Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay

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Their Eyes Were Watching God is a piece of literature unique to its era. Although written during the Harlem Renaissance, as African American culture was celebrated by African American authors, the book abandoned implicit guidelines for writing about black culture. In the time when Hurston was writing Their Eyes Were Watching God, African American authors were concerned with how to portray black culture in the United States-- as being good, bad, or better than other cultures in the United States. Hurston abandoned different attitudes about African American culture and simply told the truth about what she knew. While her peers were concerned about the type of language in which pieces about black culture should be written, Hurston utilized the …show more content…
Although Their Eyes Were Watching God was not intended to be a feminist novel, Hurston’s development of a strong female character turned her story of southern culture and romance into a remarkable piece of proto feminist literature. Janie, the protagonist of Their Eyes Were Watching God, is written as being unfulfilled in the beginning of the novel, but as the story progresses, Janie fulfills her goal of being happy and independent. The story begins as Janie is forced into an unhappy marriage; however, she sets herself on the path to self-actualization by escaping that marriage for what she believes will make her happy. Hurston writes, “A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her. Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south” (32). As Janie leaves, she literally and symbolically begins her journey to find freedom and happiness. Not only does Hurston give Janie the opportunity to find happiness; the story ends as Janie reflects upon the independence and contentment that she was able to find in her life. Author Alice Walker discusses the happiness found by Janie: “She is fulfilled as a woman and as a person...And Janie has managed to have the guts to actually make that journey and she has come back and so she is really fine sitting there on her porch with her fan” (Walker). By giving Janie a life that ends
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