Speak Up: A Journey of Self-Development in Their Eyes Were Watching God Anonymous College

At it’s surface, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel about self-discovery. Although upon further analysis, the existence of larger themes such as womanhood, feminism and the race and gender relations that existed within the African American culture during the Harlem Renaissance become evident. The novel explores these themes through an intersectional lens by means of the protagonist, Janie, a young, black woman who struggles to find her voice and her place in the world. Janie’s three marriages signify three, distinct phases in her search for her identity, however Janie’s self-realization only comes to fruition by the end of the novel, at which point she finally obtains independence. Janie is only able to break free from the oppressive, male-dominated patriarchal norms of her time once she discovers her voice and is brave enough to assert her opinions. As a result, she becomes more in tune with herself, her desires, and the validity of her emotions. Janie’s marriages to Logan, Joe and Teacake and the self-realizations that stem from them all were necessary conduits through which her voice and self-identity were able to ripen, and eventually blossom.

Janie’s first marriage to Logan Killicks is a...