Their Eyes Were Watching God Violence Analysis

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Journalist Frank Castro defines a hierarchy of violence as “a system of oppression in which those with power, existing above those without, enact and enforce a monopoly of violence upon those lower on the hierarchy”(Frank Castro). Castro is saying that people who are valued more in a society or higher in the hierarchy can be violent towards those who are at the bottom. This violence can happen when people lose a sense of self-worth or just want to feel better about themselves. In Zora Neale Hurston’s fictional novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is a fair skinned woman in a sexist and racist society. Throughout the novel Janie is in three marriages and in all of them she is the victim of different types of violence. The motif of violence …show more content…
When Joe insults women and compares them to animals Janie tries to argue back, but ultimately it did not matter because, “He wanted her submission, and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it”(71). Joe “want[ing] her submission” shows that he values hierarchy and wants to be above Janie. Also, when Joe says he will “fight until he felt he had it”, it shows that he will be violent in order to be above Janie. After Janie humiliates Joe in front of everyone and mocks his manhood, Joe “struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store”(80). After Joe was humiliated, he resorts to physical violence. He used physical violence because that is a way to reestablish his masculinity as well as a way to reestablish his power over Janie. When Mrs. Turner’s brother came and got introduced to Janie, Tea Cake "whipped [her]... Being able to whip her reassured him in possession"(147). Tea Cake “whipp[ing]” Janie shows that he feels threatened by Mrs. Turner’s brother and wants to establish his power. Also, he wanted Janie to be in his “possession” which shows that he values hierarchy and want to be above Janie. Physical violence was one form of violence against Janie, but another form was envy and
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