marriage after Jody. The novel states, “‘He’s aimin’ tuh make hisself permanent wid me. We done made up our mind tuh marry’” (113). The community thinks Janie has not waited enough time to re-marry, but she does not care what they think on this matter thus awakening to the fact that she is independent. They have no control over her and her feelings. Also, she is awakened to keeping herself independent. The novel states, “... Janie never told him about the two hundred dollars she had pinned inside her shirt next to her skin” (117). This is an awakening because after all the relationships she has been through she has a “plan B” so if things do not work out between them she is set. She has grown in her knowledge of men and relationships through her past experiences since her time with Logan. In addition, she is falsely awakened to her “pear tree” love. The novel states, “The way he petted and pampered her as if those two or three face slaps had nearly killed her made the women see visions and the helpless way she hung on him made men dream dreams” (147). Janie finally thinks she found the “pear tree” love she searched all her life for. This is a false awakening is the fact that she finally thought her eyes were opened to the love she always wanted despite Tea Cake’s downfalls. Furthermore, she is awakened to the fact that there is

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Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston: Character Analysis