Welcome and Introduction

    Welcome to my blog about Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. The story is about a girl named Janie Crawford, who returns to her hometown after being away for a long time. The people of her hometown gossip about her, but Janie ignores them. Janie's good friend, Phoeby, sits down, and Janie tells her life story. The rest of the story goes on about how Janie lived with her Nanny, and matured as she got older. Janie loved many people, and one of these people was Tea Cake. Tea Cake is Janie's husband that she went with to the Everglades, and returned home without. Janie really loved Tea Cake, and it was upsetting to her to see him die. The entire story is Janie's life story, and how her life experience make her grow up, little by little. Finally, the story ends on the note that it began: with Janie telling Phoeby all about her life. Readers of this book will see the things that helped Janie mature, and the things that made her feel younger. Readers will learn to love Janie, and love the characters Janie loves. Their Eyes Were Watching God is an inspirational story about a young woman from the South growing into a mature adult.

Web Citations: 

1. "GradeSaver: Their Eyes Were Watching God Study Guide : Short Summary." Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. . http://www.gradesaver.com/their-eyes-were-watching-god/study-guide/short-summary/

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25 Random Facts About Me

  I have two dogs, Cinnamon and Bob.

2.        I learned how to dive off a diving board when I was about four years old.

3.       My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.

4.       I do not have any siblings.

5.       My cousins moved to California just after Easter this year.

6.       My birthday is August 21, 1995.

7.       My favorite color is blue.

8.       I have worn glasses since the second grade.

9.       When I was in seventh grade, I had to go to the hospital for three days because I had a staff infection in my bone.

10.   One of my favorite TV shows is The Office.

11.   I have two cats, Cosmo and Grace.

12.   I have gone to Catholic school since I was in Kindergarten.

13.   I went to St. Margaret’s from Kindergarten until the 8^th grade, when I graduated.

14.   I swim competitively in the summer and winter, on a USA team.

15.   I prefer swimming in the summer, but I still like to swim in the winter.

16.   My favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

17.   However, Three Musketeer’s bars come in a close second for me.

18.   I have swum on two different USA winter teams, the Hurricanes, and the Bears.

19.   I have also swum for two different summer league teams, for Rock Spring and the Arena Club.

20.   I currently swim for the Arena Club, which has just recently gotten a USA team.

21.   My favorite month of the year is June, even though it is not my birthday month.

22.   My favorite holiday is Christmas.

23.   My favorite season is the spring.

24.   I have not moved since I was three years old.

25.   I have been to London, three times. 

Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1.       “From barren brown stems to snowy virginity of bloom.” Chapter 2, page 10.

2.       “She was stretched out on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her.” Chapter 2, page 11.

3.      “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in ever blossom, and frothing with delight.” Chapter 2, page 11.

4.      “The cooling palma christi leaves that Janie had bound about her grandma’s head with a white rag had wilted down and become part and parcel of the woman.” Chapter 2, page 12.

5.      “She saw the huge tear that welled up from Janie’s heart and stood in each eye. She saw the terrible agony and the lips tightened down to hold back the cry and desisted.” Chapter 2, page 12.

6.      “It was a lonesome place like a stump in the middle of the woods where nobody had ever been.” Chapter 3, pages 21-22.

7.      “The new moon had been up and down three times before she got worried in mind.” Chapter 3, page 22.

8.      “But when the pollen again gilded the sun and sifted down on the world, she began to stand around the gate and expect things.” Chapter 3, page 25.

9.      “She knew the world was a stallion rolling in the blue pasture of ether. She knew that god tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun, and emerge from the dust of its making.” Chapter 3, page 25.

10.  “It was a citified, stylish dressed man with his hat set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts. His coat was over his arm, but he didn’t need it to represent his clothes. The shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world. He whistled, mopped his face, and walked like he knew where he was going. He was a seal-brown color but acted like Mr. Washburn or somebody like that to Janie.” Chapter 4, page 27. 

Symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Ten Symbols Used in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1.      Janie’s hair- Janie’s hair is symbolic because it is the most beautiful part about her, and gets her a lot of attention, from men and women because men like it and women are jealous of it. When she wears it long on her back, it symbolizes her young, carefree nature; some of her childhood. Even though she is too old to wear it very long, as younger women wear their hair like this, she is not willing to wear it short, because she does not care what people think about her, and does not want to do what other people think she should do.

2.      Overalls- Janie’s overalls symbolize Janie’s economic state after she no longer had the wealth that she once had. When she was leaving the town, she had a lot of money, and wore expensive dresses. When she returned to the town to see Phoeby, she did not have money to buy expensive dresses, and as a result, she had to wear overalls.

3.      Pear Tree- The pear tree symbolizes Janie’s entire life. It represents all the things that have to do with her life, such as the revelations she makes, and the mistakes she has had to overcome. The pear tree also represents the way Janie is maturing. When she was young, she did not know many things, and as she gets older, the pear tree represents the way she is growing into a strong, intelligent young woman. The pear tree will always come back every year, even after a difficult winter, and this is just like Janie, she will always have another chance in the Spring

4.      Gate- The gate is symbolic because she is looking out and seeing all the things that she cannot have because she is married to Logan Killicks. It also symbolizes that she always is looking over the gate, yearning for something better to have. She always seems to think that the grass is greener on the other side.

5.      Horizon- Janie looking for hope, looking far off into the future, at goals. Means that there is always something out there to work for and achieve.

6.      Mule- women are forced to work.

7.      Manure pile-the way Janie has been treated, verbally abused by Logan Killicks. 

8.      Head rag- The head rag that Janie is forced to wear around the store symbolizes some of the jealousy that

9.      Lamp- the light of the town, and the bright future that the town has to look forward to in the future.

10.  Joe Starks house- Joe Starks’s house symbolizes the way that Joe thinks of himself. He thinks that he is in charge of the town, and should be treated as such. He thinks of himself and his wife as higher than the rest of the town, and so he builds his house as a larger, and more important looking house then the rest of the town.