Racism In Hurston'sTheir Eyes Were Watching God?

In Claire Crabtree’s journal article, “The Confluence of Folklore, Feminism and Black Self-Determination in Zora Neal Hurston’s ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’”, it addresses the large role that folklore plays regarding Janie’s growth as a character. Moreover, it states how the influence of Folklore culture shaped Janie’s experiences as a Black woman in the South. Initially, Crabtree described the integration of folk material and how it developed Janie’s journey of identity. Folklore culture affected Janie’s perception in relationships, career aspirations, and her limited role as a woman. Nevertheless, Crabtree explains how folklore is merged to the themes of feminism and Black self-determination. Moreover, she discusses how the style of narration and the novel’s unique storytelling frame amplifies the authentic aspect of the text. She

The Harlem Renaissance was a period where African American writers had the opportunity to show their own style of literature. In the novel Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about a story based on Janie’s life and how her feelings and attitude change throughout the story. The novel adheres and departs from the Harlem Renaissance. The novel adheres from the Harlem Renaissance on culture,racism,and language. It departs from the Harlem Renaissance by attitude on pride and individuality in Janie's character.

In the depths of your despairs, you’ll realize that your situation repeats itself until you learn valuable lessons. Throughout life it is inevitable to meet a diverse range of people in your life that can help you create yourself as an individual. On the the other hand certain acquaintances can have an opposite affect on your life and will lead them to attempting to tear you down. Meeting a variety of people, you are bound to initiate affection towards them. As marriage is the united bond of love that two people decide to make everlasting, it also can change throughout the course of time. Experiencing circumstances where you feel worthless, in times where you should feel as a priority, it can lead to the collapsing of the emotions that were once there. In the story, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zara Neale Hurston, the protagonist, Janie Crawford encountered multiple challenges in her search to be loved and wanted. Despite not having a definite understanding of who she is herself, her relationships she made along the way, did not only bring hardships, but ignited a superior comprehension of her desires she is searching for. As the story unfolds, actions taken by Janie’s relationships will present to her a multitude of decisions she has to make in order to fully blossom.

Zora Neale Hurston was an influential African-American novelist who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. (Tow 1) During the Harlem Renaissance Hurston’s novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God, was written in southern dialect so that the African American audience can relate, mainly because Hurston could only write about what she knew. “In the case of Hurston, dialect, as a regional vernacular, can and does contain subject, experience emotion and revelation.” (Jones 4) when Hurston's novel first was released many people didn't not accept the writing for what it really was. “When Their Eyes Were Watching God first appeared in 1937, it was well-received by white critics as an intimate portrait of southern blacks, but African-American reviewers rejected the novel. (Telgen, Hile 1) In this modern day the novel is well accepted and has been called "a classic of black literature, one of the best novels of the period" (Howard 7) In "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Janie takes on a journey in search of her own identity where each of her three husbands plays an important role in her discovery of who she is.

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, there is evidence of inequality among many of the characters. The protagonist, who is an African-American woman, is constantly oppressed throughout the story. She enters three different relationships and experiences oppression and inequality because of her gender in all of them. In this novel, Janie Mae Crawford faces inequality and hardships in her life-long search for love; when viewing her journey through the Feminist theory, readers may gain a deeper understanding.

Zora Neale Hurston's “Their Eyes Were Watching God” follows Jamie Crawford who consecutively becomes involved in three marriages with distinct men that she eventually leaves, but not without finding a semblance of her identity through them. Janie’s ability to seek out her dreams and her persistence towards discovering not only love, but herself through relationships portrays her as a peculiar individual who defies the social norm of the time period where a woman, especially black women, should not have a voice. The confounding qualities Janie emits prompts for an in-depth study on how Hurston develops the growth of a black woman’s personal autonomy in a highly oppressive setting.

This idea of perception is also presented in Hurston’s Their Eyes were watching God. At the beginning of the novel we see Janie coming to the realisation of her skin, ‘”Aw, aw! I’m coloured!” ‘Den dey all laughed real hard. But before Ah seen de picture Ah thought Ah wuz just like de rest.’ Janie’s lack of awareness about her skin can be seen to be the result of her surroundings; she grew up with a white family, went to a white school, and lived in a white area. This becomes one of the few times what we are aware of her mixed heritage, as her race is replaced by the significance of her hair. The repeated images of Janie’s hair becomes her identifier; it is her hair that attracts men, and it is her hair, which also places her outside of the

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, she sets the protagonist, Janie Mae Crawford as a woman who wants to find true love and who is struggling to find her identity. To find her identity and true love it takes her three marriages to go through. While being married to three different men who each have different philosophies, Janie comes to understand that she is developed into a strong woman. Hurston makes each idea through each man’s view of Janie, and their relationship with the society. The lifestyle with little hope of or reason to hope for improvement. He holds a sizeable amount of land, but the couple's life involves little interaction with anyone else.

Down Goes Hurston The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s is a great time for black artists; it is a rebirth of art, music, books and poetry. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie, the protagonist, is treated kindly for a black women. She does not go through the torment of black culture during that era or the previous eras. Throughout the book Hurston "fibs" about racial oppression. Janie gets respect by the white people she encounters. Hurston makes the reader imagine that African-American life is easygoing. Richard Write’s critique of Their Eyes Were Watching God is accurate and therefore, the book should not be included in the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston breaks several of the themes of the

Zora Neale Hurston's masterpiece, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," serves as a profound exploration of the African American experience, weaving a tale that transcends time and place to delve into the depths of personal identity, love, and freedom. Through the life of Janie Mae Crawford and her relationships with figures such as Tea Cake and Sam Watson, Hurston masterfully navigates the complexities of love, societal expectations, and the search for a voice within the African American community of Eatonville. As the narrative unfolds, the nuanced portrayals of these characters become focal points for analysis and debate, revealing layers of complexity that challenge readers to consider the intricate dance between individual desires and the cultural

In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the men in Janie’s life, while all people of color, hold varying amounts of power and privilege over her on the sole basis of being an man in the late 1930’s. Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake’s constant subjugation, infantilization, and general patronization of Janie throughout the novel stem from this perceived better-ness. While modern men can no longer get away with marital abuse, women still suffer oppression at the hands of men more subtle micro-aggressions in everyday life that take the form of sexual objectification , internalized misogyny, stereotyping, and body policing, as displayed all though the novel. Janie is constantly showered with undesirable male attention.

Society has always thought of racism as a war given to the lowly African American from the supposedly high class white man, but no one thought there would be prejudice within a hierarchical class system inside the black community. However within that class system, history has shown that darker colored women are at the deep trenches of the totem pole. In the novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” African American women are put under harm and control exposing the racism and sexism with their community. Through the life of Janie Crawford, Zora Neale Hurston portrays the concept of a woman finding her independence in a black, hierarchical, and racist society.

Zora Neale Hurston had an intriguing life, from surviving a hurricane in the Bahamas to having an affair with a man twenty years her junior. She used these experiences to write a bildungsroman novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, about the colorful life of Janie Mae Crawford. Though the book is guised as a quest for love, the dialogues between the characters demonstrate that it is actually about Janie’s journey to learn how to not adhere to societal expectation.

Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the most unsurpassed writers of twentieth-century African-American literature. Published in 1937, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God depicts the life of Janie Crawford, an African-American woman, who is in search of true love and ultimately her true self. In the novel, Janie shows us that love comes in all shapes and forms, and love is different with each person you choose to love. In the opening of the novel, Hurston uses a metaphor to say that, while men can never reach for their dreams, women can direct their wills and chase their dreams. Hurston uses this metaphor to make a distinction of men and women gender roles, and Janie went against the norms that were expected of her.

Ever since I can remember, my mother shares her stories of the failing relationships she sees during her practice as a therapist. While policies prohibit her from sharing specific details about her clients, my mother still recounts vague stories and constantly doles out advice regarding success in relationships. Once, when my mother felt particularly inspired after a session with a client, she lectured me on how I deserve someone in my life who will treat me well. On a serious note, she suggested finding someone who would always listen to me and support me, and on a sillier note, she insisted my significant other should give me back rubs and make me laugh. My mother wishes that I find a relationship where I can learn from my partner but still remain my independent self. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, protagonist Janie struggles to develop this type of caring relationship that my mother desires for me. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston argues that when people rely on others and cannot think independently, they form unhealthy relationships.