Although the Harlem Renaissance was a golden era for black culture, the Great Depression that soon followed did not have the same flourish. Racial tensions had followed after the cultural openness of the Harlem Renaissance, and as a result, the social realism movement occurred Causing a shift in attitudes towards art and literature, this movement promoted the exposure of social injustice, The daughter of two slaves, Zora Neale Hurston began her writing career during the Harlem Renaissance, but also participated in the social realism movement to preserve black culture through literature, Participating in the Great Migration where many southern black communities migrated to the north in search of new opportunities, Hurston was inspired to share their culture. Her works were directed towards an audience of both blacks and whites; she wanted to combat racism by encouraging blacks to embrace their own culture, while depicting the struggle of southern rural blacks.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates the importance of strength and independence in the struggle for fulfillment and empowerment through the bildungsroman of Janie and the symbolism of a mule and horizons, Illustrating Janie‘s journey towards self-fulfillment, a bildungsroman is a literary device Hurston uses to show the development of strength and independence in Janie; she matures when she discovers her ideals of love, leaves her first husband, and finds her voice and independence. Facing judgment from both blacks and whites, Janie’s yearning for self-discovery begins at a young age because she is mixed race and living in the south. Germinating under the pear tree, her desires for romance and freedom are oppressed by her Grandmother’s close-minded ideals. The first pivotal moment in the novel is when Janie witnesses the harmony between pear blossoms and bees, discovering, “So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation”.
This describes one of her earliest losses of innocence, which “reflects her immature consciousness”. From this point on, Janie embarks on a journey to seek the same exhilarating natural union. However, her ideals are obstructed by her grandmother, who tries to staunch this desire by pressuring her into a marriage with Logan Killicks. Although this practical marriage is Nanny’s best effort to ensure her granddaughter’s comfort in society, it is loveless union that leaves Janie unfulfilled, “Ironically meant to liberate Janie,” Nanny’s effort “ends up entrapping her” (Jones). Logan’s demanding and unaffectionate treatment of Janie, along with her disgust of his aesthetically displeasing exterior, causes her deep resentment for his “desecrating the pear tree”. Despite her straining to turn her emotionless marriage into her dreamy vision of affectionate spring blossoms, Janie “knew now that marriage did not make love Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman”.
This empowering realization gave her strength to leave her first husband for Jody Starks, a self- assured and wealthy man However, her rosy Visions of her new life are destroyed when she is forced under his jealous coercionr “She had no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man, neither any glistening young fruit where the petals used to be” (Hurston 85) Suffocating under Jody’s control, Janie was forced to cover her hair» one of her most distinctive features- so that she could suppress her beauty This selfish requirement is a hallmark of a greater issue: “he quiets her, excludes her from community events, and degrades her appearance” (Jones). Quietly suffering under his authority, Janie finds her voice when Jody is on his deathbed Expressing her resentment towards his abuse, she unveils his insecurities to him. After he takes his last breath, she embraces her freedom “At Jody’s death, in fact, Hurston portrays Janie as a freed woman” (Jones).
This major step in the novel illustrates Janie’s maturity; she looks in the mirror and acknowledges that she is not young, but she she still has the freedom to take controlr As a result, Janie enjoys the independence that had been withheld from her for her entire life. Describing the struggle against oppression, Hurston uses symbolism of the mule and horizons to communicate her rhetorical purpose. Throughout the novel, Janie sympathizes with the mule. Representing abuse, the mule is first described by Nanny, who explains, “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see”. Explaining that bitter struggle that Janie would face, Nanny describes the work and mistreatment that Janie silently suffers through, Furthermore, the mule appears again after Janie’s marriage to Jody. Harassed by many men in the town, the malnourished mule was abused by its owner through starvation and exhaustion. “Janie’s empathy toward the mule can be seen as her identification with the oppressed animal; like the mule, she feels exploited and objectified” (Jones)
Silenced in her abusive marriage with Judy, Janie feels deep compassion for the mule, Even after its death, Jody steps on the mule during the funeral, which is a symbolic action representing the trampling of respect towards Janie, By illustrating the grueling obstacles that Janie bore in herjourney to independence, the mule demonstrates the importance of endurance and strength in the struggle for empowerment, Similarly, horizons represent the goals of self-fulfillment, “Janie’s dreams and ambitions are symbolized by horizons” (Jones). Where the heavens meet the earth, the horizon is where a journeying individual aspires towards, First appearing when Nanny suppresses Janie‘s dreams “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” (Hurston 107), Placing her own ideals of security in front of her granddaughter‘s dreams of freedom.
Nanny suffocates Janie by choking her and limiting her horizons, However, Janie is able to free herself in her empowering victories throughout her life. After the death of her last husband, Tea Cake, Janie tells her friend Phoebe that she has “been tuh de horizonrn” and is described to have “pulled in her horizon like a great fish net,.. and draped it over her shoulder” (Hurston 227), This symbolizes Janie’s success; she has weathered through several lifetimes’ worth of storms as she suffered abuse and diversions from her journey to empowerment. No longer searching for a significant other, Janie is empowered as she reaches the understanding that she complete by herself.
Hurston uses the bildungsroman of Janie along with the symbolism of the mule and horizon to support her rhetorical purpose of the importance of strength and independence in the struggle for fulfillment and empowerment. Pursuing fulfillment, Janie experiences several pivotal moments where she reaches empowering conclusions When she discovers the beauty of love, left her first husband, and voiced her opinions to her second husband, she is able to gain independence. Similarly, the symbolism of the suffering mule and the journey towards a horizon represent struggles, Influenced by the surge ofAfrican American culture during the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston illustrates her novel with poetic descriptions and an inspiring journey.
