Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God is the life story of a character named Janie Crawford. The central theme of the novel calls for a rejection of materialism and societal hierarchies based on class, wealth, race, and sex. Janie's eventual fulfillment is found through her not allowing herself to be limited by the constraints imposed on her. By following her own course, she finds passion and love without sacrificing her independence or self-esteem. Through this portrayal, Hurston asserts that the choice of individualism and non-conformity can be a more effective way to evoke change than actions of political protest which has been criticized by some of her renaissance counterparts.

Janie's process of self-realization is depicted as a lifelong endeavor, punctuated with the presence of strong-willed characters that represented oppression and control. Her grandmother, Nanny, relied on guilt in the form of family obligation and community expectations to force Janie into a loveless marriage. Although she wants society to change for Janie, she does not understand that it is her own conformity that perpetuates the system. Nanny's life experiences have convinced her that, "de nigger woman is de mule uh de world." (Gates & McKay, p. 1068) So her s character is incapable of believing that a woman can survive independently. The only solution in her mind was to try to attain for Janie what she herself would have wanted, a husband with property.

Janie's first and second husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks, are strong ambitious men who have managed to rise above the social restrictions suffered by most black men of the time. Each of these characters attempt to impose their own restrictions and confinements on Janie. Logan reinforces the theme of a woman's value as a mule, servant and slave to man by his expectation that his wife work as hard as he does and since she does not work to his level, he believes her to be lazy and spoiled. His harshness with the beautiful, light-skinned Janie further emphasizes the contrast of class and race distinctions. For Logan, Janie is his property and her complexion is representative of the white oppression that he has worked so hard to overcome.

To Joe Starks however Janie symbolizes achievement, a beautiful, light-skinned trophy that brings him one step closer to the white society he mimics. He successfully elevates to his position as mayor in Eatonville and paints their house "a gloaty sparkling white."(Hurston,1937) Starks also echoes traditional white behavior by treating the citizens of Eatonville as non-equals due to his elevated position. His expectations of Janie are increasingly restrictive as his social prominence and status rises.

Hurston carefully constructs Nanny, Logan and Joe to depict the self oppression within the black community resulting from their efforts to emulate white society. Although she does not outwardly oppose Nanny or Logan, it becomes clear that with each experience Janie is increasingly cognizant of her own needs. This revelation is apparent when she confronts Joe on his deathbed and then burns the head rags he had insisted she wear. Her understanding of what is most important to her is marked by her stating that her grandmother had "taken the biggest thing that God ever made, the horizon... and pinched it into such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her. She hated the woman who had twisted her so in the name of love." (Hurston, 1937)

Tea Cake, Janie's third husband represents her final rejection of material processions and her need for the fulfillment of unconditional love. Janie finally obtains wealth from the death of her husband Joe, not from the fruits of her labor. Affluence among blacks was not an easy achievement and yet Janie easily left her elevated position in the community to begin a new life with Tea Cake. Hurston implies that the pursuit of