Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

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Whether a person is deeply religious, or they have no particular theological creed, often times, there is some amount of axiom that leads them to regard something congruent to a higher power. In most cases, a person of this essence normally relates their belief to that of fate or destiny, still however giving dominance to the idea that most instances in life are handled by a power that is far greater than secular humanity. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the title alone gives heed to this very concept. Although religion was not distinctly mentioned throughout the piece, the allusive faith and biblical motifs in the novel discernably tell the story, which is what makes the title so significant. The novel begins with main character Janie telling the story of her life in retrospect. It starts off with her explaining the fact she never knew her father, and her mother left her way before she was even able to remember the feeling of her touch. Because of this, Janie was raised by her grandmother, whom she called nanny, in the white household where she worked. At the tender age of 6 years old, the reality that she thought she knew had been morphed into something different. With race not being something that she was yet conscious of, Janie was never aware of the fact that she was…show more content…
Submission of ones control to a power unknown is an aspect which was demonstrated by the fervor in the love between tea cake and Janie. Physical things do not ever last forever in its secular form but in spirituality however, it is always eternalized. We cross bridges when we approach them and burn them when they are behind us, leaving nothing to show for it except reminiscing on the smell of smoke, and the idea that perhaps it once made our eyes
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