understanding of Janie’s identity as a character. Although the types of symbolism used throughout both the novel and the movie vary greatly, they effectively convey Janie’s development. A few of these symbols include Janie’s hair, the pear tree, Janie’s use of firearms, and Janie’s various marriages. Collectively these symbols serve to build up Janie’s dynamic character and display to the reader what she truly aims to achieve. A recurring symbol which is vital to the understanding of Janie’s identity is
TOPIC 3 Explore how Hurston uses elements of nature as a metaphor for Janie's life. By: Cristian Escobar Teacher: Mr. Amoroso Escobar Pg. 1 The Eyes Were Watching God LAP Nature is often used as a catalyst to remind oneself of the beauty that accompanies the true meaning of love. The world is a garden and the garden is ones soul. A garden in which is unmaintained cannot grow and expand and cannot take shape in beauty. It begins to wither and die, hopelessly looking
of oneness with a specific pear tree. For the most part, Zora Neale Hurston lets us sneak a peek into Janie’s thoughts during this moment. As a result, this part of the novel paints us a picture of how Janie portrays nature. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston writes, “From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom” (Hurston 10). This quote gives us as the audience an inside scoop to the underlying meaning and symbolism of the pear tree. Words such as barren, glistening
NOTECARDS FROM Their Eyes Were Watching God Book "She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soak- ing in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was
Watching God”, Janie is seeking this answer as well. She goes from searching for her sexual independence under a pear tree, to being married three times in order to satisfy her desires for love. Ultimately though, her desire for her independence wins out, and she learns that she is satisfied by this. In chapter 3, Janie discovers a pear tree in her backyard. For 3 days she is drawn to this tree over and over again. The mystery of pollination (or in reality, sex) was too great for a young girl to walk
that goal in life by loving it and losing it. While Janie’s past marriages with Logan and Joe did not work out, she later married Tea Cake and had reached her goal of finding her true love within Tea Cake. In his article “Crayon Enlargements of Life’: Zora Neale Hurston and the finding of her true love, Robert Hemenway precisely interprets Janie’s true love to have a direct correlation between
He was not the kind of man that she dreamt of rather the thought of him desecrated “the pear tree” (31) he killed the spring like love she wished for. Even though Janie did not desire Logan she agreed to marry him out of guilt pressed on by her Nanny who raised her and wished to grant her prime wish, even if it meant raining on her very own.
values and worldviews she taught Janie as a child. Specifically, Janie says that Nanny took the idea of the horizon and limited it "to such a little bit of a thing." In other words, Janie feels anger towards Nanny because of the way that she stifled Janie's sense of possibility and wonder in life for the purposes of imparting upon her granddaughter the importance of stability, "aid and assistance" from a man. This brings out Hurston’s idea that the nurturing that Nanny has given has caused anger, whereas
her fantasies lead her away toward another catastrophe. So she decides to marry her off to Logan Killicks. When Janie confronts this forced marriage, she finds refuge under the pear tree while thinking about her fantasies and her expectations. She does not know whether she will find the love she experienced under the pear tree by marrying Logan or not. Although Nanny makes no sense of what Janie wants from marriage, she assures Janie that she will be prosperous and happy with Logan. So, Janie waited
To illustrate, Hurston notes from the beginning of the novel the value of Janie’s hair by stating how “[the] men noticed [Janie’s]…great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume” which exemplifies how one simple trait within Janie can instantly draw attention thus causing disarray further on in the novel (2). Markedly