In the book Their Eyes Were Watching God There are many themes. The one that stood out the most was Janie’s silence. Once Janie discovers her ability to define herself by her speech and interactions with others‚ she learns that silence can be used as a power. She then learns how to control her silence. The author places great emphasis on the control of language as the source of identity and power. Janie uses silence as both a tool of oppression and power during her marriages. Joe‚ Janie’s second
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novel‚ Their Eyes Were Watching God‚ narrates the story of a woman’s pursuit of a meaningful life in the American South during the 1920’s. Janie desires sense of her own identity and a secure sense of independence. In the beginning of the book Janie is unsure of who she is or how she wants to live‚ until she has a revelation under the blossoming pear tree‚ where she observes perfect harmony of nature. Janie wants to achieve this type of love‚ which awakens an even deeper desire. Janie seeks a sense
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2013 Love and Equality The struggle for women’s rights dates as far back as the 1820s‚ approximately one hundred years before the time setting of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Women eventually acquire the right to vote in 1919‚ but still face the issues of oppression and inferiority to men. In Their Eyes Were Watching God‚ Janie searches for true love and equality. She faces conflicts along the way‚ but her third marriage to Tea Cake gives her what she desires. In both of her
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Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapter 6 Summary Some of the men like to tease Matt Bonner about his skinny yellow mule. Though everyone loves the conversation (except Matt)‚ Joe has forbidden Janie to join in. He thinks she is too good for them and Janie resents him for it. She also resents how hard Joe makes her work in the store‚ especially since he doesn’t do much there himself. The most irksome thing‚ of course‚ is his staunch resolution for her to wear a head-rag in the store. We learn Joe
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New Historicism and Eyes Watching God New Historicism has developed from the "New" Criticism’s inclination to treat works of literature in a historical way. The New Historicist conditions include the fact that images and narratives do important cultural work. They serve as a kind of workshop where cultural problems‚ hopes‚ and obsessions are addressed or avoided. Consequently‚ New Historicists argue that the best backdrop for interpreting literature is to place it in its
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dreams and opportunities. I believe that the characters in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God weren’t very consistent with the quote at the begging of the story. The characters that showed a little consistency were Nanny and Janie‚ Nanny showed her consistency when she was telling Janie who to marry. She was consistent by basically seeking the opportunity to show the opposite path that she went down‚ before she died. Janie was not consistent with this quote until her second husband died and she
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Janie is a dreamer and a searcher. She is forever looking for love and companionship‚ through which she hopes to find happiness. Janie pursues that ideal for forty years although in the end she is unable to keep it. However‚ with the death of Teacake‚ it becomes clear that the path Janie followed has actually led her to something of the utmost value; the discovery of herself. Janie’s travel down this path is observed in reference to the ideal she seeks‚ the horizon. In the novel Their Eyes Were
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Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a story of how Janie‚ the protagonist‚ achieves a strong sense of self along with her independence. In order for Janie to be where she is by the end of the novel she embarks on a long journey to find what she really wants in life. That journey is both literal and figurative. Janie literally travels and sees different parts of the world but at the same time going on within her is a journey to find herself
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"Janie loved the conversation and sometimes she thought up good stories on the mule‚ but Joe had forbidden her to indulge. He didn’t want her talking after such trashy people" (53). Joe has an oppressive personality and commands Janie to do as he wishes. Janie has no voice in her relationship because Joe stifles any opinions that she has. Joe doesn’t want her talking to such trashy people because he thinks it will change the way people look at him because his wife is talking to such lowly people
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In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God‚ by Zora Neale Hurston‚ Janie‚ the heroine‚ represents some aspects of feminism when she takes it upon herself to become liberated from each of her three domineering romantic relationships. Janie’s first husband‚ Logan Killicks‚ treats Janie as more of a prized possession to be obtained than as a wife or companion. For example‚ Logan goes to Lake City to buy a second mule that Janie can plow behind in the potato field because potatoes are “bringin’ big
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