Harlem Renaissance in Zora Neale Hurston's Novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God

The the Novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston, departure and reflection the idea of the harlem Renaissance using black community uniting, new beginnings- the great migration from south to north, embracing black/african culture and heritage, and lastly she uses self expression through art to bring forth the more important ideas.

Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the most unsurpassed writers of twentieth-century African-American literature. Published in 1937, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God depicts the life of Janie Crawford, an African-American woman, who is in search of true love and ultimately her true self. In the novel, Janie shows us that love comes in all shapes and forms, and love is different with each person you choose to love. In the opening of the novel, Hurston uses a metaphor to say that, while men can never reach for their dreams, women can direct their wills and chase their dreams. Hurston uses this metaphor to make a distinction of men and women gender roles, and Janie went against the norms that were expected of her.

Taking place in the 1920’s, Harlem Renaissance was a period of time where cultural, social, and artistic expansion took place in the American society. Hurston’s uniqueness led her to write about the problems of individuals, particularly white ones and black ones. In her own words, she stated, “Many Negroes criticise my book, because I did not make it a lecture on the race problem. I have ceased to think in terms of race; I think only in terms of individuals. I am interested in you now, not as a Negro man but as a man” (“Although her reputation”). In addition, Hurston portrayed the lives of black people as constantly miserable, downtrodden and deprived. For instance, in Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character, Janie Crawford, finds her second husband, Joe Starks, only to mislead her life. Janie figures out that she once again lacks the love she had longed for. Joe considered Janie to be his possession. He expected Janie to be a well-behaved wife, who would not speak up for herself or disobey him. He additionally expected her to follow every order he had for her, such as forbidding her to interact and play checkers with people (“The most prevalent”). During this time, men were showing off their masculinity by ordering their wives around and ruling over them. However, Janie refused to accept herself to be oppressed, rather “outspoken and headstrong” (Zora Neale Hurston’s). Hurston is trying to portray that women should have the courage to speak up for

During the 1930s there was a time period known as the Harlem Renaissance, during this time African Americans sought a newfound cultural freedom and advancements in social classes. In the novel, Their Eyes Are Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston portrays both similarities and departures from the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston uses the main character Janie to illustrate these ideals such as the struggle to find oneself and fight against the opinions of others. In addition Hurston also depicts issues and similarities like African Americans who achieved high social classes and discriminated those below them, racial segregation, but also a new found African American confidence. She also demonstrates departures from the Harlem Renaissance

Zora Neale Hurston had an intriguing life, from surviving a hurricane in the Bahamas to having an affair with a man twenty years her junior. She used these experiences to write a bildungsroman novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, about the colorful life of Janie Mae Crawford. Though the book is guised as a quest for love, the dialogues between the characters demonstrate that it is actually about Janie’s journey to learn how to not adhere to societal expectation.

Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God follows protagonist Janie Mae Crawford’s journey into womanhood and her ultimate quest for self-discovery. Having to abruptly transition from childhood to adulthood at the age of sixteen, the story demonstrates Janie’s eternal struggle to find her own voice and realize her dreams through three marriages and a lifetime of hardships that come about from being a black woman in America in the early 20th century. Throughout the novel, Hurston uses powerful metaphors helping to “unify” (as Henry Louis Gates Jr. puts it) the novel’s themes and narrative; thus providing a greater understanding of Janie’s quest for selfhood. There are three significant metaphors in the novel that achieve this unity: the

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about a young woman that is lost in her own world. She longs to be a part of something and to have “a great journey to the horizons in search of people” (85). Janie Crawford’s journey to the horizon is told as a story to her best friend Phoebe. She experiences three marriages and three communities that “represent increasingly wide circles of experience and opportunities for expression of personal choice” (Crabtree). Their Eyes Were Watching God is an important fiction piece that explores relations throughout black communities and families. It also examines different issues such as, gender and class and these issues bring forth the theme of voice. In Janie’s attempt to find herself, she

In the book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates her autobiographical style of writing. The main character Janie represented many different aspects of Zora's life and also helped show the steps of the hero's journey. Through the events that occurred in Janie's life as well as the trials and tribulations that she had to suffer through, this tale of a tragic but satisfying love helped show how Janie as a character developed throughout the book and in turn found her identity. The autobiographical style of Hurston helped enhance the hero's journey and overall self-development that Janie went through. The steps of the adventure that Janie experienced in turn show her connection to Hurston as an overall person. Therefore,

Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, is a novel about Janie Crawford, a “light” african american woman living in the 1930’s. Janie’s life is chronicled as she tells her friend her story: a pear tree, a dead mule, three marriages, and a hurricane later the reader and the listener, Phoeby, feels they had “‘done growed ten feet higher from jus’ listenin’’” (192) to her story. However, overall Hurston wants the reader to understand that they have to find out about living for themselves by following their own expectations and not the expectations of others for them. The use of the stylistic elements: symbolism, motif, and imagery enhances the message of this novel about finding one’s self amidst a world where everyone

“She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman” (Hurston, 25). This statement expresses the sixteen-year old’s journey to find herself during a time when many African American woman struggled to find their role in society. Born in Notasulga, Alabama, in 1891, author Zora Neale Hurston moved to Florida at the age of ten to the first incorporated all-black town in the country. Hurston also lived in Harlem, New York as it was undergoing a cultural renaissance known as the Harlem Renaissance. It was a time when political and social leaders were demanding equality for African Americans. Their Eyes Were Watching God was written in 1937 when few writers took

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel illustrating the life of an African American woman that finds her voice through many trials and tribulations. At the heart of the story, Hurston portrays a protagonist who moves from a passive state to independence, from passive woman with no voice who is dominated by her husband to a woman who can think and act for herself. Hurston achieves the greater theme of Their Eyes Were Watching God, of self-expression and independence through her use of three basic southern literary elements: narrative structure, ¬¬¬¬¬allegory, and symbolism. A brief inspection of these three basic elements will reveal how Their Eyes Were Watching God achieves its inspiring effect.

Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character Janie’s development as a woman is quite impressive compared to other women during that time when Racism and Sexism were still a big problem in the society of America due to three of her relationship with three man that help her to develop into a strong independence African American woman. Although during the 1920’s women had achieved a modicum of success, Zora illustrates through her character Janie that this instead was a complicated process.

In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neal Hurston is about a young woman named Janie Crawford who goes on a journey of self discovery to find her independence. The book touches on many themes like gender roles, relations, independence and racism however racism isn’t mainly focused upon in the book which some writers felt should have been. Some felt that the representation of black characters should have been better role models. Zora Hurston’s novel wasn’t like other black literature. The challenges of what black writers had to face in representing black culture and history were manly focuses on racism and the representation of black culture and history however Zora Hurston novel was about independence and turned away from the stereotypical structure of black literature; focusing more on black women has to deal with in a patriarchy structure. Which can be shown by Janie’s relationships with her grandmother, Logan Killlicks, Jody Stark , and Tea Cake. In the world she was living in we learned how much her world was dominated by male oppression and so Janie tries to separate herself from that.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston writes of Janie Crawford, a strong African American women trying to find true love and respect. She finds herself in two marriages; one she was set up in, knowing it would never work, and one she chose for herself, in hopes that it would be different than the first. Despite Janie's desire for true love, she remains unsuccessful in her search for a suitable husband.

Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, revolves around Janie Crawford, a young African-American woman who lives with her grandmother. Her grandmother came from a distressing past of slavery and she does not want the same for Janie. Her conception of freedom is living a wealthy life without any complications, and so she forces Janie to marry a rich old man named Logan Killicks. She is depressed by this loveless marriage and looks out of her door to hope for new things. When the aspiring Joe Starks comes along he charms Janie with his personality and ambition, and when he asks her to leave with him, “Janie pulled back a long time because he did not represent sun-up and pollen blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon. He