Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston manipulates imagery to portray the authority of Joe Starks in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Extreme versions of power are utilized as a means of conveying Joe's natural dominance through his actions and those who interact with him.
The irony of Joe Starks a black man, as he is compared to a white man, a formidable figure in any black community displays Joe’s control. He strongly resembles a white man through the description of his new house. As Hurston writes, “The rest of the town looked like servants’ quarters surrounding the big house. And look at the way he painted it – a gloaty, sparkly white. The kind of promenading white that the houses of Bishop Whipple and Vanderpool’s …show more content…
Hurston uses the reactions of people that surround him to illustrate his Godly power; she writes, "There was something about Joe Starks that cowed the town...He had a bow-down command in his face, and every step he took made the thing more tangible." Joe Starks is characterized as a man who everyone fears, just as a God would be treated. This fear is a result of him continuing his rule, because as long as he walks and talks, his power will increase. Furthermore, in his arrogance, Joe attempts to adopt a god-like role in the community and is divinely illustrated as one. In the name of an Eatonville citizen Hurston writes, “‘He’s de wind and we’se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows(49)’”. Wind is a powerful but unseen force that manipulates and controls the weaker elements with which it comes in contact. Analogized, Joe is the wind, the mighty and superior force, and the townspeople are the grass, the weak and inferior force. In fact, the book of Psalms, which naturally has a connection to Christianity, the religion of townspeople, corresponds to the
Zora Neale Hurston manipulates imagery to portray the authority of Joe Starks in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Extreme versions of power are utilized as a means of conveying Joe's natural dominance through his actions and those who interact with him.
The irony of Joe Starks a black man, as he is compared to a white man, a formidable figure in any black community displays Joe’s control. He strongly resembles a white man through the description of his new house. As Hurston writes, “The rest of the town looked like servants’ quarters surrounding the big house. And look at the way he painted it – a gloaty, sparkly white. The kind of promenading white that the houses of Bishop Whipple and Vanderpool’s …show more content…
Hurston uses the reactions of people that surround him to illustrate his Godly power; she writes, "There was something about Joe Starks that cowed the town...He had a bow-down command in his face, and every step he took made the thing more tangible." Joe Starks is characterized as a man who everyone fears, just as a God would be treated. This fear is a result of him continuing his rule, because as long as he walks and talks, his power will increase. Furthermore, in his arrogance, Joe attempts to adopt a god-like role in the community and is divinely illustrated as one. In the name of an Eatonville citizen Hurston writes, “‘He’s de wind and we’se de grass. We bend which ever way he blows(49)’”. Wind is a powerful but unseen force that manipulates and controls the weaker elements with which it comes in contact. Analogized, Joe is the wind, the mighty and superior force, and the townspeople are the grass, the weak and inferior force. In fact, the book of Psalms, which naturally has a connection to Christianity, the religion of townspeople, corresponds to the