Florencia
Soto Niño-Martínez
August 31, 2001
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The name of the book is Their
Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. It was written in 1937, a time when
women still werent taken much into account in a mans world. For this reason,
her book was not taken seriously. It was not until the 1970s when this book started
to find its own voice through African-American women. Now it is still one of the best
African-American novels. It talks about Janie Crawford, a girl raised by her grand mother,
who undergoes a lot of situations where she is powerless against men, but gradually finds
the strength and courage to stand up for her own thoughts and desires. The central
theme is the hard quest of a colored woman searching for self-realization in a time where
women still werent allowed to speak their minds freely, and African-Americans were
still discriminated against in the United States.
Hurston tells us from the very beginning that Janie does not want
an ordinary life, nor an ordinary marriage. First, she lets us know that Janie wants to
find real love "Ah want things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear
tree and think" (Hurston, 1990, p.23). This, she is unable to find in her first
marriage with Logan Killicks. Instead she finds their marriage rather dull and unexciting.
Shes looking for something, though she doesnt know exactly what that is. Then,
Jody Starks comes along, and she sees in him an opportunity to change. She leaves Logan,
though not without making him mad for "telling yuh what yuh already knowed"
(Hurston, 1990, p.30). What caused Logans anger was the fact that Janie had told him
a very simple truth: she did not love him. This deed shows Janies first step towards
independence, and it shows her defiance towards mens authority.
Janie is not comfortable in her second marriage either. Jody
gives her all that money can buy, but what she really wants is his attention. He
doesnt let her have an opinion either. This is shown clearly when hes named
Mayor of Eatonville and would not let her give a speech because "mah wife know
nothin bout no speech-makin. Shes a woman and her place is in de
home" (Hurston, 1990, p.40). This is one of many remarks that he made about women
being inferior. Janie soon had the desire to make her voice heard in town, but was unable
to do so. She learned to keep silent, but this only made her less happy everyday. This
stage of her life makes her realize men and womens inequality in society. When she
asks herself "Why must Joe be so mad with her for making him look small when he did
it to her all the time?" (Hurston, 1990, p.77) shes clearly questioning this
inequality that seems so unfair to her. She wants to be able to speak and not be quieted,
nor ignored. This is another sign of her inner growth in the story.
After Jodie Starks dies, Janie has another chance to grow. She
learns what it is like to be a woman whos alone in the world. This gives her more
confidence, a new kind of inner peace, and freedom. A desire to do things instead of
sitting all day, also awakened in her. We can see this when she tells her friend Phoebe
"sittin still worries me. Ah wants to utilize mahself all over" (Hurston,
1990, p.107). Her independence had never been stated more clearly.
Then, she meets Tea Cake who is not like her two former husbands
at all. He gives importance to her opinion, does not think shes unintelligent, and
treats her like an equal. It is obvious why she came to like him. Finally, there was a man
that seemed to cover all her expectations. She does not care that he doesnt have
half the money that she does, and she leaves her home and marries him. Once more, Janie
defies all the rules, cares not about what society might say, and is faithful to her
dreams and goals. This was not how women of her time were supposed to behave. This is her
way of demonstrating that men were not the only ones who could stand up for themselves.
Her life with Tea Cake finally gave her the opportunity to live
under her own terms. She feels that she has found what she was looking for. They had to
face other problems though. They must learn to trust and help each other. At one point
they also face racial discrimination. After the hurricane, they must leave Palm Beach
because "Its bad bein strange niggers wid white folks. Everybody is
aginst yuh" (Hurston, 1990, p.164). This shows that although black people were free,
inequality and friction was still clear between these two races. It sure wasnt easy
being a black woman in that time. It wasnt easy for Janie to face the jury after she
killed Tea Cake, and it was no easy task to return home alone and face everyone else.
Regardless of this, Janie found the strength to do it, and she returned as a new woman,
satisfied with who she was.
I would definitely recommend this book because through it I could
learn more about womens situation at the beginning of the twentieth century. I also
learned a lot about African-American traditions. I really liked the way that Janie
gradually makes changes in her life, without losing her customs, and without forgetting
her ancestry. It seems to me that the more she discovers her real self, the more she gets
closer to her traditions. I would also recommend it because its realistic, and has a
very good ending. It shows black peoples point of view about whites, and how
discrimination exists even among blacks themselves. This surprised me a lot. I also loved
the final message where Janie says that we should learn about life for ourselves.
I can understand now why this book was rejected at first. It was
a bold story in the time it was written. After all, it hasnt been very long since
African-Americans and women started to be taken into account by society. I also see why it
became so important later. It was one of the first books that had a feminist style in it.
I think that a lot of women can relate to the story, not only African-American. For me,
Janie represents womens enthusiastic spirit of wanting to do something significant,
of wanting to live life deeply, and of following their dreams and hearts true
desire. I think this is not exclusive of women, but of humanity in general.
REFERENCES
Hurston, Z. (1990). Their eyes were watching God. New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row Publishers.