Their Eyes Were Watching God

Rating:
Summary: The Journey
Review: Zora Neale Hurston effectively combines southern black colloquialism with a variety of rhetorical strategies to reveal the emotional and spiritual journey of women as well as the struggles of being an African American woman in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. The main character Janie symbolizes every woman's journey both literally and on a spiritual level. The story begins with Janie's return to Eatonville, Florida and then flashes back to reveal her life story as she tells her friend Phoeby everything that has happened. Janie learns at an early age what her place is in society when her Grandmother tells her "de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up... He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world." This local color reveals the struggle that women have because they are women and especially African American women because not only are they women, but they are also black. This combination presents many obstacles for Janie as well as for African American women today. Janie's childhood escapes her at an early age when her Nanny forces her to marry Logan Killicks and she learns that "marriage did not make love". This change begins both her physical journey and emotional as she discovers her "first dream was dead, so she became a woman." Her physical journey continues as she marries her second husband Joe Starks and they move to the all black community of Eatonville, Florida. While she believes that he treats her better, he is only a small step up from Logan. Joe believes that Janie is there for him to look at and no one else, a sexist male attitude that all women must overcome at some time. A man in the town, Matt Bonner, owns an old beaten down mule which the men of the town all taunt and make fun of and Janie can not stand it. This mule symbolizes women and men's desire to own them and treat them however they wish. Hurston repeats the word "brute" to reinforce the idea that men feel superior to women. Janie slowly lets Joe take over her spirit and after his death, Janie "tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair" symbolizing her spiritual freedom. Janie meets the playful Tea Cake and she comments that she "felt like a child breaking rules" with him which is why she likes it. This simple simile reveals her regaining of innocence and more of her spirit and her journey leads her to Lake Okechobee with Tea Cake. Her encounters with Mrs. Turner show her that she must overcome the stereotypes of African Americans and women. Janie's journey propels her to an emotional low, and finally in the end she completes her spiritual journey and sets her soul free. Zora Neale Hurston captures the southern African American dialect to write an emotional story about a woman's journey. I truly enjoyed this story not only because of the beautiful writing, but also because of the valuable lessons it teaches. I learned not only about Janie, but also about Zora Hurston and surprisingly, myself.

Rating:
Summary: The Quest For Love, A Celebration of Womanhood
Review: Several reviews previous to mine mentioned that as high school students they couldn't understand why this book was considered a classic and what was supposed to be so wonderful about it. I too read the book this year for English and I can tell you why. On an anylytical level, Hurston's imagery is astoundingly beautiful. It mirrors her unique and fesh vision of what it means to be a woman. What Hurston says about the emotional turmoil of Janie, without telling the reader directly is amazing. Part of the strength of this book is it's ability to communicate emotion, to reach out to a reader who is emotionally aware (that's the catch for the readers who didn't comprehend the book) and pull them into Janie's life. Then every symbol, such as Janie's tied up hair, begins to communicate it's meaning in a clear and touching way. This book is amazing, and not enough can be said for it. It is a celebration of true love, of self-revelation, and of what it means to live a dream. I can see why some people might not understand it...at least not in high school.

Rating:
Summary: This Is A Must Read!
Review: Zora Hurston had to experience what she wrote about in "Their Eyes Were Watching God". This book is explosive to have been written at a time where African Americans didn't use the language that Hurston uses. Against all odds, "Their Eyes Are Watching God", is an Award Winning Novel.

With dialect that is not so easy to understand, Hurston keeps your attention with the life story of an African American woman named Janie. The things that Janie was going through years and years ago, not only African American woman, but women of all cultures are still experiencing.

Never knowing what was around the corner, Janie took chance after chance trying to find the true love of her life. Just as women experience today, these men whisper sweet nothings in her ear, and once they get her they use Janie for their own purposes. She's hurt that these men, her husbands keep her in bondage. Through it all, Janie explemfied courage, and wisdom. She knew when it was time to let go and move on. Women were jealous of Janie and her zest for life. They assumed things that were not always true of Janie. To the rescue was Janie's friend Phoeby. Always there with an open ear.

Then one night, it happen, out the blue walked the love of Janie's life. Someone who would love her like we would want to be loved. Mr. Tea Cake....what a name! Tea Cake was the man that Janie had waited so long for. Brushing her hair, teaching her things that only men (at that time) would do, letting the real Janie show.

No it wasn't perfect, but it was a better life than that which she had previously experienced. You know all that glitters isn't gold but bronze was just fine for Janie. The bond that Tea Cake and Janie had was so very special. Through trials and tribulations they stuck together. Tea Cake treasured Janie and even worshiped her. Death separated Janie and Tea Cake and now Janie must find a way to carry on. This book is remarkable and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Probably Hurston's greatest gift to world literature
Review: "There Eyes Were Watching God," by Zora Neale Hurston, is widely acknowledged as a beloved classic of American literature. This novel is truly one of those great works that remains both entertaining and deeply moving; it is a book for classrooms, for reading groups of all types, and for individual readers.

In "There Eyes," Hurston tells the life story of Janie, an African-American woman. We accompany Janie as she experiences the very different men in her life. Hurston's great dialogue captures both the ongoing "war of the sexes," as well as the truces, joys, and tender moments of male-female relations. But equally important are Janie's relationships with other Black women. There are powerful themes of female bonding, identity, and empowerment which bring an added dimension to this book.

But what really elevates "Their Eyes" to the level of a great classic is Hurston's use of language. This is truly one of the most poetic novels in the American canon. Hurston blends the engaging vernacular speech of her African-American characters with the lovely "standard" English of her narrator, and in both modes creates lines that are just beautiful.

"Their Eyes" captures the universal experiences of pain and happiness, love and loss. And the whole story is told with both humor and compassion. If you haven't read it yet, read it; if you've already read it, read it again.

Rating:
Summary: Depiction of Life, Love and the Ability to Overcome
Review: In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, an African-American woman makes her spiritual and physical journey through prejudice, sexism, and the hardships of love.

From the beginning the author leaves the reader with numerous questions about Janie, the main character, her background and her romantic life, which is made crystal clear to be widely disputed and gossiped in Eaton. From there, Hurston does a spectacular job of keeping the reader interested by jumping to Janie's childhood, leaving all questions unanswered; thusly creating suspense. We learn of Janie's emotional dealings with racism and having to be black, and her own personal ideology of love. Before she knew it, she was married and had moved. Then ran and was married again. Then he died and ran off to, yes, be married yet again.

Through Janie's three different husbands, she comes out in the end the same, independent, beautiful black women she had started as. In each husband scenario she is treated as a possession, a strong statement for Zora Neale Hurston on the mistreatment of women. As well, in each romantic chapter she is tried to be broken and sculpted, much like the stubborn mule that was taunted by the men of Eaton. With the mule, it was only when he was freed that he could finally be content and at peace. Here, Hurston is assimilating the townsmen with sexist men and the half-broken starved mule with the independent women who were constantly being cut down. Unfortunately, no matter how desperately a flower is pruned and beat down, it will sprout and bloom just a vigorously, if not more so, than in the beginning. Dissimilarly, her first husband Logan gives her nothing, but does give her grandmother security in knowing Janie is well taken care of. Joe Starks, hubby no. two gives her wealth and a name in the community, but Tea Cake gives her a sense of adventure and enabled her embrace her beauty as a woman and a living, working human being. None the less, she returns to Eaton, only to discover even more of a buzz had accumulated in her absence.

Likewise to her ability to capture the tone of the community, is the amazing talent of Hurston to depict the emotion and dialect of the people featured in the book. Although the simplistic phonetically-spelled terminology seen throughout the novel is prevalent, the author incorporates 'common' English in the narrative as well, making for a beautifully artistic technique. This method is effective in illustrating the mindset and intellectual capacities of the characters. Mayor Starks is an eloquent orator and this shows through his terminology, while the more common folk are, well, more grammatically challenged. Each character posed some sort of influence on Janie throughout the novel, whether major of minor, constructive or not. Each and every major persons in this book evoked some emotion from Janie; laughter, a sense of inferiority, malice or love.

Janie ends as she starts, only more of a woman, more of a lover, and even more at peace with life, love and herself. Zora Neale Hurston did a spectacular job of portraying the conflicts facing a black female in a white man's world, leaving the reader with a confidence that indeed, we shall overcome.

Rating:
Summary: A Journey Toward Self Discovery
Review: To end my senior year, my English teacher assigned my class to read a book of our choice and to present the novel to the class, thus preparing us all for the dreaded Advanced Placement exam. I must admit that I chose "Their Eyes Were Watching God" simply on account of its length; of course I waited until the last minute to read it. I was expecting it to be another book about the oppression of blacks by whites-I cannot count how many of that theme I have read. I opened the front cover, dreading the next 200 pages. As I began to read, however, I was intrigued. Hurston had created a character, Janie Crawford, who was searching for a voice, for her own identity, a topic that I could actually relate to, especially now, as I head off to college. Janie, like most of my peers, didn't know who she was. She was married early in her teen years and for most of her life had been a trophy wife to Jody, her second husband. Not until she met Tea Cake did she begin to have a chance to discover herself. Originally, all she knew about herself was that she was a woman. Her mulatto background added to the confusion of where she belonged. Although the ending of the book was by no means a happy one, it was bittersweet when Janie realized that she was an individual who did not need a man to be worth something as a human being.
Libby Inchalik '04
Mercy High School

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written Tale of a Strong-Willed Woman
Review: Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is the story of a strong-willed, African American woman searching to find her place in life. Hurston conveys the struggles of Janie, the main protagonist, as she seeks true love in Florida in the 1930s. At the young age of sixteen, Janie is married off to an older farmer named Logan Killicks whom she does not love. However, rather than remaining miserable for the rest of her life, Janie decides to take the initiative by running off with a young, energetic man named Jody Starks. Soon, however, Janie finds herself in another unhappy situation with a controlling husband. After Jody dies, everyone assumes that Janie will remarry to a respectable townsman. Instead, Janie once again does the unexpected, and she runs away with a man 12 years younger than her, Tea Cake. Finally, she has found the perfect man, and her life is complete.
Janie is an example for all women that true happiness can be found if you look hard enough. She never gave up even when all odds seemed to be going against her. She is a truly independent woman who is not afraid to go against the expectations of society. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is the perfect book for any woman seeking to find her inner strength.

Rating:
Summary: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
Review: Janie for the first time was alone. She had many suitors who were after her and her property. They spoke of how she couldn't do it alone. They all had their motives of trying to control her. Janie wouldn't stand for it; she politely listened; yet she never accepted their offers. Until she met someone she couldn't turn away.

TeaCake, who was said to have "looked like the love thoughts of women". He awakens her spirit, strengthening her sense of self. TeaCake represented a partner who would allow her to participate. He shhowed her many new and exciting things (how to play checkers), and let her do things she wouldn't have been allowed to do before. he was much younger than janie, but was seen as a teacher to janie. He brings forth a positive vibe in her life, as he motivates and inspires Janie to learn. this was in a sense, "love at first sight". Her words were now inspired by love, they became poetic again.

At first Janie doesn't want to admit to liking TeaCake, because she didn't want it to be misunderstood. Yet, she couldn't hide it for much longer. She fell hard for TeaCake, and soon they were married. Their marriage represented a harmony, and a sense of equality. they both did their fair share of duties. Yet, TeaCake still had this smooth-talking way about him, which made me feel he hadn't quite matured as a man. This is seen as he runs the streets, gambling and throwing parties with Janie's secret stash of money that he found. But he had a way of manipulating the situation so that Janie wouldn't stay mad for long. He was a jealous person, too. He didn't want anyone to have anything to do with Janie, and the idea of that happening, drove him to insanity! He beats Janie to prove this point to others. I felt this was the only way he could prove his inadequacies, by resorting to violence.

Janie was jealous, too. A young girl, Nunkie, who worked out in the muck, was always flirting with TeaCake. She was chunky, and didn't compare to the looks of Janie, but she still had TeaCake's attention. One day Janie found them out in the fields and nearly lost her mind! She immediately questioned their actions, and they both claimed their innocence. I think he would heve kept up with the mischievious behavior had she not kept him in line, punishing his wrongdoings like that of a little boy.

Her identity with TeaCake was seperate for the most part, unlike her non-existent identity with her second husband, Joe. She had much more freedom, besides him choosing her aparallel for her. Although, Janie didn't seem to mind this much. To me, I seen this as a way of treating her as a posession, dressing her as if she was a doll. Throughout this relationship we see Janie constantly changing, and developing.

Unfortunately, Janie and TeaCake's fate at the end was a tragic one. Here is where we see Janie truly alive! Although her partner had passed on, she realized that he wasn't at all dead. "He could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking." Here Janie finally found peace, here she found herself.

Rating:
Summary: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God was a very fulfilling book to read. I felt, after having finished it, that it was completely written. What I mean by this is that the reader was not left with any questions in his/her head. The novel also did a good job of portraying the inner struggle of a woman: not only to find true love, but for independence within that love. In the beginning of the novel, it was obvious that Janie was a strong woman. We saw this when she left her first husband. But, after running away with Jody, we begin to see a weaker, submissive side of Janie. This was disappointing to me as a reader because I didn't like to see her take orders from Jody. But, when Janie finally stands up to Jody, we understand how strong she really is. Finally, we find that with Tea Cake, Janie not only finds true love, but true independence. He allows her to express herself, and she is never afraid or ashamed to say anything. She tells him everything, and he in turn loves her for it. Although most people would see this as a sad ending, given the fact that Tea Cake dies in such a tragic way, I saw it much differently. Although Janie loses the love of her life, she finds peace within herself through Tea Cake and his death. She is glad to know what true love is, even if it didn't last as long as she had wanted it to. This book sends a powerful message to women about love and independence.

Rating:
Summary: Finding Your True Self
Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God is a great book about a woman struggling to find herself. As an innocent teenager, Janie had dreams of true love being as pure as spring. Janie finds herself married to three different men throughout the novel. Logan, her first husband, treated Janie as if she was his worker. Jody pampered Janie, but kept her from being herself. He put Janie on a level above the town, when all Janie wanted was to fit in. Janie truly finds her spirit as she stands up for herself against Jody. Her final husband, TeaCake helps Janie to live and be herself. Janie represents a good example for women everywhere. The dialogue and description used helps to portray Janie as a strong, independent woman. The book delivers the message that women should let their spirits shine and not be held back by any man. Both men and women would enjoy reading this book.