Three of the main symbols in the novel are Janie’s hair,
the pear tree and the horizon
, and the hurricane. Janie’s hair symbolizes her power and her unconventional identity. The pear tree and horizon symbolizes Janie’s idealized view of nature and how it affects the world.
What is the most important symbol in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
The Pear Tree
and the Horizon
In the bees’ interaction with the pear tree flowers, Janie witnesses a perfect moment in nature, full of erotic energy, passionate interaction, and blissful harmony. She chases after this ideal throughout the rest of the book.
What does the dog in Their Eyes Were Watching God symbolize?
The dog represents
the hate and bloodshed racism brings
, which wants to drag Janie down with it. The water is the barrier that keeps hate at bay: her spirit. Tea Cake represents Janie’s love and strength, never failing to destroy the racism and keep her, her dreams, and her life intact.
Why does Hurston use symbolism?
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses
symbolism to better reveal moods and emotions throughout novel
. The horizon represents Janie’s goals that take most of her life to reach, Janie’s hair represents her independence and domination, and the pear tree represents love and sexuality.
What does the mule symbolize?
Mule Symbol Analysis
The image of the mule emerges repeatedly in different contexts throughout the novel, but remains consistent in its figurative meaning as a
symbol of victimization and bondage
.
What does the porch symbolize?
In American literature, the porch is a stage where the symbolism is often as thick as
the summer air — a transitional space between the cocoon of home and the cacophony of the outside world
.
What does the horizon symbolize?
By the end of the novel, the symbol of the horizon has become quite complex in its meaning. The horizon still stands for dreams, opportunities, and adventures, but now the horizon also stands for wholeness and self-acceptance. Janie’s life experiences are a source for
new
confidence and security.
What does the gate symbolize in their eyes?
As Janie says, it is where her conscious life began and marked Janie’s entrance into womanhood. The gate was an important part of the kiss. Gates can symbolize
leaving one’s past and entering into a new beginning
. In this moment, the gate was the doorway to Janie’s future.
What does Mrs Turner symbolize?
Mrs. Turner represents
the cruelty and delusion
that comes from idolizing physical characteristics, and how this devotion turns ordinary people into either gods to worship or fiends to demonize. Beyond that, Mrs. Turner also serves as a reminder that prejudice exists within the Black community, not just outside of it.
What does the dog and the cow symbolize in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Both the dog and the cow represents symbols.
The cow is Janie’s safety and ultimately her freedom while the dog is her burdens and limitations set before her by other guys
. Tea Cake was there for Janie and helped her by killing the dog.
What does the ocean symbolize in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his
dreams mocked to death by Time
. That is the life of men. … In this famous opening, Hurston uses natural imagery of the sea and the horizon to characterize men’s dreams.
What does the lion symbolize?
The lion is a very diverse symbol. Its most common traits are:
majesty, strength, courage, justice, and military might
. … Commonly reffered to as “the KING of the beasts,” it is a symbol of Kingly power and might, but as the lioness it is commonly related to the Great Mother and protection.
What does Janie’s head wrap represent?
By destroying her head rags and letting her hair down, she signifies that she is no longer under Joe’s control. Janie’s hair has become a symbol not only of
beauty and sexual power but also of freedom and individuality
. After the hurricane, Tea Cake and other survivors are pressed into service to bury the dead.
What do the vultures represent in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
When he bought the skinny, abused mule from Matt, he did not give Janie credit for suggesting he do so. After the poor animal died, by staging a funeral, Joe sought the townspeople’s praise for his generosity. The buzzards’ attack shows the real status of the mule and, by extension,
social attitudes toward women
.
What metaphors are in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
One of the prevalent metaphors in the novel is
the image of the horizon
. As Janie climbs the pear tree to see what exists around her, she sees the horizon. The horizon also plays a role at sundown, a time when the porch sitters sit outside at the end of a working day to watch the sun set.
Who are the porch sitters?
The Porch Sitters A
group of men and a few women who sit on the porches of their homes
, as well as on the porch of Joe Starks’ crossroads store, and diligently mind everyone else’s business, especially Janie’s. The women who gossip about Janie as she trudges into the town are Pearl Stone, Mrs. Sumpkins, and Lulu Moss.
What is another word for covered porch?
A portico
, from the Latin porticus, meaning “gate,” is a covered porch, often with columns.
What does death symbolize in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, death is presented as
both the traditional ending of a life and a cause for grief
. However, it also has a positive connotation; death isn’t merely an end but also the start of a new beginning. Death is often paired with an experience of rebirth.
How does the porch serve as a metaphor for Judgement?
The use of the metaphor that describes the porch as a throne (and hence the porch-sitters as royalty)
reinforces the idea of an elevated social status and its implied protection
. … Those who sit out on the porch feel free reign to pass judgment on those who walk by.
What does the apron symbolize?
The apron has become one of the most recognized symbols of our craft. Even the most ornate one a Brother might receive as a gift for his service remains, underneath, a
symbol of labor, service, and purity of life and thought
. Every Mason cherishes his apron and remembers fondly the moment when he first wore it.
Is Mrs Turner black in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
A middle-age woman of
mixed (black and white)
ethnicity, Mrs. Turner imposes herself upon Janie because of their similar heritage.
What is Phoebe’s Role in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Pheoby Watson is
Janie’s best friend and confidante
. She sits on the porch of the store or her own home and listens to the gossipy busybodies meddling in Janie’s life. They talk, both the men and the women, and Pheoby has many ways of suggesting that they don’t know what they’re talking about.
Who is Miss Turner?
Mrs. Turner is
Janie and Tea Cake’s awkward looking and often disrespectful neighbor in
the muck, who attempts to befriend Janie and alienates Tea Cake. Mrs. Turner repeatedly suggests that Janie go out with her brother, who she says is much better than Tea Cake because of his intelligence and lighter skin.
What does Joe Starks symbolize?
Joe Starks
Joe Stark symbolizes
freedom and carefree living
. When Janie first meets Joe she thinks that marrying him would result in her having a very easy and layed back life because he makes her believe that he would do all the work while she relaxes on the porch.
What is the irony in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Situational irony
is when things don’t turn out like you expect. Janie ends up having to kill the only man she has ever loved because he becomes deranged with rabies. This is a sad example of situational irony.
Why do you think Hurston chose the name Tea Cake for Janie’s third husband?
After the death of Jody Starks, Janie Crawford finds an ideal relationship with Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods, a young man whose values are represented in his name. … Furthermore, his alias, “Tea Cake,” reflects on his romantic personality, as he is “as sweet as all dat [tea cake]” (97).
What does a dragonfly symbolize?
In almost every part of the world, the Dragonfly symbolizes
change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization
. The change that is often referred to has its source in mental and emotional maturity and understanding the deeper meaning of life. … The Dragonfly moves with elegance and grace.
What bear symbolizes?
The Native Bear Symbol represents
strength, family, vitality courage and health
. The bear is also self-contained and strong-willed in nature. … A Bear is of great support and comfort to those who crave human company simply for personal reassurance rather than for the simple pleasure of being with friends.
What does the elephant symbolize?
What do elephants symbolise? Elephants represent
strength and good fortune
. They also symbolise health and happiness and are thought to promote spiritual wellbeing in our daily lives. Elephants are strong and nurturing, they are loyal to their family and are determined and protective.
What does the blue dress mean in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Lastly, with Tea Cake, Janie often wore the color blue, especially the overalls, which symbolized how their relationship was both freeing and sad in the end. Therefore, in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie’s clothes
are an accurate representation of her feelings and treatment through her marriages
.
What does the pear tree symbolize in this story?
The Pear Tree Symbol Analysis. … Throughout the novel, the pear tree symbolizes for
Janie the feeling she experienced directly while sitting beneath it
– the sense of possibility in life for a connection between the self and the natural world, and the feelings of sexual desire and love.
