PlanetPapers.com RSS Feedhttps://www.planetpapers.com/ Human will vs. God's will The human will and the will of God are two prevalent themes within Zora Neale Hurston’s American masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Not only do both themes play integral parts in the tone and continuity of the novel, but they also play into every other major theme of the book. These other themes being: self-discovery, love, independence, and nature’s power in one’s life. Both Janie’s personal will, and the will of God in this story are used to show the strengths and weakness of Janie as well the rest of the characters. The will of God is seen numerous times throughout the novel in order to test Janie and her will. God’s will is also seen directing other major and minor characters in the book. The wills of God and Janie are the guiding forces within the story and skirmish with each other throughout to create the backbone of this novel. For Janie, there is a great conflict of wills her own and the will of God. On one side of her reasoning she feels the need to experience true love but on the other side, is God pulling the strings in her life. Her Nanny will have nothing to do with the later and thus pushes Janie in the direction of marriage, even if that means there is no love. Janie wants love but is still unsure in her young womanhood if all it takes to it is a simple marriage to a man who will take care of her. This can be seen when Janie asks herself, “Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated. Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?” She soon finds out that she should have listened to her instinct once she finds that being taken of isn’t that same as true love. Marriage is not what Janie wants. She wants love. Her desire to get out of the marriage is clearly seen in all the references to animals. She feels like a mule while she’s with Logan. She knows she has the spirit of a stallion inside her but she is literally surrounded by a gate and can only stare towards her impossible dreams of love down the road (25-27). Logan puts a tremendous amount of stress on Janie with his demands as well as his verbal and physical abuse seen often while she is his wife. In this time 2002-11-25T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Human-will-vs_-God-s-will-5186.aspx The Forgotten Years of Their Eyes Although Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is a widely read novel today, that wasn’t always the case. When her novel was first published, many black readers were enraged. It wasn’t until the early seventies when Hurston’s novel was rediscovered and thus eventually brought back into the literary canon. What aspects of the novel enraged the readers so that it would be forgotten for more than thirty years? One of the most important aspects of the novel that enraged the black readers was Hurston’s portrayal of the white people. Readers complained that Hurston wasn’t harsh enough in her critique of the white people’s treatment towards the black people. Rather than portraying whites as the stereotypical “Simon Legree” of Uncle Tom’s Cabin—the ideal poor, racist “white trash”—most whites that take part in the novel are contrarily very helpful towards the blacks and show great compassion towards them as well. For example, when Janie begins her story we meet the Washburns. These are the white folks for whom Nanny worked for and they are very helpful towards both Nanny and Janie by treating them as if they are part of the family. Contrary to a lot of whites at the time who treated blacks as if they were still slaves, the Washburns treat both Nanny and Janie as human beings rather than slaves, showing great respect and love. In a way they are portrayed as “angels” who truly believe in human equality and don’t have one bit of prejudice in them. “Mah grandma raised me. Mah grandma and de white folks she worked wid…They was quality white folks up dere in West Florida. Named Washburn. She had four gran’chillun on de place and all of us played together…” (8). Furthermore, by reading Hurston’s novel, one can clearly see that all blacks place the whites on a pedestal of knowledge. According to the blacks of the novel, whites know everything and are always right; they are superior and since blacks are supposed to be ignorant and stupid, they should believe and do everything the whites say. For example, Mrs. Turner states that she trusts only white doctors because black doctors aren’t as educated and skilled as the white doctors. “Don’t bring me no nigger doctor tuh hang over mah sick-bed…White doctors always gits mah money” (135-136). Another example is when the Indians are evacuating the muck because they foresee a big hurricane coming and 2001-09-17T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Forgotten-Years-of-Their-Eyes-3732.aspx Their Eyes Were Watching God - Adjust, Adapt, Overcome: A theme analysis "I have said that the soul is not more than the body, And I have said that the body is not more than the soul, And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one's self is, And whoever walks a furlong without sympathy walks to his own funeral drest in his shroud..." -Walt Whitman, Song of Myself Zora Neale Hurston, in dealing with the female search for self-awareness in Their Eyes Were Watching God, has created a heroine in Janie Crawford. In fact, the female perspective is introduced immediately: "Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly" (1). On the very first page of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the contrast is made between men and women, thus initiating Janie's search for her own dreams and foreshadowing the "female quest" theme of the rest of the novel. Detailing Janie's quest for self-discovery and self-definition, Hurston celebrates Janie as a role model for all by communicating her understanding of life's true meaning. In finding life's true meaning, Janie underwent self-definition or what today is called self-actualization: In 1954 an American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that all people are motivated to fulfill a hierarchical pyramid of needs. At the bottom of Maslow's pyramid are needs essential to survival, such as the needs for food, water, and sleep. The need for safety follows these physiological needs. According to Maslow, higher-level needs become important to us only after our more basic needs are satisfied. These higher needs include the need for love and 'belongingness', the need for esteem, and the need for self-actualization (In Maslow's theory, a state in which people realize their greatest potential) (All information by means of Encarta Online Encyclopedia). It is ironic that a black female author of the late 1930's was able to write a novel exemplifying this very theme, well before its time. Although Hurston had Janie endure three marriages and a slew of hardships, the novel's protagonist finally reached the pinnacle in human existence. She had been a part of the loving harmony she had witnessed so early in her childhood. Janie was complete. Janie Crawford is a black woman who asserts herself beyond expectation, with a persistence that characterizes her search for the love that she dreamt of as a girl. After witnessing the symbiotic relationship 2001-03-28T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God-Adjust,-Adapt,-Overcome-A-theme-analysis-3097.aspx Their Eyes were Watching God: How slavery influences Nanny's idea of Marriage In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Heale Hurston a former slave named Nanny's ideal marriage is if the relationship provides both protection and security. Although people always have their own perspectives and standpoints of problems that are different from others, Nanny's own view of marriage is influenced by slavery and her ill-fated life experience. As a former slave, Nanny's idea of marriage is influenced by her social status. Back to the years of slavery, African-American couldn't get too much freedom, and they were treated as goods by their white masters. Especially for the African-American women, they were at the bottom of the society which had made their lives even harder. The slavery had anchored Nanny's mind, she believed that the best thing could happen to an African-American woman is to marry a man that can depend on, which the marriage can provide protection. Johnny Taylor is not the one because Nanny thought some trifling youth like him would ruin Janie's life, and Nanny has chosen someone who is respectable, someone like Logan Killicks. Nanny's granddaughter Janie, a youthful girl who was born as a free child, she doesn't have to go through the hard time as a slave that her Nanny has experienced. Janie believes that she should fulfill her own dream by marrying a man that she loves, and she disregard the importance of material wealth. Nanny has learned the lesson that love is not synonymous with love, and she thinks Janie is just too young to realize the truth. As a slave near the end of the Civil War, Nanny gave birth to her white master's child, who became Janie's mother. But the white man disappointed Nanny when the his wife realized the baby is her husband's, his wife went into a jealous rage; she declared that Nanny would receive a hundred lashes in the morning and watch her baby sold off when it is a month old, but he didn't do anything for Nanny and his own child, and Nanny had to escape with her baby eventually. This painful heartbreaking experience has taught Nanny a harsh lesson that love cannot always be trusted; more than that, love cannot play a only part in marriage. Unlike her young granddaughter Janie who is youthful and only sees the reason to marry is if is true love. ¡§the inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing 2000-07-03T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Their-Eyes-were-Watching-God-How-slavery-influences-Nanny-s-idea-of-Marriage-2140.aspx Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's entire life is one of a journey. She lives through a grandmother, three husbands, and innumerable friends. Throughout is all, she grows closer and closer to her ideals about love and how to live one's life. Zora Neale Hurston chooses to define Janie not by what is wrong in her life, but by what is good in it. Janie changes a lot from the beginning to the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God, but the imagery in her life always conjures positive ideas in the mind of the reader. Janie's life begins under the watchful eye of her grandmother. Her grandmother has given up her own happiness to raise Janie and her mother. Right away, it is obvious that Janie's life is going to be different than her grandmother's. For starters, Janie has very different ideas about love than any other character. She may not be able to clearly define her thoughts, but the reader still sees that Janie's ideas are romantic and full of sensuality. The first glimpse into the past that the reader sees involves Janie underneath a pear tree, watching the flowers bloom. The descriptive language ("From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom" [10]) beautifully juxtaposed with complex thought ("The rose of the world was breathing out smell. It . . . followed her. . . and caressed her . . ." [10]) lets the reader experience the same feelings that Janie does, even though she is not yet old enough to fully describe them herself. Janie's grandmother is old and weak. She never had a person in her life who cared for her and truly wanted to look out for her well-being. As a result, she is frightened by Janie's refusal to follow the mold, her refusal to marry for convenience instead of love. Janie's grandmother describes herself as "a cracked plate" [19], showing that not even she has confidence in her own ability to be strong and weather adversity. Janie learns a very important lesson from her grandmother. Not a lesson to emulate, but one to avoid. She does not want to be a cracked plate, she is tall and blossoming and can see what she wants in her life. She does not get what she wants with Logan Killicks, her first husband. Janie married Logan because her grandmother wanted her to. Her grandmother could 2000-05-05T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God-1929.aspx Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Research Paper "I am Me, My Eyes Toward God" Mark Evans Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer. Zora Neale Hurston was, the daughter of a Baptist minister and an educated scholar who still believed in the genius contained within the common southern black vernacular(Hook http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/Zora.html). She was a woman who found her place, though unstable, in a typical male profession. Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida, the first all-incorporated black town in America. She found a special thing in this town, where she said, "... [I] grew like a like a gourd and yelled bass like a gator," (Gale, 1). When Hurston was thirteen she was removed from school and sent to care for her brother's children. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, and then found herself working as a maid for a white woman. This woman saw a spark that was waiting for fuel, so she arranged for Hurston to attend high school in Baltimore. She also attended Morgan Academy, now called Morgan State University, from which she graduated in June of 1918. She then enrolled in the Howard Prep School followed by later enrollment in Howard University. In 1928 Hurston attended Barnard College where she studied anthropology under Franz Boas. After she graduated, Zora returned to Eatonville to begin work on anthropology. Four years after Hurston received her B.A. from Barnard she enrolled in Columbia University to begin graduate work (Discovering Authors, 2-4). Hurston's life seemed to be going well but she was soon to see the other side of reality. Hurston never stayed at a job for too long, constantly refusing the advances of male employers, which showed part of her strong feminist disposition. But Hurston was still seeking true love throughout her travels and education. At Howard University, Hurston 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God-Research-Paper-162.aspx Their Eyes Were Watching God: Personal Relationships Zora Neale Hurston, in keeping with themes dealing with personal relationships and the female search for self-awareness in Their Eyes Were Watching God , has created a heroine in Janie Crawford. In fact, the female perspective is introduced immediately. "Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly" (Their Eyes 1). On the very first page of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the contrast is made between men and women, thus initiating Janie's search for her own dreams and foreshadowing the "female quest" theme of the rest of the novel. "Detailing her quest for self-discovery and self-definition, it [Their Eyes] celebrates her [Janie] as an artist who enriches Eatonville by communicating her understanding" (Kubitschek 22). Janie is a Black woman who asserts herself beyond expectation, with a persistence that characterizes her search for the love that she dreamed of as a girl. She understands the societal status that her life has handed her, yet she is determined to overcome this, and she is resentful toward anyone or anything that interferes with her quest for happiness. "So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don't tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see," opines Janie's grandmother in an attempt to justify the marriage that she has arranged for her granddaughter (Their Eyes 14). This excerpt establishes the existence of the inferior status of women in this society, a status which Janie must somehow overcome in order to emerge a heroine. This societal constraint does not deter Janie from attaining her dream. "She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (Their Eyes 24). Janie is not afraid to defy the expectations that her grandmother has for her life, because she realizes that her grandmother's antiquated views of women as weaklings in need of male protection even at the expense of a loving relationship, constitute limitations to her personal potential. "She hated her grandmother . . . .Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon " (Their Eyes 85-86). Nevertheless, Janie is not 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God-Personal-Relationships-163.aspx