What does Hurston try to tell/convey the reader by comparing Jaine to nature?

Hurston uses nature in a variety of different ways to respresent Janie and the changes withing her during the course of the novel. The pear tree has already been addressed. It represents Janie's journey into womanhood, sexual desire, and her ultimate desire, which is to find love in marriage.... to find a partner, who will love her equally.

The "mule" is also a symbol in the novel that relates directly to Janie. The mule symbolizes Janie's bondage within an unhappy marriage and the victomization she endures at the hands of her husband. This same theme also applies to her grandmother's early mention of mules in Chapter Two, which described black women as "mules," which in turn meant the lowest of the low in the eyes of other people. The same connotations can be found in Chapter Four when Logan goes to purchase a mule for Janie so she can take on extra work.