Their Eyes Were Watching God Book Analysis

Oprah Butchers Hurston’s Classic Novel
Oprah Winfrey's movie, totally transformed Their Eyes were Watching God, beyond resemblance from Zora Neale Hurston's book. Throughout the movie many relationships changed, Janie gained much strength, morals became altered from the normal acceptance of this time and, the meaning completely shifted and symbols meaning completely. Obviously, Oprah had conducted changes in the movie which altered the entire recognition of the book.
During the movie, Oprah twists the moral fiber of what people considered proper and correct for this time period. Scenes showed graphic sexual and intimate situations between characters. These sexual tones contradict what the moral values of the time period conveyed during the
book. The audience of the movie views Janie dancing all over men, which flaunts a tone that never became vividly shown through Zora Neal Hurston’s book. These types of actions would be considered inappropriate by many people and Janie would not be caught dead contributing in these acts. Multiple times showing public affection occurred, showing no moral values of what the public eye may think of you. “Because of Nannie, Janie remains on the second level of personal development, Safety and Security, for Nannie’s Major concern when she catches Janie innocently kissing Johnny Taylor at the gate”(hubpages) The novel, Their Eyes were Watching God would not ever convey Janie partaking in the act of public display of affection because this goes totally against what people considered morally correct in their society.
Oprah's version, grants Janie more strengths than she actually possesses in the book.
Joe became jealous of other men viewing Janie’s beautiful luxurious hair. “Her hair was NOT going to show in the store. It didn’t seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was. He never told her how often he had seen the other men figuratively wallowing in it as she went about things in the store.” (Hurston 55) Hurston explains a scene of Joe demanding her hair out of view and Janie obeyed his request. In contrast, during the movie Janie receives the strength of standing up to Joe and refusing to wear her hair up. Polar opposite of what society held Janie accountable to do in the book. Zora Neale Hurston shows Janie doing the everyday expected tasks of a woman during this time period. Oprah depicts Janie partaking in the hard manual labor of the fields. The field work became known as a man’s job during the book. This shows Janie received just as much strength as a man for that day in age. In the novel, Janie could not have a voice in the town because Joe would not allow it. “He kept her socially isolated, set her apart, leaving her lonely and unfulfilled. Without that sense of belonging, Janie could not find the voice she had been lacking for so long, the voice that could stand up to Joe Starks…”(hubpages) The movie opposes this and granted Janie the strength to speak up and voice her opinions for the public to
hear.
Throughout the entire movie version many alterations of the relationships between characters become apparent. One of the most noticeable relationship changes occurs in the relationship between Janie and Nanny. Janie began to backtalk Nanny during the movie which shows how Janie respects Nanny less in the movie versus the book. Janie feels throughout the movie that Nanny fails to look out for her best interest. “Nanny took the horizon and pinched it into a little bit of a thing” (Harpo). Zora Neal Hurston conveys Nanny and Janie’s relationship as an extremely pure one. Nanny cared for Janie more than words could describe yet, Oprah Winfrey twisted the purest relationship in the book to a soured and toxic one. The death of Nanny failed to occur during the film by Oprah Winfrey. Contradictory the novel shows the death of Nanny as a significant event that happened throughout the journey and process of Janie finding herself in her personal horizon.
Another relationship butchering that occurred throughout the entire movie happened between the Janie and Tea Cake. In Oprah’s version Janie confronts Tea Cake about what happened to the missing money. The movie depicts Janie physically harassing and yelling at Tea Cake to explain why the money is gone. “You stole my money, and you gambled it away” (Harpo)! Hurston would never have made these actions part of their relationship. Janie just learned to get over the fact that the money disappeared during the novel. Janie would simply respect Tea Cake throughout the novel and never disrespect him in such a way. At the end of the novel Tea Cake’s final action before death displays one of hate. “Janie saw the look on his face and leaped forward as he closed his teeth in the flesh of her forearm…Janie struggled to a sitting position and pried the dead Tea Cake’s teeth from her arm”(Hurston 184). The book conveys Tea Cakes ill intended bite as his final gesture towards the always loving Janie. Oprah twists this in the movie making Tea Cakes last actions still convey his love for her, aiding to the false aspect of this portraying a love story.
The movie version conveys this entire story into what viewers would consider a love story, instead of the book's actual meaning showing Janie finding herself. “Janie does find love, but a love story, the novel is not.”(Ceptus) Throughout the book, Zora Neal Hurston shows the many trials Janie faces on the issues that go along with the many aspects of defining oneself. Barbara Ceptus summed up the many topics of the struggles Janie faced when she stated “Their Eyes Watching God is a complex novel that addresses issues of color, sexuality, community and self fulfilment” (Ceptus). The story conveys the many complex thoughts and situations determined how Janie defined and found herself in society. Oprah Winfrey changed many of the original symbols that aided to creating this novel a true classic. The pear tree in the novel represented Janie's transition in life through sexual manners of a woman. “The pear tree and the horizon represent Janie’s idealized views of nature. Janie witnessed perfect moment in nature, full erotic energy, passionate interaction, and blissful harmony” (sparknotes). Oprah Winfrey, reluctantly did not realize how important this symbol meant in the explanation of the meaning of this story. She shifted this massive symbol to water during the movie. Zora Neal Hurston used the horizon throughout the book to represent a goal marker for what Janie strived to achieve during her lifetime. “Similarly, the horizon represents the far-off mystery of the natural world, with which she longs to connect. Janie’s hauling in of her horizon… at the end of the novel indicates that she has achieved the harmony with nature that she has sought since the moment under the pear tree” (sparknotes). Oprah failed to portray the importance and barely even mentioned the horizon throughout the entirety of the movie and its significance. The novel portrayed Janie actually reaching her horizon and or her goal during the novel. The fact that Oprah Winfrey failed to express this symbols true significance, the audience in return never understands the theme of Janie finding herself in this time period of time or society.
Throughout the entirety of the movie Oprah Winfrey changed or drastically altered many situations and events that were explained throughout the novel. Changes in character relations, and Janie’s strength increasing and symbols changed, on top of the overall message behind the story shifting caused this story to change beyond recognition. Oprah Winfrey took a classic novel and shifted it into a love story that barely resembles Zora Neale Hurston’s original masterpiece.