Their Eyes Were Watching God illustrates
how no human pursuits—for love, money, or self-worth—can stand against God or the forces of nature
.
What is the main theme of Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Their Eyes Were Watching God explores
traditional gender roles
as one of its main themes – specifically the way that stereotypical ideas about relationships between men and women empower men and disempower women.
What is the meaning of Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Hurston writes that they waited to see how nature would determine their fate: “
They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God
.” With this line, the characters recognize the lack of control they have over their own lives, and realize they can only be spared from the cruelty of nature if God sees …
Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God is such a rich novel that there is no one main theme or message. Rather, the book is ripe with multiple life lessons. However, one of the central themes focuses
on the idea of self-actualization
. Throughout the novel, Janie looks outside of herself for fulfillment.
What is the basic plot of Their Eyes Were Watching God?
The novel
explores traditional gender roles and the relationship between men and women
. Nanny believes that Janie should marry a man not for love but for “protection” Janie's first two husbands, Logan Killicks and Jody Starks, both believe Janie should be defined by her marriage to them.
Who is Janie's true love?
193) Janie finally found real love with her marriage to
Tea Cake
. Although at the beginning of the book Janie was naïve about love, she learned through her three marriages many lessons about love, including the major lesson, that love actually existed. Janie's view of love was of the pear tree.
What does Janie's hair symbolize?
Janie's hair is a
symbol of her power and unconventional identity
; it represents her strength and individuality in three ways. … Third, her hair, because of its straightness, functions as a symbol of whiteness; Mrs. Turner worships Janie because of her straight hair and other Caucasian characteristics.
What kind of God are the eyes watching?
The eyes are looking toward
an omniscient, omnipotent God
to share their fate with them.
Why does Janie marry Logan?
Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman. When Janie was younger, her Nanny implied that with marriage,
love would follow automatically
. With this belief in mind, Janie agrees to marry Logan Killicks, a man she does not love. … After getting married, the sexual spark between Janie and Jody disappears.
What is the climax of Their Eyes Were Watching God?
The climax of the novel and resolution of Janie's ultimate search for self
comes after the hurricane, when Tea Cake succumbs to insanity as a result of the mad dog biting him in the storm
. … The novel ends with Janie finally achieving what she always hoped for: “Here was peace.”
How does Janie define love?
At first, Janie
stereotyped love into something untouchable
. … Love is unfathomable, you can't explain it or define it. You can only experience it for yourself. Although, she keeps the pear tree blossom in her thoughts throughout her journey of finding love in herself and others.
How is love represented in Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Throughout the novel, Janie searches for the love that she has always desired, the kind of love that is represented by
the marriage between a bee and a blossom on the pear tree that stood in Nanny's backyard
.
What is Tea Cake's real name?
Vergible Woods
, known as Tea Cake, is the third husband of Janie Crawford, the protagonist of Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937).
How old is Janie at the end of the book?
Janie
Sixteen-year-old
Janie Crawford dreams of love and wonders whether love will come with marriage. Twenty-four years and three marriages later, Janie has experienced both love and personal growth.
Is Tea Cake a good guy?
Hurston depicts
Tea Cake as not simply a good or bad person
, but instead as a real person who is complicated and not easily understood. … However, in the middle of the storm, Tea Cake saves Janie from a rabid dog, ultimately sacrificing his own life in this act of love-driven heroism.
