Posts

Showing posts from October, 2019

Nature's Part to Play in Hurston

Whether it's the pear tree, hurricane, or just the pastoral descriptions, nature's romanticism is apparent throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God  but I still can't figure out what its place in the novel actually is. On the one hand, the book's descriptions of the pear tree evidently symbolize not only Janie's sexual awakening but also just her idealized view of nature like she idealizes everything else in the book. In this case, nature would seem to be presented in a pretty romantic light, showing the beauty of nature and how idyllic it can be. On the other hand, the book shows us this really chaotic and tumultuous aspect of nature, which is the hurricane. Not only does the hurricane come suddenly and cause a lot of destruction, but it also threatens the lives of many characters. Suddenly, the depictions of nature, while still beautiful, become dark and turbulent. So, why is something so influential to the psyche of Janie in a good way also portrayed suddenly

The Fragile Masculinity of Amos Hicks

I think it's safe to say that most of the men in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God  are purposefully flawed in their behavior towards Janie. So far, the two most obvious versions of these behaviors are Logan, who decides that his say goes in the marriage and even threatens to kill her, and Joe Starks, who restricts her activities to that of a "wife" and physically hurts her. But the man in the book whose behavior actually most stood out to me because of its subtlety  was Amos Hicks. It's made clear to the reader that Amos Hicks is interested in Janie the moment he sees her, but backs off upon realizing that she's married to Joe Starks. However, he doesn't forget about Janie. Later on, Hicks remarks to his friends that Janie isn't as pretty as he first thought. Once you look at her, he says, the only thing that stands out is her hair. He even makes a point to compare her to a woman he supposedly left in South Carolina. Another reason he cites for