Introduction to Their Eyes Were Watching God

1. Their Eyes Were Watching God
 Written by Zora Neale
Hurston
 Born 1/7/1891
 Lived in Eatonville, FL
(first all-black
incorporated town in
U.S.)
 Significant writer during
Harlem Renaissance
 Published in 1937
 Third person narration;
Frame story
 Setting: 1920s/30s;
rural Florida

2. Major Characters
 Janie Mae
Crawford:
protagonist
 Nanny: Janie’s
grandmother
 Pheoby Watson:
Janie’s best friend

3. Major Characters
 Logan Killicks:
Janie’s first husband
(arranged marriage)
 Joe (Jody) Starks:
Janie’s second
husband
 Tea Cake: Janie’s
third husband (true
love)

4. Plot Overview
 Janie returns to Eatonville after a long absence. (porch sitters,
gossip)
 She shares her story with her friend, Pheoby. (frame
story/flashback)
 Nanny forces her beliefs/experiences on Janie.
 Nanny arranges Janie’s marriage to Logan.
 Unromantic, “pack mule”
 Married about a year
 Janie runs away with Joe Starks.
 Smooth-talking, ambitious; tries to silence Janie
 Married about 20 years / Joe dies
 Meets Tea Cake (love of her life)
 Criticized by friends, sells store, goes to Jacksonville
 moves to the Everglades (hard work, social life)
 Hurricane, rabid dog, shooting, trial
 Janie returns to Eatonville (at peace/horizon)

5. Themes
 Language: Speech and Silence; Finding One’s
Voice
 Fulfillment
 Relationships vs. Independence (Love story? Or
Self-actualization?)

6. Literary and Rhetorical Devices
(Creating an Author’s Distinct Style)
 Characterization  Local Color
 Conflict  Mood
 Dialect/Vernacular  Motif
 Diction  Tone
 Flashback  Plot Line
 Foreshadowing  Point of View
 Folk Tale/Folklore  Protagonist/Antagonist
 Figurative Language  Quest
 Irony  Setting
 Imagery  Symbol
 Theme

7. Motifs Symbols
 Race and Racism  Hair/head rag
 Spiritual Quest:
Finding one’s place in  Pear Tree
the world,
understanding of self,
 Horizon
peace with one’s
environment
 Community;  Hurricane
communal bonds
 Mules
 Gates

8. Title Discussion
 Significance of the title
 “The wind came back with triple fury, and put out
the light for the last time. They sat in company with
the others in other shanties, their eyes straining
against crude walls and their souls asking if He
meant to measure their puny might against His.
They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their
eyes were watching God” (Hurston 175)
 Relates to Janie’s quest
 Relates to central conflict in novel