Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, emphasizes the despair ordinary people must endure before they achieve self-knowledge, highlighting how Janie‘s zeal overcomes all of her initial misfortunes allowing for her to evolve into a character with a deeper understanding in regards to the woes of life. Janie is able to transform into an independent woman with her own voice after facing financial struggles and oppressive marriages, which demonstrates how experiences do not define people but rather mindsets do. Hurston is able to portray those ideologies by including all of the events that lead up to the moment where Janie acknowledges that she has finally obtained her voice and become independent. Hurston initially depicts Janie as a stubborn young girl in order to demonstrate how the manner in which she matures has a positive impact on how she views the world Janie has the ability to contend with her past adversities which allows her to advance her personal agenda.
The deaths of two of her husbands are considered to be the peak of her tribulation, and she is required to undergo the experience so that she may complete her journey and become truly independent. Hurston begins the novel with death, foreshadowing that more is to come, and ultimately incorporates death as a means to advance the plot, However, death is not the central idea of the novel, rather it is Hurston‘s inclusion of flashbacks that support the novel‘s purpose. It is within these flashbacks that Hurston sheds light on how when Janie is sixteen years old, she discovers what leave means to her. The ideals and romanticism of love affects her perspective on what marriage should be, thus increasing the requirements needed for her to be happy whilst in a relationship. Even though Janie encounters several oppressive marriages, she continues to have the ability to adapt to whatever situation she finds herself in.
It is not her personal relationships that determine whether she has found self—knowledge, but her positive relationship with the past that allows for her to become an individual. Janie is forced to conform to society’s expectations, thus declining her the opportunity form ever speaking her mind. It is during the period of time when Janie cannot express her opinion, that she remains silent and witnesses the abuse and mockery of men. She decides to speak up when she discovers that Mrs Robbins was being berated by the men It is this incident that catalyzes the progression of her voice to become more dominant Janie’s outburst denotes that such behavior and treatment is not and should not be acceptable, nor should it be overlooked.
It is this moment that her previous indifferences towards men’s judgment, actions, and disrespect comes to a complete end this defining moment changes her perspective in regards to society and human nature as well, Janie does not let incidents such as this bring her down, instead, she embraces why it happens and becomes a better and more well»rounded person because of it. This behavior contributes to the point that Hurston attempts to make with the novel, that adversity should be the impetus for perseverance. The positive ideologies that serve as the foundation of the novel primarily have to do with how Janie manages to make amends with who she is, ultimately allowing society to acknowledge her transformation as well.
lmore paragraph and then do my reflections and then be done, Janie is initially portrayed as an immature girl who eventually comes to the realization that money serves no tangible value in life, however, she only develops this mindset when she grows older and more poort. Even though she has married two men that have the capability to provide for her and are considered rich by the rules of society, she is never happy with them, She is only truly happy and content when she marries Tea Cake, a man who has little to no wealth to his name, Janie is raised on the belief that money buys happiness, however through her own journey she acknowledges that money has no direct relationship with happiness.
It is this discovery that allows Janie to finally comprehend that to sincerely be jovial with the woes of life, one must come to terms with who they are and what they believe in. Janie’s pursuit for love and her journey for anchored independence are incited throughout Hurston’s novel. Janie has a rocky relationship with each of her husbands, as well as the past, however all of the tragedies associated with her husband’s contribute to the woman she becomes at the end of her quest. It is Janie’s ability to adapt to whatever situation she finds herself in that allows for her to continue her journey no matter how difficult it gets The positive ideologies that serve as the foundation of the novel are a result of Janie’s decisions and actions that occur throughout the span of her life, with the ultimate outcome resulting in Janie’s constant search for independence and its eventual discovery, That highlights how it is not experiences that define who people are, rather how experiences shape the individual‘s perspective.
