"Their Eyes Were Watching God" and Voices of Characters

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that many critics have noted how Hurston uses the voices of the characters to illustrate their development, especially with Janie Crawford, who emerges as a tragic heroine. The author points out that, through the technique of narration, Hurston is able to emphasize Janie's voices in a way that includes the African-American heritage of oral tradition and the traditional notions of romance, which operate together to emphasize Janie's maturity. The paper relates that looking at the dialogue of the characters in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" reveals much not only about the characters but also Hurston's reaction the African American heritage.

From the Paper:

"As Janie moves from one bad relationship to another, her voice strengthens and she becomes a more mature individual. In the beginning of the novel, she thinks that marriage constitutes love and that spouses loving each other was a given. (Hurston 20) In addition, she also believed that marriage took away all loneliness. Later, she has the courage to tell Jody that he has to die to find out that "you got tuh pacify somebody beside yo'self . . . You ain't tried to pacify nobody but yo'self. Too busy listening to yo' own big voice" (82). In this scene, we see the importance of Hurston's narrative style. Janie is actually asserting herself with Jody and he cannot handle the power of her words. Another significant event in this scene occurs when Janie considers what happens in making a voice out of a man. His big voice does make a big woman out of her but not in the way that he anticipates. As Janie looks into the mirror, she realizes that the young girl she used to be is gone and she was now a woman."

More papers on "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and Voices of Characters:

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• Analytical Essay # 53423 : "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

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