Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis

Janie’s second husband, Joe Starks, forces Janie to wear a head-rag when in public. Because Janie’s hair is so attractive to men, Joe jealously makes his wife bind up her hair, constraining Jan...

(Click the map infographic to download.) Slavery in the southern United States, though abolished by the time of Janie’s life, has a profound effect on the book. This horrific history grounds all...

In the first chapter, it’s clear that the narrator is omniscient because she gives insight into the thoughts of Janie, Pheoby, and the gossipy Eatonville women sitting on their porches. Though...

Basically, we follow Janie for her whole life. Early on, we discover exactly what motivates her—the quest for true love—and for the rest of the novel, we follow her exploits in her pursuit o...

Hurston’s tone is one of deep appreciation and joyous celebration of the richness of African-American culture. She depicts her characters as having a whole range of flaws...but also redeeming...

Yup, lofty and down to earth. It's a combination that sounds odd at first—but hey, the combination of chocolate and peanut butter probably sounded weird until people realized it was amazing. A...

The precise meaning of the title is up for hot debate (nothing hotter than a literary debate), although it touches upon many of the book’s important themes. There are two primary points in the...

Janie is a romantic young girl living a relatively comfortable life with her grandmother.Janie is struck by the seemingly magical union between a bee and a pear blossom in her youth. This affect...

This story doesn’t easily conform to one single plot type. Janie’s story seems to have three distinct parts—one corresponding to each of her husbands—each with its own distinct plot line....

The adult Janie returns to Eatonville without her new, young lover and without her silk dresses. The town is curious about what happened to her, and Janie tells her best friend, Pheoby, the story...

Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville, Florida, where much of Janie Crawford’s story is set. (Source)Hurston was never able to support herself with her writing, and she died in a welfare hospi...

Sex is seen pretty negatively in the lives of Janie’s mother and grandmother. Janie’s mother was violently raped, and Nanny had a baby by her slave master (so that was probably rape, too). In m...

Archangel Michael from Rev. 12:7-8—"angel wid de sword" (2.52)Isaac and Rebecca from Gen. 24—"at the well" (5.98)St. Paul (6.148)Methuselah from Gen. 5:27—"old as Methusalem" (7.12)Saul (7.27...