Examples Of Gender Inequality In Their Eyes Were Watching God

I think that Janie’s decision was neither completely a good nor a bad one. The quote, “Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south. Even if Joe was not there waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good.” (Hurston 32). shows how Janie thinks she is making the right decision.

Throughout the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses odd names. Each name serves its purpose. Hurston uses name such as: Logan Killicks, Jody (Joe) Starks, and Tea Cake. In Chapter 4, Janie and Logan had had a verbal fight.

In the novel, Their eyes were watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston, the character who I believe sacrificed the most would be, Janie. At the age of sixteen, She was forced into marriage, which had caused her to give up her innocence. Throughout the novel, she is viewed as a strong, powerful, and a hopeful woman, who is degraded and belittled by men. In the end, Janie married Tea Cake who showed her the way life should of been and learned what it was like being loved by a man who had not taken her for granted. At the age of sixteen, She unwillingly married Logan Killicks and had a hard time transitioning into the wife that Logan wanted.

Many men in the book reserve the right to beat their wives and insult their intelligence simply because they’re having a bad day. Joe considers his home a refuge made comfortable by Janie and when the reality doesn’t live up to his expectations he takes out his frustration physically on his wife. Men in the novel seem to have some level of domestic violence as a means getting out their frustration. In the Book “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Zora Neale Hurston uses physical and emotion situations to show the oppression of women. In the book there were many example of oppression of women but the submission of women, the intellectual level of women and the beating of women are especially uses throughout the book.

Even though Zora is in the same school as her other classmates they don’t fail to remind her that she came from slavery. She is compared to her white peers which makes her realize how black she truly is, “I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background.” It’s not always people comparing themselves to her but she realizes their differences when she realizes how her culture impacts her feeling towards music, “He is far away and I see him but dimly across the ocean and the continent that has fallen between us. He is so pale with his whiteness then

Hurston's literature, as well as other African American writers’ literature, had an impact on major issues in society during this time using the Harlem Renaissance movement to help pass along their views to larger audiences. Still, as much as Zora Neale Hurston had an impact on literature during the Harlem Renaissance and Modernism era, the impact “Sweat” had on gender is still used in modern society to show how gender stereotypes have changed over a

Self-discovery is essential to a prosperous life. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie, the main character, discovers who she is through her relationships. Janie learns from each of her experiences, but the most significant are her husbands: Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake. Each of these people attempt to control her thoughts and actions, but Janie rebels against them. Janie stands up for what she believes in, and through these confrontations, she better understands herself.

(Hurston 24). Logan does not show any love for Janie. Janie’s unhappiness taught her that love can not be forced upon anyone. Joe prevails as the first man to show, Janie attention and affection. Both, Janie and Joe run off to Eatonville to start a life together.

Throughout the course of the book, Janie experiences oppression as a woman, revealing the hidden gender roles in American society that help form the American

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston acknowledges the idea of sexism when she addresses that Janie Starks, the protagonist, never got to fulfill her dreams. Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, wanted the best for her granddaughter so she married her off to a man named Logan Killicks, a man who had a small farm and good wealth “Janie and Logan got married in Nanny’s parlor of a Saturday evening with three cakes and big platters of fried rabbit and chicken,” (Hurston 3). Years has passed within the marriage and Janie never found love for Logan. Logan comparing her to his ex-wife, discriminated Janie’s place of position, “Mah fust wife never bothered me ‘bout choppin’ no wood nohow. She’d grab dat ax and sling chips lak

Over time, women have slowly gained more and more rights. They have become more prominent in society, making more decisions that influence their lives, as well as the lives of other people. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston highlights how the gender roles of men and women differ including women being less powerful than men, how Janie had the strength and determination to gain her own happiness, and how stereotypical roles should not play a part in society. Some people view Janie as a woman who should be dependent on her husband, following the traditional roles of women, being satisfied with her life as the less powerful sex.

Being a woman of color in the 1920’s was no easy task. Gender and racial inequalities have made progress throughout history, however during the time of this novel, and even in our modern day world they are still present and causing conflict. This is an issue that should be focused on and taken more seriously. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie does a fantastic job overcoming several of these inequalities in order to pursue her own happiness, overall depicting her as an extremely powerful role model for young

Janie hated Logan with a passion from deep inside her heart. The marriage between Janie and Logan was the worst out of Janie’s three marriages. On the bright side of this relationship was that Janie had the security

After leaving Logan and marrying Joe, she was very happy and seemed to be in love but soon after becomes a “trophy wife” and was just going through the motions of marriage. “No matter what Jody did, she said nothing. She had learned how to talk some and leave some… She got nothing from Jody except what money could buy, and she was giving away what she didn’t value”(Huston, 76). At this point Janie had fully accepted the fact that she wasn’t going to have love in her marriage, and didn’t really care. At this point Janie’s character starts to develope into a more independent woman who cared less about what he husband wanted and more about what she wanted.

“Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression” (Nelson Mandela). Women throughout history has been shown to be treated unequally compared to men, they are heavily repressed by stereotypes of society and by men who believe they are superior compared to women. Zora Neale Hurston explores the roles of women in the novel, Their Eyes were Watching God, through the characters of Janie and her second husband, Joe Starks. Even with two different marriages, Janie never got the chance to be who she really is. The men in her life had held Janie back from what she wanted.