What Does The Peach Tree Symbolize In Their Eyes Were Watching God

Meredith Mannion Mrs. Worrall Literature of Controversy En 137-2 8 October 2014 Their Eyes Were Watching God Symbols represent something of a higher meaning. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the pear tree to Janie represents all of her dreams, hopes, and plans for the future. The pear tree is the exemplary love for Janie in her lifetime.

janie is going through her teen years and how she sees the world differently.zora Neale Hurston's novel "their eyes were watching God".when zora uses the rhetorical devices, she is showing how Janie has "woken up" and is curious to see the world. at the outset of the passage,"it had called her to come and gaze on a mystery". Zora uses personification to say that the pear tree wanted to get attention from Janie. she is becoming a young woman with a curiosity in the new world. in another sentence,Zora uses simile in "it was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again".

From the first sentences of the beginning of the novel we are lead to learn about the dreams of men. Starting with those first few paragraphs meant the audience needed to keep a look out for Janie’s dream. From the first moment we see her with the pear tree Janie’s dream seems obvious. Her dream is to find out what true love is. Using Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Edwidge Danticat’s foreword, and my own annotations Janie’s dream will be explored.

With Hurston’s unique format and very symbolic tone, the novel clearly sets up the connection between Janie’s own life path and nature. As this was shown through sunny Eatonville in the summer and through the cow fighting for its life through the hurricane, there is no shortage of connections, which were excellent at aiding the telling of the novel. One specific connection that describes Janie is the connection of love and self-discovery that is shown through her and the pear tree.

Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God follows protagonist Janie Mae Crawford’s journey into womanhood and her ultimate quest for self-discovery. Having to abruptly transition from childhood to adulthood at the age of sixteen, the story demonstrates Janie’s eternal struggle to find her own voice and realize her dreams through three marriages and a lifetime of hardships that come about from being a black woman in America in the early 20th century. Throughout the novel, Hurston uses powerful metaphors helping to “unify” (as Henry Louis Gates Jr. puts it) the novel’s themes and narrative; thus providing a greater understanding of Janie’s quest for selfhood. There are three significant metaphors in the novel that achieve this unity: the

Long, luscious locks cascade down Janie’s brown back, spilling over her shoulders and tickling the tops of her thighs. Her face is buried in the thick curtain that ripples slightly in the sweet, warm summer wind. This is Janie’s freedom and her femininity embodied in such a commonplace object. Janie’s hair represents her inner self: the part of her that was smothered and buried in her previous marriages. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie’s hair symbolizes much; throughout the novel, her hair represents youth, attraction, and freedom.

She was looking, thinking under the tree for a confirmation to her wedding. In addition, Hurston uses personification in lines 12-14 to emphasize that Janie is beginning to see how her marriage will be." ... soaking in

Author Zora Neale Hurston weaves many powerful symbols into her acclaimed novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston’s use of symbols enhances the reader’s understanding of the trials and tribulations along the road of self discovery for the story’s main character, Janie. Of the many symbols used throughout the novel, one in particular - Janie’s hair - is subtle yet striking as it gives us insight into Janie’s perceived social status, oppression, self identity, and her eventual independence through her self identity as a woman despite the social norms of the time period.

For example, Hurston’s use of imagery helps to establish the varying moods within the novel. While beginning to tell her story to Phoeby, Janie describes the growth of the pear tree that she grows fond of throughout her childhood: “From barren brown stems to glistening leaf buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom” (Hurston 10). Janie tells how the pear tree from a mundane tree to one blooming with excitement. This also follows Janie’s path from childhood to womanhood. The imagery of the pear tree presents a serene mood the follow along the plot of the novel for some time. Word choice such as ‘glistening’ and ‘snowy’ creates a peaceful situation in which suits Janie’s childhood. Later in her adult life, Janie becomes attracted to Tea Cake to the point where she can’t bear to be without him: “He did not return that night nor the next, and so she plunged into the

All novels contain symbolism in one shape or form, masking a deeper meaning beneath the words that are written on the page. Usually, there is an assortment of symbols disguised by a literal meaning that blend in with the scene. Symbols frequently come in the form of nature. Nature, generally being in the background of a scene, becomes more prominent when it is meant to be identified as a symbol. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the symbolism in nature is recurrent throughout the novel. It is used to indicate turning points and track the growth of the main character, Janie’s, coming-of-age. This is portrayed through the changing of the seasons and various correspondents. In this way, it can be seen that not all events affect Janie in the same way, leading her in one direction. In Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, seasonal symbols are used to target experiences in Janie’s life and how they affect her overall development into adulthood.

According to the novel, Janie seemed to be a very sexual young girl from the ways she looked at nature from her kissing Johnny Taylor (Hurston 11-12). So her

Many literary works embody the concept and elements of symbolism. It can evoke striking feelings and communicate prominent ideas through its symbolic language. A profound author, Zora Neale Hurston, known for her use of symbolism in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, conveys symbols to communicate the experiences of a beautiful yet determined, black woman named Janie Crawford. Janie endeavors to find her euphoria and her perception of self-recognition and love. What comes with her journey of her womanhood is her undying struggle in discovering her aspirations from many marriages to realize her true love that completes her. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses the horizon, the pear tree, and the bee and blossom as symbols

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston describes the horizon as possibilities and opportunities. When the story starts out Janie’s perception of the horizon changes first from desire for love to the need of love, and ultimately the feeling of contentment towards love to show Janie maturing throughout the novel.

Zora Neale Hurston effectively used the symbol of the gate to display to the readers the beginning of a new outlook or change in Janie’s life. This symbol helped develop the character of Janie and clarifies the meaning of the story of Their Eyes Were Watching God which is about the self-discovery of women in the 1920s and

The most prevalent themes in Their Eyes Were Watching God involve Janie's search for unconditional, true, and fulfilling love. She experiences different kinds of love throughout her life. As a result of her quest for this love, Janie