Their Eyes Are Watching God Literary Analysis
Individuals all strive for independence starting from a young age and as they get older they want to prove that independence to others. No matter the amount of independence a person receives they will always want more. If their independence is snatched away from them, they lose the motivation to be who they really are. In Their Eyes Are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie struggles to break from the confines of Joes, her husband, control. Hurston's purpose of using the two symbols Janie’s hair and head wrap is to prove that everyone seeks independence and when it’s taken away, a person will lose a part of themselves along with it.
Janie's independence is shown through the symbolism of her hair. She starts to lose her voice when …show more content…
Even though Janie loves Joe when he demands she put her hair up in a wrap it “irked her endlessly”(Hurston 55). The wrap was just another way that Joe can gain control over her and one of the most effective ways as well. Once that wrap is covering her hair, the one part of her body she so desperately loves, she can no longer be the independent woman she once was because Joe will not allow that to happen, as long as he is still alive then she will be his wife, nothing more. This is the last straw for Janie though, she becomes a completely different person, she rarely states her opinion and follows any rules given to her by Joe. When Joe smacks her for burning dinner all she does is stand there and stare, no reaction, nothing, because she is the shell of the women she used to be. It all began when Joe saw a man stroking the ends of Janie's hair causing the hot pit of jealousy in his stomach to flare up, so “That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store”(Hurston 55). He craves control and the only way in his mind to have this control is to crush any sort of independence Janie has. She is so focused on finding true love and happiness that she doesn't question his decision, she is afraid that she may never find the kind of love she wants, so she puts up with Joe thinking that it may never get better, but she thought wrong and lived with the consequences for almost twenty years. The minute Joe dies,she has the chance to regain her independence,so she does, by burning that atrocious head wrap that he made her wear for almost 20
Janie's independence is shown through the symbolism of her hair. She starts to lose her voice when …show more content…
Even though Janie loves Joe when he demands she put her hair up in a wrap it “irked her endlessly”(Hurston 55). The wrap was just another way that Joe can gain control over her and one of the most effective ways as well. Once that wrap is covering her hair, the one part of her body she so desperately loves, she can no longer be the independent woman she once was because Joe will not allow that to happen, as long as he is still alive then she will be his wife, nothing more. This is the last straw for Janie though, she becomes a completely different person, she rarely states her opinion and follows any rules given to her by Joe. When Joe smacks her for burning dinner all she does is stand there and stare, no reaction, nothing, because she is the shell of the women she used to be. It all began when Joe saw a man stroking the ends of Janie's hair causing the hot pit of jealousy in his stomach to flare up, so “That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store”(Hurston 55). He craves control and the only way in his mind to have this control is to crush any sort of independence Janie has. She is so focused on finding true love and happiness that she doesn't question his decision, she is afraid that she may never find the kind of love she wants, so she puts up with Joe thinking that it may never get better, but she thought wrong and lived with the consequences for almost twenty years. The minute Joe dies,she has the chance to regain her independence,so she does, by burning that atrocious head wrap that he made her wear for almost 20