Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis
“The Power Struggle in African American Marriages”
Zora Neale Hurston is recognized as one of the key contributors to the Harlem Renaissance that occurred during the 1920s and 1930s. Her multitudes of literary works explore and celebrate African American culture and heritage without directly addressing the subject of racism which was prevalent during this time. Hurston incorporates both the positive and negative aspects of African American culture into her stories in order to give a true depiction to her audience. In a number of her works, including “Sweat” and Their Eyes Were Watching God, domestic violence plays a very frequent role in marriages. Husbands would hit their wives to establish their power in the relationship, even when the wives did not do anything to deserve such cruel brutality. In Hurston’s short story, “Sweat”, oppression of women in the black community is demonstrated through the marriage of Delia and Sykes Jones. In another of her short stories, “The Gilded Six-Bits”, Hurston writes about a married couple who is completely in love and share a balance of power in the relationship. In 1937, Hurston published one of her more well-known works, Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel is about a young African American girl, Janie Crawford, and her journey from a young girl into an independent woman. This transformation is gradually seen through her three marriages. Although each of the marriages was very different from one another, they all shared the same underlying conflict: a power struggle between genders. Due to the death of her mother at an early age, Janie is raised by her grandmother who grew up as a slave. Nanny, her grandmother, is extremely dissatisfied with the way that black women are treated. She explains to Janie that the white men oppress the black men who then oppress the black women. It is a brutal cycle that forces black woman to act as the “mules” by doing all of the hard work (14). In order to protect Janie from
Zora Neale Hurston is recognized as one of the key contributors to the Harlem Renaissance that occurred during the 1920s and 1930s. Her multitudes of literary works explore and celebrate African American culture and heritage without directly addressing the subject of racism which was prevalent during this time. Hurston incorporates both the positive and negative aspects of African American culture into her stories in order to give a true depiction to her audience. In a number of her works, including “Sweat” and Their Eyes Were Watching God, domestic violence plays a very frequent role in marriages. Husbands would hit their wives to establish their power in the relationship, even when the wives did not do anything to deserve such cruel brutality. In Hurston’s short story, “Sweat”, oppression of women in the black community is demonstrated through the marriage of Delia and Sykes Jones. In another of her short stories, “The Gilded Six-Bits”, Hurston writes about a married couple who is completely in love and share a balance of power in the relationship. In 1937, Hurston published one of her more well-known works, Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel is about a young African American girl, Janie Crawford, and her journey from a young girl into an independent woman. This transformation is gradually seen through her three marriages. Although each of the marriages was very different from one another, they all shared the same underlying conflict: a power struggle between genders. Due to the death of her mother at an early age, Janie is raised by her grandmother who grew up as a slave. Nanny, her grandmother, is extremely dissatisfied with the way that black women are treated. She explains to Janie that the white men oppress the black men who then oppress the black women. It is a brutal cycle that forces black woman to act as the “mules” by doing all of the hard work (14). In order to protect Janie from
Bibliography: Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print. Hurston, Zora N. "Zora Neale Hurston 's "Sweat"" American Literature Research and Analysis Website. University of South Florida in Fort Myers, July 1996. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/hurston.htm>. Hurston, Zora N. "Zora Neale Hurston 's "The Gilded Six-Bits"" American Literature Research and Analysis Website. University of South Florida in Fort Myers, July 1996. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/hurston.htm>. "Power." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Inc. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/power>. Uppling, Jill. ""Sweat" and "The Gilded Six-Bits": Between Hurston 's Biography and Education." American Literature Research and Analysis Website. University of South Florida in Fort Myers, July 1996. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/hurston.htm>.