Their Eyes Were Watching God Gender Differences

Khealsea Elkins Professor Katherine Chiles ENG AFST 233: Major Black Writers 14 October 2014 Their Eyes Were Watching God: Gender Differences Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the most unsurpassed writers of twentieth-century African-American literature. Published in 1937, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God depicts the life of Janie Crawford, an African-American woman, who is in search of true love and ultimately her true self. In the novel, Janie shows us that love comes in all shapes and forms, and love is different with each person you choose to love. In the opening of the novel, Hurston uses a metaphor to say that, while men can never reach for their dreams, women can direct their wills and chase their dreams. Hurston uses this metaphor to make a distinction of men and women gender roles, and Janie went against the norms that were expected of her. Their Eyes Were Watching God is sometimes classified as a feminist novel, but that is not so. Feminism is often associated with men and women being equal without a doubt. This passage establishes a fundamental difference between genders. Chapter six is a prime example of these gender differences. Chapter six shows Joe’s need for control. During an argument between Janie and Joe, Joe states, â€Å"Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves† (71). Hurston’s statement here suggests that men during that time period needed to feel superior toShow MoreRelatedGender Roles in Their Eyes Were Watching God1087 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Gender Roles in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God During the 1900’s, women, specifically black women, were considered to be property of men in the United States, especially down south, in states such as Florida and Georgia. Legally, women had no voice. For example, if a woman was abused by her husband, the court system would not acknowledge it even if it did really happen. In the article â€Å"Sexism in the Early 1900’s†, Becca Woltemath states that â€Å"†¦a woman’s job is to take care of the houseRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance By Zora Neale Hurston925 Words   |  4 PagesAmerica. Zora Neale Hurston contributed to the Harlem Renaissance with her original and enticing stories. However, Hurston’s works are notorious (specifically How it Feels to Be Colored Me and Their Eyes Were Watching God) because they illustrate the author’s view of black women and demonstrate the differences between their views and from earlier literary works. One of Hurston’s stories, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, reflects the author’s perspective of the colored race (specifically herself). AccordingRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God And The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1404 Words   |  6 Pages Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Great Gatsby are both novels which came out of a similar era and deal with similar themes but these novels also have their differences. Both Eyes and Gatsby deal with the issue of social class, and within that issue there is an issue of gender which shows how mostly the female characters are being oppressed. This oppression does not allow them to fulfill their dreams like the male characters which is a crucial point since these novels are also about self fulfillmentRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God Summer Assignment1071 Words   |  5 Pages Their Eyes Were Watching God Summer Assignment Passage: â€Å"Listen, Sam, if it was nature, nobody wouldn’t have tuh look out for babies touchin’ stoves, would they? ’Cause dey just naturally wouldn’t touch it. But dey sho will. So it’s caution.† â€Å"Naw it ain’t, it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. It’s de strongest thing dat God ever made, now. Fact is it’s de onliest thing God every made. He made nature and nature made everything else.†(Hurston 64-65) Journal Entry: (R) This is a passageRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God, By Zora Neale Hurston Essay1682 Words   |  7 Pages Three women. Two out of the three were slaves for several decades and was able to obtain their freedom before the Civil War. The third woman, however, was never a slave since they were around after the Civil War. First, Sojourner Truth was born into slavery, later leaving her master in 1926 before she was legally emancipated in 1927 by the law of New York (Gates 245). Truth was also a Civil Rights and Women’s Rights activist (Gates 245). Next, Elizabeth Keckley, who was also born into slaveryRead MoreAnalysis Of Double Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston And Invisible Man1335 Words   |  6 PagesBildungsroman Self discovery is at the root of many stories. It is easily limited by external and internal factors. Tales about self discovery are often called a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman, essentially, is a coming of age novel. Both Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison are considered a bildungsroman. In the case of those two novels, there is one unique concept that contributes to their examples of self discovery. Double consciousness is that idea.Read MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God1019 Words   |  4 PagesZora Neale Hurston’s novel highly praised novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was once denounced by many critics because it was categorized as a feminist novel. However, through further analyzation, the novel is now viewed simply as a protagonist developing a feminist conscience throughout her marriages. Zora Neale Hurston was born in Natasulga, Alabama on January 7, 1891. Mrs. Hurston was the fifth of eight children to John Hurston, a carpenter and Baptist preacher, and Lucy Potts Hurston, aRead MoreWomens Rights Essay951 Words   |  4 PagesWomens Rights The gender differences between men and women in society has been drastically reduced since the early thirties when, Their Eyes Were Watching God was first published. Through equal rights movements and generational education sexism and biases have been almost completely abolished. To deny some one of their human rights simply because of their gender is ignorance. Women and men should be treated equally depending on the type of person they are not on there gender. Zora HurstonRead MoreGender Roles In The Great Gatsby And The Sun Also Rises1657 Words   |  7 Pagesin class, each having a different author, expresses a common theme.The authors force us to examine the limitation of conventional gender roles and how they express this in each story. The literary works that specifically include this theme of gender roles are,The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway , The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. All the works are written around the same time, the 1920’s, which gives the reader an idea of the aftermathRead MoreAnalysis Of Zora Neale Hurston s Their Eyes Were Watching God1429 Words   |  6 PagesNeale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston’s Reconstruction era tale centers on Janie, a character who attempts to find her own identity in a social structure that seeks to find it for her. The sexism underscores the struggles Janie must face in order to grow and prosper as she continues on her journey towards maturity. This demeaning social force helps the author develop the theme that the restriction of freedom affects the ability of a person to make a difference in their society. Sexism