Theme Of Racism In Their Eyes Were Watching God
Racism has been a problem in America for centuries. From slavery, to Jim Crow laws, to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, racism always has been, and will always be a problem. In her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Hurston talked about racism and showed how it affected the life of the main character, Janie. Their Eyes Were Watching God took place in the 1890s, a period of violent racially motivated crimes and segregation. This segregation played a huge role in people’s lives, in history, and in the novel. “Racism exists when one ethnic group or historical collectivity dominates, excludes, or seeks to eliminate another on the basis of differences that it believes are hereditary and unalterable.” (pbs.org). Racism has a long
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When Janie is describing her childhood, she talks about how she was picked on in her school when she was a young child for being black. Then when she was sixteen, racism was the reason for the first major plot event. Because Janie’s Grandmother was so afraid that Janie wouldn’t be able to make it in the world as a lone black woman, she marries Janie off in an effort to protect her, saying “Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it’s some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don’t know nothin’ but what we se. So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. Het pick it up because have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see. Ah ben prayin’ fuh it tuh be different wid you.” (Zora Hurston). This comparison to a mule is how many African Americans at that time felt. They were still thought of as inferior. Later in the book there is an African American character named Mrs. Turner who hates black people and worships white people; despite being black herself. She said things like “We oughta lighten up de race.” (Zora Hurston), “Ah can’t stand black niggers. Ah don’t lame de white folks from hatin’ ‘em ‘cause Ah can’t stand ‘em mahself.” (Zora Hurston), “If it wuzn’t for so many black folks it wouldn’t be no race problem. De white folks would take us in wid dem. De black ones is holdin’ us back.” (Zora Hurston), and
When Janie is describing her childhood, she talks about how she was picked on in her school when she was a young child for being black. Then when she was sixteen, racism was the reason for the first major plot event. Because Janie’s Grandmother was so afraid that Janie wouldn’t be able to make it in the world as a lone black woman, she marries Janie off in an effort to protect her, saying “Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it’s some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don’t know nothin’ but what we se. So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. Het pick it up because have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see. Ah ben prayin’ fuh it tuh be different wid you.” (Zora Hurston). This comparison to a mule is how many African Americans at that time felt. They were still thought of as inferior. Later in the book there is an African American character named Mrs. Turner who hates black people and worships white people; despite being black herself. She said things like “We oughta lighten up de race.” (Zora Hurston), “Ah can’t stand black niggers. Ah don’t lame de white folks from hatin’ ‘em ‘cause Ah can’t stand ‘em mahself.” (Zora Hurston), “If it wuzn’t for so many black folks it wouldn’t be no race problem. De white folks would take us in wid dem. De black ones is holdin’ us back.” (Zora Hurston), and