Symbols in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
1. Janie’s Hair
Janie’s hair is a huge symbol in the book and is one that is repeated
quite often. Her hair demonstrates
things about her character as well as symbolizes white supremacy.
A characteristic that Janie’s hair symbolizes is her independence and
strength. Janie often does her own thing, and doesn’t follow what is
“appropriate” for her time. Her hair helps to symbolize this when she wears
it down even though that is looked at as being inappropriate by the
town. Also the fact that her hair is
different from other black females because it is straight helps to further
separate Janie from those around her.
Janie’s hair also symbolizes white
supremacy. Mrs. Turner looks up to Janie and almost worships her because
Janie’s hair is straight (and because Janie has other caucasian
characteristics). Janie’s straight hair gives her beauty in the eyes of all
men and is also a source of desire for a lot of characters in the book. Her
hair symbolizes the white supremacy and power in that Janie holds the power
and she has what others want. (Hurston 90)
I placed Janie’s hair as the most important symbol because of two
reasons.
The first reason is that Janie’s hair is repeated as a symbol several
times throughout the story, and that makes it significant. Also, it is used
as a symbol when important events in her life happen. For example when Joe
dies, Janie lets her hair down (Hurston 89), and it really highlights that
she is a free and independent woman.
The second reason that Janie’s hair is placed as the most important
symbol is because it is a very creative symbol, and not one that I have seen
very often in books. Not only was it a creative symbol in and of itself, but
the way that it was used in the book was very creative. Normally hair would
be used to show femininity. At times it does show Janie’s feminist side, but
most of the time it is used to bring out her power, masculinity and
independence.
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2. The Pear Tree
The pear tree is another very important symbol in the book. When
Janie is young, she sees a bee interacting with the pear tree, and witnesses
a very near perfect moment in nature. (Hurston 11) She then begins to desire
this, to desire this perfection, through love. This is what drives her
throughout the entire book and it is what she looks for all her life. She
searches for it until she finds Tea Cake.
Although the symbol of the pear tree does not really occur throughout
the book, the main message of what it symbolizes does. The pear tree
symbolizes living, perfection and love, and these symbolic themes are later
manifested in Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship with each other.
I placed the symbol of the pear tree second for a few reasons.
The first reason is that it is also a very creative symbol. It is
used to show life, love and perfection. The pear tree really gives a unique
picture of those throughout the story.
The second reason that it is placed second is because this pear tree
is what drives Janie for the rest of the story. It is what gets Janie started
on this pursuit of true love and true living.
3. The Hurricane
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The hurricane is
another symbol in the book. It is only present at the end of the book, yet it
is still very powerful. The hurricane shows the other side of nature, in
contrast to the pear tree.
This side of nature
is a very destructive one that rips everything apart. The hurricane
represents pain in the world, and symbolizes the conflict that goes on
between man and nature. More specifically it symbolizes the conflict between
Janie and the world around her. It helps to show that Janie’s world can still
be turned upside down, even with all of her independence and strength.
(Hurston 159)
The hurricane is
placed as the third most significant symbol because it only plays a part in a
small portion of the book, and it is not a very creative symbol.
However, the
hurricane is placed above the other two symbols because it ultimately is what
takes Tea Cake away from Janie. The hurricane has huge implications, even if
it is not very creative and only takes up a small portion of the book.
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The overalls are
another significant symbol in this story. They symbolize Janie and Tea Cake’s
relationship, and also their way of life. They symbolize Janie’s masculinity
and independence as well.
4. The Overalls
The overalls come
up several times at the end of the book, and once at the beginning. At the
very beginning, Janie is described as wearing overalls, walking alone but
with confidence, and almost being ‘tough’. We see a very masculine and
independent person, as it would not have been widely accepted for a woman to
be wearing overalls in the time period that the book is set. (Hurston 2)
Tea Cake and
Janie’s relationship and their way of life together is also symbolized by the
overalls because Tea Cake got Janie into wearing them. (Hurston 4) Overalls
are also connotated with the poorer, working class and this helps to contrast
the two previous, more “well off” marriages that Janie has had. The overalls
really set Janie and Tea Cake apart from the rest of the characters.
The overalls are
placed fourth out of five symbols for a few reasons.
I felt like the
overalls played a fairly big part in the story, and they were repeated in
several places, such as both at the beginning and end of the story, and when
Tea Cake and Janie are in the Everglades. The overalls are also a very unique
symbol, not one that you see very often.
What caused me to
place the overalls lower in significance were the other three symbols above.
I felt that Janie’s hair, the pear tree, and the hurricane were not to be
overshadowed by the overalls.
5. The Mule
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The mule is a
significant symbol in the book for one main reason; that is to show Joe
Starks’ power over the town, and even over Janie. The mule shows how Joe can
get pretty much whatever he wants, and how he can do it on his own terms. (Hurston
57-59)
The mule also helps
to bring out Janie’s conflict with herself at that point in time. It
parallels how Joe treats Janie, as well as Janie’s suppressed feelings. Joe
puts the mule he buys from Matt on display and he does the same with Janie.
Janie is treated as a status rather than a wife and friend, and this causes
Janie lots of sadness and anger.
The mule is placed
as the least significant of these symbols because it was only used a few
times in the book, and it is not an extremely creative symbol. It also does
not overshadow any of the symbols placed above it.
It is still an
important symbol though because it does eventually help to contrast Janie’s
first two husbands compared to Tea Cake.
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