their eyes were watching god book review

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THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

by Zora Neale Hurston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 1937

I loved Jonah's Gourd Vine— thought some of her short stories very fine—and feel that this measures up to the promise of the early books. Authentic picture of Negroes, not in relation to white people but to each other. An ageing grandmother marries off her granddaughter almost a child to a middle-aged man for security—and she leaves him when she finds that her dreams are dying, and goes off with a dapper young Negro, full of his own sense of power and go-getter qualities. He takes her to a mushroom town, buys a lot, puts up a store and makes the town sit up and take notice. His success goes to his head—their life becomes a mockery of her high hopes. And after his death, she goes off with a youth who brings her happiness and tragedy. A poignant story, told with almost rhythmic beauty.

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1937

ISBN: 0060199490

Page Count: 231

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1937

GENERAL FICTION

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by Zora Neale Hurston & edited by Genevieve West ; Henry Louis Gates Jr.

by Zora Neale Hurston edited by Deborah G. Plant

by Zora Neale Hurston & edited by Carla Kaplan

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A LITTLE LIFE

by Hanya Yanagihara ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2015

The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.

Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.

Yanagihara ( The People in the Trees , 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.  

Pub Date: March 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8

Page Count: 720

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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by Hanya Yanagihara

PERSPECTIVES

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951

A strict report, worthy of sympathy.

A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen ) has a compulsive impact.

"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….

Pub Date: June 15, 1951

ISBN: 0316769177

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951

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by J.D. Salinger

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Book Review

Their eyes were watching god.

• Zora Neal Hurston

Readability Age Range

• First published by J.B. Lippincott Inc. The version reviewed was published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics and HarperCollins Children's Books, both imprints of HarperCollins Publishing.
• TIME's 100 Best English-Language Novels, from 1923 to 2005

Year Published

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine .

Plot Summary

On a hot summer evening the residents of Eatonville, one of the first towns owned and run by blacks, are shocked to see a bedraggled Janie Sparks walking down the street. Janie is the widow of the town’s first mayor, but she left two years ago to marry a man 10 years her junior.

Janie greets her old neighbors, but doesn’t stop to talk. Instead, she makes her solitary way to the house she formerly shared with the mayor. While the others gossip about her appearance and speculate on what events brought her home, her best friend, Phoeby, puts together a bowl of rice to take to Janie for dinner. Janie is grateful for the food and asks Phoeby to sit with her while she eats and soaks her tired feet. She then tells Phoeby the story of her life.

A schoolteacher had raped Janie’s mother, and she gave birth to Janie, before abandoning her. Janie grew up living with her grandmother, who she called Nanny. At the age of 6, Janie saw a picture of herself with the white children Nanny took care of. For the first time, she realized she was black. Nanny, who had once been a slave, dreamed of a better life for her granddaughter, one that included a husband and security.

One day Nanny wakes from a nap to see 16-year-old Janie kissing a young man over the fence. Nanny is convinced she needs to put her plan in motion right away. Janie pleads differently, but Nanny insists she marry a much older man, Logan Killicks, whom they know from their church. Nanny wants to die knowing her granddaughter will have someone to protect and take care of her.

Janie convinces herself that once she is married, she will come to love her husband, but it never happens. Alone and lonely on Logan’s farm, Janie dreams of a different life where she can be loved for the person she is, and not for her looks or the things she does around the house. After a year of marriage, Logan is no longer satisfied with Janie’s beauty. He wants her to help out more on his farm. He sets her to planting potatoes while he takes a trip to another town in search of a mule Janie can use to plow. While Janie plants, she spies a handsome stranger who is whistling as he walks down the road. The two strike up a conversation that leads to flirting. The stranger, Joe Sparks, convinces Janie that marriage to a poor, old farmer is not what she deserves.

When Logan returns, he insists Janie help him move a manure pile, but she refuses. She hints that she might leave him for a better life, but he laughs off her threat and tells her that if she did run away, she’d soon be back because she doesn’t know how to work. Janie fixes him breakfast and then runs away with Joe.

At first her marriage to Joe is a good one. He has money and ambition and likes how Janie’s good looks complement him. Joe takes Janie to a town in Florida, which is entirely owned by black people, but the two are disappointed with its poor condition. Joe immediately goes to the nearest landowner and buys 200 acres of adjoining property. He begins building a general store and a nice house for himself and Janie. When the store is finished, he hosts a party for the townspeople and makes a fancy speech. The locals elect him as their mayor.

Now that Joe has achieved his goal of running the town, he exerts his power over Janie. He insists she spend her time working in the store. She must also keep her beautiful long hair covered, as he doesn’t want any other man to touch it. He warns Janie not to get too friendly with the locals. She is the mayor’s wife, and as such, is better than them. Janie resents his interference in her social life, but his abusive nature keeps her from reaching out to make friends. The other women believe Janie to be prideful, but soon they, and the men who spend their days on the store’s porch, notice how Joe berates her. Although the locals wonder at how good their marriage is, only Phoeby tries to make friends with Janie.

The porch sitters, as Janie refers to them, often make fun of one man’s old mule. When they spot the donkey wandering through town, they take turns abusing it. The poor animal tries to fight back, but the men beat it more. Joe overhears Janie’s whispered disapproval of their behavior and, in a rare gesture of generosity, offers to buy the mule from its owner. The mule becomes a fixture in the town with the porch sitters telling wild stories about how it spends its days. When the mule dies, the entire town shows up to give it a funeral, except for Janie, who has been ordered to mind the store.

After 17 years of marriage, Joe’s health declines. Once robust and larger than life, he has begun to shuffle and grow an old man’s paunch. Janie, although almost 40, remains a beautiful woman. Jealousy seeps into Joe’s already controlling nature, and he verbally abuses Janie even more, especially in front of the townspeople. She continues to silently take it until one day she snaps. With the porch sitters as witnesses, she points out Joe’s physical faults. He strikes her and orders her to leave the store and not come back.

Joe’s health continues to decline, but he refuses to let Janie call a doctor. Instead, he puts his faith in local medicine men. He suspects Janie of poisoning him, and the townspeople gossip that it might be true when they learn that Joe won’t even sleep in the same bedroom as his wife. By the time Janie gets a real doctor out to see him, it is too late. Joe dies of kidney failure. Although she no longer loved Joe, she spares no expense for his funeral. She keeps the store but now refuses to wear the head rags to cover her hair. She also hires someone to help mind the store so she can socialize with the porch sitters when she wants. Many men court Janie for her money, but she enjoys her newfound independence.

One day a handsome and charming young man known as Tea Cake visits the store, while most of the town is attending a ball game. Shocked that she doesn’t know how to play checkers, he offers to teach her the game. Janie resists her growing attraction to Tea Cake, fearing not only the disastrous end of her two previous marriages, but the 12-year age difference between them. Tea Cake is persistent and patient; he assures Janie that she is a beautiful and desirable woman.

The townspeople gossip about their relationship, believing that the younger Tea Cake is only after Janie’s money. Phoeby cautions her friend, but Janie insists that Tea Cake has money of his own and loves her for herself. She follows Tea Cake to Jacksonville so they can marry. Tea Cake finds the $200 she hid inside her clothes just in case things didn’t work out between them. While she’s asleep, he takes the money, leaving her to worry that he’s left her. He returns that night and assures her of his love. He couldn’t resist throwing a party for all the men he worked with down at the railroad. He is surprised when Janie tells him that she would have liked to attend the party. He thought his friends weren’t in her social class, so he didn’t include her. She convinces him that she doesn’t hold to that kind of prejudice; his friends are her friends. Tea Cake wins Janie’s money back by gambling, and the two head to the Everglades to work the sugar cane and bean fields.

Janie sets up house while Tea Cake works in the fields. Their home becomes a social place for the other migrant workers who gather at night to hear Tea Cake play the guitar and tell stories. When Tea Cake repeatedly sneaks off the job to see Janie throughout the day, she asks him why. He tells her it’s because he misses her so much. Janie asks if she can go out in the fields with him, and he readily agrees. Janie is soon accepted among the other migrant workers as they can see the deep love she and Tea Cake share for each other.

Janie and Tea Cake share two years of marriage together before a hurricane hits the Everglades. The couple fights the rising waters and driving rain to seek shelter on higher ground. At one point, Janie is swept away by the water only to find safety by holding onto a cow. Although a wild dog on the cow’s back tried to force Janie to let go, Tea Cake comes to her rescue and stabs the dog, but not before it bites his cheek. Three weeks later, while they are trying to put their home back together, Tea Cake becomes ill. He is feverish and unable to swallow water. Janie calls a doctor and receives the devastating news that Tea Cake has rabies. The doctor agrees to try and get Tea Cake medicine, but warns Janie to stay away from her husband as it may be too late and he may become violent. Janie refuses to have Tea Cake taken to a hospital and restrained, insisting that she can take care of him until the medicine arrives to heal him.

Unfortunately, Janie is wrong. When Tea Cake stumbles outside to go to the bathroom, Janie finds a loaded pistol under his pillow. Afraid he’ll get angry if she hides the gun, she removes three of the bullets and makes sure the loaded chamber is empty. Her worst fears are realized later that night when Tea Cake, in a fit of rabid paranoia, pulls out the pistol and tries to shoot her. Janie must take a rifle and kill her husband in self-defense.

The local white population is much kinder to Janie than the migrant workers she has called friends. The police, doctor and judge immediately put Janie on trial for murder, as the law demands, but they know they will not convict her. Tea Cake’s friends want to testify about his peaceful nature, not believing that he would ever harm Janie. The court refuses to hear their arguments, and Janie is found not guilty. When Tea Cake’s friends see how Janie arranges a funeral to rival an Egyptian pharaoh’s, they forgive her, knowing she must have truly loved him to give him such a send-off. Janie tries to live alone in the house she shared with Tea Cake, but cannot bear to be there without him. She decides to make the long trip back to Eatonville to live in the house Joe Starks left her.

Janie finishes telling her sad tale to her friend Phoeby, who agrees to tell the townspeople what has happened. Janie’s story of love inspires Phoeby to be kinder to her own husband. The friends part for the evening. As Janie prepares to go to bed, she realizes she has found contentment with her life. Even though she misses Tea Cake deeply, she is grateful for the time they had together and for all the life she experienced while with him.

Christian Beliefs

Phoeby’s first husband says that most people go to church so they’ll be sure to rise on Judgment Day. They want to be present when other people’s secret sins are revealed. Nanny prayed every day for Janie, especially that she would find a decent husband. Nanny tells Janie she is waiting for the angel of death to appear and take her. She also claimed the Lord protected her when she hid from a vindictive mistress.

A character mentions that people should always welcome a man and his wife by comparing the strangers to Isaac and Rebecca. When Joe brings the first street lamp into Easton, he says a prayer over it. Another woman leads the townspeople in a hymn. Joe closed his store on Sundays. A flirtatious woman is said to know why God gave women eyelashes. A man tells her that it must be recess in heaven because St. Peter let out the angels.

After Joe hits her, Janie puts an icon in the bedroom to represent the Virgin Mary. A person is described as being as old as Methuselah. Janie’s berating of Joe is compared to Michal chastising David for dancing in the streets. A hymn is sung when Joe dies. A person is described as having the face of a cherub from a church tower. When the hurricane hits the Everglades, the people left behind are said to wait on the mercy of the Lord. As Janie and Tea Cake listen to the storm outside, they compare God to a “Big Massah” drawing His chair across the floor.

The title of the book comes from the scene where Janie and Tea Cake are looking into the dark of the hurricane, but their eyes were really on the Lord. Tea Cake asks Janie if she’s sorry she came down to Florida with him, and she tells him no, that God opened a door for her and showed her the light. When Tea Cake is forced to help bury the victims of the storm, he remarks that the white people seem overly concerned with how the dead people are going to judgment. The white people also don’t seem concerned that God might know about Jim Crow laws. Janie questions God and His reasons for allowing Tea Cake to contract rabies. Back in Eatonville, Janie philosophizes that everybody has to do two things in their life: learn how to live and go to God.

Other Belief Systems

When the town mule dies, one man says he has gone to mule heaven where he can look down on his former owner, plowing fields in hell. A friend escaping the hurricane tells Tea Cake and Janie that if he doesn’t see them again on Earth, he’ll meet them in Africa. Those waiting out the storm talk about Big John the Conqueror who did great things on Earth and then went to heaven without dying. He played guitar with the angels, beat them in a race around Jericho and passed out water in hell.

Lake Okeechabee is described as a monster stirring in its bed. Janie remarks that luck is a fortune when she learns that one of their friends survived the storm. When Tea Cake wakes up delirious from rabies, Janie thinks maybe a witch is choking him.

Authority Roles

Nanny is the person who reared Janie. She is loving but shortsighted. Because she was born a slave and taught to have smaller dreams, her only goal for Janie is to have a decent husband, while Janie wants to experience life and find a man who loves her. Janie’s first two husbands were controlling; they demanded that she act as they prescribed. Joe, especially, did not want Janie to gain any confidence in her own abilities.

Profanity & Violence

The words h—, d–n and b–ch are used, along with the n-word. God’s name is used in vain with knows, thank and d–n . Also the name Lawd is used with good . Coon-d–k is used as a name for liquor. Other objectionable words are butt headed, fanny and buttocks .

When Nanny confronts Janie about kissing a boy, Nanny slaps Janie several times. Nanny tells how a schoolteacher raped Janie’s mother. Joe strikes Janie on several occasions. When another woman tries to get Janie to leave Tea Cake to date her son, Tea Cake beats Janie to show she is his possession. Several men get in a drunken brawl at a restaurant. Delirious with rabies, Tea Cake tries to shoot Janie. Fortunately, she has emptied the first three chambers of the pistol. She kills Tea Cake with a rifle before he can fire a fourth shot.

Sexual Content

The men ogle Janie’s body as she walks down the street. Sixteen-year-old Janie observes the sensuality of nature as she watches the bees pollinating the trees. It arouses her own sexuality, so she kisses a man across the gatepost. Nanny tells her she wants to see Janie married to a decent man rather than let one man and then another kiss her and feel her body. Janie’s mother was the product of a relationship between Nanny and her master. Janie and Tea Cake argue violently. Their physicality leads them to making love on the floor of their house.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Smoking: Joe smokes a cigar.

Gambling: Tea Cake is a proficient dice gambler.

Alcohol: Several characters drink alcohol throughout the book. Janie is told her mother started drinking after Janie was born. Several of the migrant workers get in a drunken brawl at a restaurant.

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Book Reviews

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston: Book Review

I have an affiliate relationship with  Bookshop.org  and  Malaprop's Bookstore  in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site. Read more on my  affiliate page .

Janie Crawford is only 16 years old when her grandmother decides to marry her off to a man who is well-respected in the community. Nanny has had to work hard all her life and she wants Janie to have an easier life. She marries her off as soon as she notices boys noticing Janie. It comes from a place of love, but Janie wants to live life, not just settle for comfort. So she sets out to live the kind of life she wants to live.

You just have to admire Janie. My gosh, does she just take a big bite out of life and chew it with gusto! She does not have an easy time of it by any means. But she weathers the hard times and she wrings every drop of sweetness out of the good times. She learns early on that she shouldn’t be too concerned about what others think of her choices. She’s the one who has to live with her decisions, so she’s the only person she needs to please. And besides, you can’t make everybody happy, so why even try?

I already knew a little about the town of Eatonville, Florida,  the first incorporated all-black town in the US, from reading Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon. That was getting a little out of order, but I did like reading this and seeing where some of Bond and Simon’s ideas about the young Zora came from. The town and the alligator stories were especially interesting to me.

I did have a little bit of a hard time with the dialect that the book is written in. I think for about the first half of the book, I was laboriously sounding out each word and translating it in my head. I finally learned to just let go. I could read at pretty much my normal speed and still understand everything. I wish I had managed to do that earlier.

There was some beautiful writing in here.

“When God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. Some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another.”

“It is so easy to be hopeful in the daytime when you can see the things you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingness with the whole round world in his hands . . . They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against cruel 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.”

“She was stretched 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. 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 every blossom and frothing with delight.”

Take some time to get acquainted with this book and you will meet a character whom you won’t soon forget. Highly recommended.

According to the ALA website , Their Eyes Were Watching God was “Challenged for sexual explicitness, but retained on the Stonewall Jackson High School’s academically advanced reading list in Brentsville, VA (1997). A parent objected to the novel’s language and sexual explicitness.”

Janie is a woman who learns to enjoy life and everything it has to offer. I personally wouldn’t call her promiscuous, although I know others would disagree with me. Sex with someone you love is a beautiful part of life; it would have felt wrong if it wasn’t in there. And besides, I think that there are more explicit scenes on tv everyday, not to mention movies.

Read an excerpt .

Read for the following challenges: Southern Literature Off the Shelf Page to Screen Heroine’s Book Shelf

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I love this book and I'm so glad that you did too!

I haven't read this since college but I remember loving it at the time. Great review.

Great review — I love the excerpts you included and the very level-headed way you handled the critique of the book's sexual content. Right on!

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Their Eyes Were Watching God

By zora neale hurston.

‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ by Zora Neale Hurston follows a breathtaking story based on the quest to find true love, purpose, respect, and relevance to life. Hurston walks the reader through the struggles of a certain Janie Crawford, a young woman who is hell-bent on shunning popular opinions to rewrite her own destiny.

About the Book

Article written by Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Proving to be one of the leading works of African American classic literature, ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ presents a captivating love tale of Janie Crawford – and spans across her three marriages, as she searches for selfhood in unions that seem to be pervaded with a mixture of trials, poverty, and male dominance.

Key Facts About ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’

• Author : Zora Neale Hurston
• Book title : ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’
• Publisher : J. P. Lippincott
• Publishing date : 18th September 1937
• Antecedents : American Civil War, Harlem Renaissance , Slavery.
• Literary genre : Historical fiction, psychological fiction
• Plot setting : Eatonville, Florida. Everglades. Jacksonville.
• Climax : Tea Cake is hit by hydrophobia from the dog bite, disillusioned, and wants to kill Janie, who he’s now convinced is cheating on him.

Zora Neale Hurston and ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’

Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ is an important American classic that was born out of the Harlem Renaissance, a crucial period for black creatives and communities across the United States.

Hurston shares quite the bromance with this book for the fact that the bulk of her life’s experiences – from childhood to adulthood – are ideally captured within the pages of the work as the reader will discover in the life and struggles of Janie Crawford – whose demeanor is strikingly likened to those of Zora Neale Hurston herself.

Like her book character, Hurston grew up lacking the love and acceptance she craved, and this was largely because she lost her mother at a very tender age . Although her preacher father did love her and did all he could to fill that void, it was impossible to give her all the attention – given that he had to split his time between his daughter, his pastoral work, and other extended family members as they had quite a large one.

Hurston struggled through life after her move to Jacksonville, Florida, to join her older siblings a few weeks after losing her mother. She attended an all-Christian school and shuttled school and her elder brother Cornelius’ residence in the same city until her father could no longer afford her education, and she dropped out.

From there, Hurston would take up all kinds of menial jobs as she was now living on her own and had to support herself and take care of her bills – although she occasionally got support from her brothers and sisters whom she would reach out to and visit from time to time.

Her first experience with racism was also felt in Jacksonville, Florida, and the event was utterly devastating for her. She had her first marriage in 1927 with Herbert Sheen and would go on to have a total of three marriages – just like her book character Janie – with all ending in divorce. Hurston’s failed marriages can largely be attributed to her search for independence and marital equity and her partners’ seeming inability to allow her such liberties.

In the story of ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God, ’ Hurston not only retells the captivating stories of the black Eatonville community – a piece of information she got from conducting community-wide interviews and documentaries but also makes an effort to re-enact several key moments of her own life in the area – growing up as a child to teenager to adulthood. 

Books Related to ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’

Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ is a leading book that talks about the early struggles of women in a male-dominated, patriarchal society of the early 20th century.

Hurston explores the many troubling themes in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ from the point of view of a certain Janie Crawford, detailing her struggles from childhood to adulthood – as she tries to carve out a path for herself outside of what society dictates for women such as herself.

Throughout her life, Janie faces a range of horrible and unpleasant treatment – from racism to abuse to subjugation – as she sojourns through three failed marriages before finding her peace and finding herself. The book is not just a fine piece of  African American history of the South but is also a realistic compilation of Zora Neale Hurston’s life facts.

There are several books that can be likened to Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ based on their genre similarity and shared theme styles. One such book is no other than Alice Walker’s ‘ The Color Purple ’ – a book that bagged both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Lasting Impact of ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’

At its core, Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ is a novel about women, their rights in society, and how several of such rights have been hampered by the patriarchal culture.

Hurston’s book also shines the spotlight on the cultural and folkloric traditions of a certain all-black community, Eatonville, Florida, a town where every family has their unique story of slavery, racial prejudice, and oppression.

Written for a time when negative gender roles were at their peak, and women were only viewed as a sort of accessory to men, ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God ’ became an early voice that called society into consciousness and championed the cause of every woman in a society that appeared to be forgetting about them.

After so many years, the reality of women in today’s society is arguably much more encouraging compared with the 20s and 30s society – where a typical woman was mostly viewed as having no other role asides from being a housewife, and even when she had dreams and passions, she couldn’t pursue them because society didn’t support them for her.

Today, women have tremendous liberty, if not the same as men, to be involved, pursue their passions and overachieve. Families are increasingly unsubscribing to the ‘housewife’ mentality because there is now a large contingency of career and working-class women – with several of them going strong and becoming breadwinners for their families.

Another aspect of society and family touched by Hurston’s ‘ Their Eyes Were Watching God’ is the aspect of abuse. The book’s moral lesson teaches subtle ways for anyone – particularly women – to escape and not endure or stay in an abusive marriage or relationship.

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Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - review

‘Many romantic novels basically have the same plot, but this is something no one would have ever imagined’

When I started reading this book, I thought it might just be one of the books related to discrimination against black communities by a white society. Well, I am completely wrong. This book is a combination of sentiments - true love, relations and family - although they have a minor segment on discrimination.

Janie, who is in search of her true love, stumbles across a man called Johnny Taylor and proceeds to get to know him, not thinking about his background information or anything. Janie’s grandmother, however, sees this entire scenario differently. She wants her granddaughter well settled, and thus she forces her to marry a man called Logan Killicks who is aged around 40 years so that she will have a well-settled future.

After a few days, Janie is impressed by a man named Joe Starks who is willing to build up a society so he becomes the mayor, so she marries him by eloping. Due to misunderstandings the relation between both of them worsens and Joe Starks dies.

This is when Janie finally meets a young man who is the man of her dreams and who defines true love for her.

This novel is a packet of surprises as we have no idea what’s going to happen next. Many romantic novels basically have the same plot, but this novel is something no one would have ever imagined. 

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Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

• Publication Date: November 25, 1998
• Genres: Fiction
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
• ISBN-10: 0060931418
• ISBN-13: 9780060931414
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An Appreciation of Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God

By Daniel Garrett 

Their   Eyes   Were   Watching   God  (J.B. Lippincott, Inc., 1937; Harper Perennial, 2006)  

Zora Neale Hurston, Folklorist and Modernist, Creator and Critic  

“Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget.  The dream is the truth.  Then they act and do things accordingly,” wrote Zora Neale Hurston on the first page of her great novel of adventure, nature and community, conformity and liberation, cloistered girlhood and mid-life love, self-discovery and storytelling, Their Eyes Were Watching  God (J.B. Lippincott, Inc., 1937; Harper Perennial, 2006).  The writer Zora Neale Hurston was the daughter of a preacher and carpenter father, John Hurston, and an encouraging schoolteacher mother, Lucy Potts Hurston, and she, Zora, was born, 1891, in Alabama, though Zora claimed Eatonville, Florida, an independent black town—with five lakes, two churches, two schools, and no jailhouse —to which Hurston’s family moved when she was a toddler.  Zora Neale Hurston had a censorious though practical grandmother, Sarah Potts, and a father who preferred her sister.  As a teen, Zora joined a touring troupe of theater performers; and after completing her interrupted high school education in 1918 in Baltimore’s Morgan Academy, Hurston received an associate degree in 1920 from Howard University.  Zora Hurston had a sense of language that was expressive, critical, vernacular—colloquial and communal, independent and ironic; and Hurston entered Opportunity magazine literary contests in 1925 and won second place prizes for a story and a play.  That same year Hurston began studying at Barnard College (and, later, Columbia University) with the influential anthropologist Franz Boas, who critiqued received ideas about social organization and value, and accepted and interpreted the diversity of human cultures.  Zora Neale Hurston, a woman of sense and style, was part of 1920s Harlem, a legendary time and place.

Zora Neale Hurston knew the editor and art enthusiast Alain Locke, poet and playwright Langston Hughes, poet and critic Sterling Brown, poet Countee Cullen, fiction writer and editor Wallace Thurman, and entertainer Ethel Waters.  Hurston and Hughes shared a love for folk culture, for ordinary people, and traveled together but had a bitter conflict over a theatrical project, the play Mule Bone .  Zora Neale Hurston’s sense of black cultures, in America and abroad, was not merely affirmative or respectful—it was joyous (that love and pride is something she shares with Toni Morrison and Kathleen Collins).  Zora Neale Hurston did get financial support early in her career, including a scholarship, fellowship, and stipend (money for survival, rather than security); and Hurston’s work, whether fact or fiction, contains the experiences and beliefs, language, rituals, stories, songs, and sermons that others claim to value but often approach from an abstract or ideological angle.  Hurston, who would get her Barnard bachelor of arts degree in 1928, published some of her research in the Journal of Negro History (1927) and the Journal of American Folklore (1931).  Zora Neale Hurston wrote several stage projects in the early 1930s; and she published six essays in the anthology Negro (1934), edited by Nancy Cunard.  Hurston wrote the well-received novel Jonah ’s Gourd Vine (1934), a book admired by poet Carl Sandburg, about the pull between the sacred and the sensual, featuring a poetic preacher of spirited country services, John Buddy Pearson, a man with a strong appeal for women.  Zora Neale Hurston shared folktales in Mules and Men (1935), before writing her great novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), featuring Janie Crawford, who discovers herself through experience, alone and in family, and through several marriages, and in friendship.

The book Their Eyes Were Watching  God , full of experience, metaphor, and wit, was controversial for a lack of direct confrontation with established politics (writer Richard Wright was one of the novel’s critics—he, thinking it a minstrel display, did not see its purpose; and Sterling Brown and Ralph Ellison were other detractors).  Time and thought would reveal the novel’s incisive concern with class and gender (and age)—and some would note the depicted discriminatory National Guard hurricane policy.  The radicality of the confident regard for African-American culture in Their  Eyes Were Watching God is the most lasting, natural, and original political orientation—and it is a source and structure of art, an angle of interpretation, and a model of practice.  Do many people imagine that the only responses to literature are approval or disapproval, and pleasure or discomfort, rather than a more significant understanding —and learning?  How might African-American literature have looked, and how might it have sounded, if more people had accepted Their  Eyes Were Watching God as an authorizing text, a model of artistic and critical practice?  Hurston’s Janie Crawford rejected security and materialism for genuine love—but she refused to die for love; and while willing to share her story with others she had learned that to know life and love one must live them oneself.

In Their Eyes Were Watching  God , Zora Neale Hurston, an appreciator of different kinds of language and literature, a modernist who remembered tradition, describes Janie Crawford’s stifling life and surprising growth with language that is, as needed, confiding, folksy, general, poetic, philosophical, or startlingly specific.  Janie Crawford, an innocent but instinctive and pretty girl, had listened to her loving but strict (once enslaved) West Florida grandmother, who wanted to praise black women on a public stage that did not exist for her and thought black women were treated as the mule of the world, and wanted Janie to avoid dangerous seductions and hard toil and have the protection of marriage with old, propertied farmer Logan Killicks, a loveless union that frustrates Janie.  Janie is sweet-talked away from Logan Killicks, who after a six-month honeymoon wants to put Janie behind a mule and plow; sweet-talked by a horizon-scanning, ambitious man of style, Joe Starks, who takes hold of the fifty-acre town, Eatonville, he and Janie go to, becoming mayor, expanding the town’s land size, building roads, putting in a store and post office, and attracting new residents.  However, Joe Starks wants Janie less as a partner and more as an adored object and public prize—and Janie, discouraged and lonely, begins to see the limit of that.  Joe Starks becomes too controlling, starving Janie’s love and spirit; and, as his own body fattens and softens, Joe, in anger, fear, and insecurity, mocks Janie in front of other men, and she reads loudly his own changes due to age, humbling him—and Joe strikes her.  Joe’s spirit is weakened, and so is his body (he has a neglected kidney problem), and Joe dies.  Janie meets a younger man, Vergible Woods, known as Tea Cake, casual but courteous, and by turns leisurely and lazy, hardworking and honest, sensitive, sensuous, simple, and sometimes impulsive, even violent; and despite the skeptical comment of others regarding his poverty and her age, the long-legged and musical Tea Cake— He looked like the  love thoughts of women … He was a glance  from God — teaches Janie how to play checkers and brings Janie strawberries, trout, and mid-life love, sharing daily life with her, fishing, hunting, movies, music, travel, and work in the Everglades.  Their story would become a lasting delight.

Zora Neale Hurston, then, published Tell My Horse (1938), a study of folk life and spirituality in Haiti, and the novel Moses , Man of the  Mountain (1939), featuring Moses as conjurer, magician, leader and negotiator amid a spiritual quest and social satire, one of my favorite books (I love Hurston’s description of Moses crossing over from one place to another, and from earthly power to spiritual power).  Zora Hurston published an acclaimed biography describing her life and her growth as a writer, Dust Tracks  on a Road (1942).  Her last published novel, about love and marriage amid rural Euro-Americans, featuring the affectionate but mismatched pair Arvay and Jim, was Seraph on the Suwanee (1948).  (Hurston’s experiment in Seraph on the Suwanee —a cast of characters with no significant African-American members; a demonstration of empathy, imagination, and insight—is one undertaken by William Attaway, Chester Himes, William Motley, Ann Petry, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin; and readers are sometimes suspicious of the motives—commerce? critique?—behind such a text, if not the text itself.)  Zora Hurston, in 1943, had made the cover of the Saturday Review of Literature , and the same year received an alumni award from Howard University; and, later, in 1956, received an education award from Bethune-Cookman College, where she had gone years before to create a drama department.

Writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston wrote books, plays, and essays, and taught at North Carolina College, and worked as story consultant for Paramount Pictures and as a librarian on an air force base, and for the Library of Congress.  (I did not know, or remember, that Hurston had been married: according to the chronology in the Harper Perennial edition of Their Eyes , Hurston married Herbert Sheen in 1927, separating in 1928 and divorcing him in 1931; and married Albert Price III in 1939 and filed for divorce in 1940, a divorce granted in 1943.)  Much of Zora Neale Hurston’s career was quite respectable; in fact more than that—admirable, groundbreaking, inspiring.  Zora Hurston’s reputation was hurt by accusations of child molestation in 1948, and by her criticism of the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision (she thought having to legislate shared space insulting to Negroes); and creditable reports claim Zora Hurston had trouble getting published in her last decade—her April 1950 Saturday Evening Post article was called “What White Publishers Won’t Print”—and Hurston did some teaching as a school substitute, and even some custodial work.  After several strokes, Hurston, who said that poverty smelled of death for its defeat of dreams, died while living in a Florida welfare home in 1960 (Richard Wright died the same year), and Hurston was buried in grave with no marker or stone.  Zora Neale Hurston deserved more than that, didn’t she ?  A people does not throw its geniuses away, poet and fiction writer Alice Walker said.  Zora Neale Hurston’s work was written about by James W. Byrd in the 1955 Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin , James R. Giles in the Summer 1972 Negro American Literature Forum , Ann Rayson in the Summer 1973 Negro American Literature Forum , and June Jordan in the August 1974 Black World , but it was the mid-1970s attention of writer Alice Walker, with a March 1975 Ms . magazine article—“In Search of Zora Neale Hurston”—then the 1977 Hurston biography by Robert Hemenway, that most significantly helped restore Zora Hurston to public attention.

Somewhere up there beyond blue ether ’s bosom sat He .  Was He noticing what was going on around here ?  He must because He knew  everything …Whether we can count on divine providence or justice on earth, remains an open question, and, often, one that is answered with faith rather than fact.  Certainly, the reputations of workers, in the arts, literature, and philosophy and elsewhere, depend on the conscientious attention, on the considerations and the evaluations, of learned men and women—and an engaged general public.  The work of Zora Neale Hurston has been a great inheritance, appreciated, neglected, forgotten, and now reclaimed.  Artists, critics, and scholars such as Toni Cade Bambara, Houston Baker, Valerie Boyd, and Henry Louis Gates and, among others, Karla Holloway, Barbara Johnson, Adele Newson, Barbara Smith, Robert Stepto, Cheryl A. Wall, and Mary Helen Washington, as well as John Edgar Wideman and Edwidge Danticat have written about Hurston too.  The Library of America published a two-volume set of Hurston’s work in 1995; and, among other posthumous publications, an accessible collection of Hurston’s short fiction was published in a 2008 HarperCollins paperback, The Complete Stories , introduced by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sieglinde Lemke; and in 2018, published was a Hurston work completed in 1931, called Barracoon , about the last known survivor of the middle passage from Africa to America, Cudjoe Lewis.

Zora Neale Hurston was profiled in the long-gestating 2008 documentary film Zora Neale  Hurston : Jump at the Sun , written by Kristy Andersen and directed by Sam Pollard, produced for Bay Bottom News and American Masters.  Hurston was featured in the 2019 Charles King study of Franz Boas, the book Gods of  the Upper Air , as a significant member of Franz Boas’s influential circle of students and social scientists, including Ruth Benedict, Ella Cara Deloria, and Margaret Mead, deconstructing racial myths and affirming cultural integrity, pluralism, and relativity.  (Ella Cara Deloria, a South Dakota Native American, collaborated with Boas on the book Dakota Grammar .  Hurston recorded songs with Alan Lomax, and filmed church services with Margaret Mead: they captured the style and substance of daily life, in defiance of stereotypes.)  Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching  God remains an attractive text for ordinary readers as well as scholars—and film viewers.  Filmmaker Darnell Martin, who made the theatrical films I Like It  Like That and Cadillac Records , directed an adaptation for television of Hurston’s greatest novel, Their  Eyes Were Watching God (2004), broadcast in March 2005 to more than twenty-four million viewers, starring the beautiful, disciplined, and gifted Halle Berry as Janie Crawford with Michael Ealy as her earthy, respectful, and sensuous lover Tea Cake.  Darnell Martin’s film was a portrait of intimacy and community, with a screenplay by Suzan-Lori Parks, Misan Sagay, and Bobby Smith Jr., produced by literature enthusiast Oprah Winfrey with Quincy Jones and Matthew Carlisle; and it was a lovely and memorable production, verdant and vibrant, although some people complained that the story’s politics were bleached for a large audience.  Obviously, we—each of us—often mean very different things when we use the word politics .  Zora Neale Hurston was a brave, creative, and joyful woman, and one not afraid of a fight, a critic of colonialism, racism, stereotype and victimhood (a woman who said that people can be slave – ships in shoes ); and as a writer of fiction and biography, and an anthropologist and sharer of folk culture, Zora Neale Hurston is recognized as a progenitor of modern African-American literature and culture.

Daniel Garrett, a writer of fiction, poetry, essays and reviews; and my work has been published in a range of publications, including  American Book Review, Cinetext, The Compulsive Reader, Film International, The Humanist, Muse Apprentice Guild, Offscreen, Option, the Review of Contemporary Fiction,  and  World Literature Today .  

This article, part of a larger essay on filmmaker Kathleen Collins and writer Toni Morrison, completed in year 2019, was scheduled to appear in Film International (Volume 18, No. 2) in 2020, but because of the international health (coronavirus) and financial crises, was not properly published, distributed, or available. 

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News, Notes, Talk

Read the first reviews of Their Eyes Were Watching God .

They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against cruel 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.

Now considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God  had to travel a rocky road to immortality. Initial reviews ranged from positive to condescending to downright hostile, as many in the African American literary community bristled at Hurston’s rejection of the Harlem Renaissance and W.E.B. Du Bois’ Uplift agenda. A decades-long wilderness period in which both the novel and its author fell into obscurity ended with the establishment of several Black Studies programs in universities across America in the 1970s and 1980s. This, coupled with a growing black feminist movement, spearheaded by activist writers like Audre Lorde and Alice Walker, helped create a space in which Hurston’s work could be rediscovered. Walker’s 1975 essay, “ Looking for Zora ,” in which she chronicled her search for Hurston’s unmarked grave, was a particularly significant part of this effort.

86 years on from its publication, we take look back at some of the original reviews of Their Eyes Were Watching God.

“Whether or not there was ever a town in Florida inhabited and governed entirely by Negroes, you will have no difficulty believing in the Negro community which Zora Neale Hurston has either reconstructed or imagined in this novel. The town of Eatonville is as real in these pages as Jacksonville is in the pages of Rand McNally; and the lives of its people are rich, racy, and authentic. The few white characters in the book appear momentarily and incidentally. The title carries a suggestion of The Green Pastures , but it is to this extent misleading; no religious element dominates this story of human relationships … The only weak spots in the novel are technical; it begins awkwardly with a confusing and unnecessary preview of the end; and the dramatic action, as in the story of the hurricane, is sometimes hurriedly and clumsily handled. Otherwise the narration is exactly right, because most of it is in dialogue, and the dialogue gives us a constant sense of character in action. No one has ever reported the speech of Negroes with a more accurate ear for its raciness, its rich invention, and its music.”

–George Stevens,  The Saturday Review of Literature , September 18, 1937

“Miss Hurston seems to have no desire whatever to move in the direction of serious fiction … Miss Hurston can write, but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression since the days of Phillis Wheatley. Her dialogue manages to catch the psychological movements of the Negro folk-mind in their pure simplicity, but that’s as far as it goes. Miss Hurston  voluntarily  continues in her novel the tradition which was  forced  upon the Negro in the theatre, that is, the minstrel technique that makes the ‘white folks’ laugh. Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears … The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. In the main, her novel is not addressed to the Negro, but to a white audience whose chauvinistic tastes she knows how to satisfy. She exploits that phase of Negro life which is ‘quaint,’ the phase which evokes a piteous smile on the lips of the ‘superior’ race.”

–Richard Wright,  The New Masses , October 5, 1937

“This is Zora Hurston’s third novel, again about her own people–and it is beautiful. It is about Negroes, and a good deal of it is written in dialect, but really it is about everyone, or least everyone who isn’t so civilized that he has lost the capacity for glory … The story of Janie’s life down on the muck of Florida Glades, bean picking, hunting and the men shooting dice in the evening and how the hurricane came up and drove the animals and the Indians and finally the black people and the white people before it, and how Tea Cake, in Janie’s eyes the ‘son of Evening Son,’ and incidentally the best crap shooter in the place, made Janie sing and glitter all over at last, is a little epic all by itself. Indeed, from first to last this is a well nigh perfect story–a little sententious at the start, but the rest is simple and beautiful and shining with humor. In case there are readers who have a chronic laziness about dialect, it should be added that the dialect here is very easy to follow, and the images it carries are irresistible.”

–Lucille Tompkins,  New York Times Book Review , September 26, 1937

“It isn’t that this novel is bad, but that it deserves to be better. In execution it is too complex and wordily pretty, even dull—yet its conception of these simple Florida Negroes is unaffected and really beautiful … Through these chapters there has been some very shrewd picturing of Negro life in its naturally creative and unself-conscious grace … If this isn’t as grand as it should he, the breakdown comes in the conflict between the true vision and its overliterary expression. Crises of feeling are rushed over too quickly for them to catch hold, and then presently we are in a tangle of lush exposition and overblown symbols; action is described and characters are talked about, and everything is more heard than seen. The speech is founded in observation and sometimes wonderfully so, a gold mine of traditional sayings…But although the spoken word is remembered, it is not passed on. Dialect is really sloppy, in fact…And so all this conflict between the real life we want to read about and the superwordy, flabby lyric discipline we are so sick of leaves a good story where it never should have been potentially: in the gray category of neuter gender, declension indefinite.”

–Otis Ferguson,  The New Republic , October 13, 1937

“And now, Zora Neale Hurston and her magical title:  Their Eyes Were Watching God . Janie’s story should not be re-told; it must be read. But as always thus far with this talented writer, setting and surprising flashes of contemporary folk lore are the main point. Her gift for poetic phrase, for rare dialect, and folk humor keep her flashing on the surface of her community and her characters and from diving down deep either to the inner psychology of characterization or to sharp analysis of the social background. It is folklore fiction at its best, which we gratefully accept as an overdue replacement for so much faulty local color fiction about Negroes. But when will the Negro novelist of maturity, who knows how to tell a story convincingly — which is Miss Hurston’s cradle gift, come to grips with motive fiction and social document fiction? Progressive southern fiction has already banished the legend of these entertaining pseudo-primitives whom the reading public still loves to laugh with, weap over and envy. Having gotten rid of condescension, let us now get over oversimplication!”

–Alain Locke,  Opportunity , June 1, 1938

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Henry Kisor

Their Eyes Were Watching God Book Review

In the vast ocean of American literature, few novels shimmer with quite the same luminosity as Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” It stands not only as a profound statement on love and self-fulfillment but also challenges the deep-seated preconceptions of African American life in the early 20th century.

With years of literary analysis under my belt, I’ve come to see this book as a defining pinnacle in African American and feminist literature—a tale that continues to resonate long after its 1937 publication.

The journey through Janie Crawford’s eyes is more than just fiction; it’s an exploration of life itself, wrapped in evocative prose that captures the struggles against race and gender norms.

As we delve into this masterpiece together, you will discover why it remains crucial reading for anyone captivated by the rich tapestry of Southern culture. Expect revelations about human endurance and spirit—and prepare to be swept away by Janie’s quest for identity and love.

Let’s uncover these timeless truths together.

• 1.1 Her life and career
• 2.1 Janie Crawford’s marriages and struggles
• 3.1 Love and relationships
• 3.2 Gender and race
• 3.3 Identity and self-fulfillment
• 4.1 Reception of the book
• 4.2 Personal thoughts and lessons learned from the novel
• 4.3 Why it is considered a classic
• 5.1 Related posts:

About the Author Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston was an influential African American author during the Harlem Renaissance. Her writing often focused on the experiences of Southern black women and explored themes of self-discovery, racial discrimination, and love.

She is best known for her novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, which has become a classic in African American literature.

Her life and career

Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama, in 1891 and grew up in Eatonville, Florida. She became a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, an explosion of African American art and literature during the 1920s.

Hurston pursued her passion for culture by studying anthropology at Barnard College and conducted research under famed anthropologist Franz Boas. Her work ventured beyond mere academics; she immersed herself within the Black communities of the South to collect folklore.

As a prolific writer, she authored four novels including “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” published in 1937. This book draws on her own experiences and tells the tale of Janie Crawford’s search for love and self-fulfillment amidst gender discrimination prevalent during that era.

Despite initial mixed critical reception, this novel now stands as a landmark piece in both African American literature and women’s writing. Throughout her career, Hurston broke barriers for Southern black women with her unique voice blending cultural narratives with vivid storytelling.

Plot Summary of Their Eyes Were Watching God

Janie Crawford’s journey through three marriages and her struggles to find love and self-fulfillment in 1930s southern black culture is the focus of this captivating novel. To learn more about Janie’s quest for love and identity, keep reading!

Janie Crawford’s marriages and struggles

Janie Crawford, the protagonist of Their Eyes Were Watching God, navigates through three marriages that expose her to different forms of love and struggle. Her first marriage to Logan Killicks is characterized by societal pressure and lack of emotional connection.

This leads Janie to leave him for Joe Starks, a charismatic man who grants her financial stability but restricts her independence. However, it’s in her final marriage with Tea Cake that Janie experiences true love and personal growth despite enduring hardships caused by natural disasters and betrayal.

Amidst these marriages, Janie faces societal judgment due to gender and race while she strives for self-discovery. Her journey reflects the role of women in southern African-American culture during the 1930s as well as their pursuit for autonomy in relationships and self-fulfillment.

Themes in the novel

The novel explores themes of love and relationships, gender and race, as well as identity and self-fulfillment. It delves into the complexities of these themes through the experiences of its protagonist, Janie Crawford.

Love and relationships

Janie Crawford’s journey in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is deeply intertwined with her pursuit of love and relationships. The novel vividly portrays Janie’s three marriages, each highlighting the significance of love in shaping her sense of self.

Her first marriage offers security but lacks passion, while her second brings excitement yet ultimately fails due to unfulfilled emotional needs. In her final relationship with Tea Cake, Janie experiences a genuine connection that empowers her to embrace love on her own terms.

This exploration of varied relationships underscores the complexities and nuances inherent in romantic connections, embodying themes of independence and self-discovery.

The portrayal of love and relationships in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” reverberates with timeless relevance, encapsulating the universal quest for fulfillment within human connections.

Fueled by Hurston’s literary prowess, the novel delves into profound insights about gender dynamics, individual agency amidst societal expectations, and the transformative power of authentic affection.

Gender and race

The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston delves into the complexities of gender and race in 1930s southern America. Through Janie Crawford’s experiences, the book explores the oppressive gender roles and societal expectations placed upon African American women during that time.

The story vividly portrays Janie’s journey to assert her identity and self-fulfillment despite the limitations imposed by her gender and racial background. It also delves into the intersectionality of race and gender, highlighting how these factors shape Janie’s experiences as she navigates love, relationships, and self-discovery amidst a backdrop of ingrained prejudice.

Their Eyes Were Watching God powerfully captures the social dynamics of its time period through Janie Crawford’s narrative. The novel challenges traditional norms while shedding light on issues related to feminism, African American identity, and self-realization.

Identity and self-fulfillment

Janie Crawford’s journey in Their Eyes Were Watching God is a profound exploration of identity and self-fulfillment. Throughout the novel, Janie seeks to become her true authentic self despite societal expectations and pressure.

Her relationships and experiences lead her on a path of self-discovery, independence, and empowerment. As an African American woman in the 1930s South, Janie defies traditional gender roles and finds her own voice amidst love, loss, and personal growth.

Her story reflects a universal quest for self-fulfillment and the assertion of individual identity in the face of adversity.

The narrative beautifully captures Janie’s inner struggle for self-realization through vivid prose and rich dialogue. Zora Neale Hurston skillfully weaves themes of love, independence, and self-discovery into Janie’s compelling journey towards embracing her true identity.

Review and Reflections

The novel has received widespread acclaim for its portrayal of love, self-discovery, and the African American experience in the Southern United States – read more about why this classic is a must-read.

Reception of the book

Their Eyes Were Watching God initially received mixed reviews, with some critics not fully embracing the novel’s depiction of African American life and relationships. However, over time, the book gained recognition for its powerful portrayal of love, independence, and self-discovery among Southern black women.

Despite early criticisms, Their Eyes Were Watching God went on to become a significant work in American literature due to its rich prose and compelling exploration of themes such as identity and self-fulfillment.

The novel’s vivid storytelling and Janie Crawford’s journey through her marriages have resonated with readers seeking narratives that reflect the complexities of African American experiences in the 1930s South.

Personal thoughts and lessons learned from the novel

Janie Crawford’s journey in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” resonates deeply with the pursuit of self-fulfillment and independence. The novel showcases the complexities of love, identity, and self-discovery in a way that feels both timeless and relevant.

It provides a powerful message about the importance of staying true to oneself despite societal expectations and norms. Through Janie’s experiences, readers are reminded of the significance of embracing individuality while navigating relationships and personal growth.

The themes explored in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” highlight the enduring struggles faced by African American women striving for autonomy and fulfillment. The novel urges readers to contemplate their own paths towards self-realization as they witness Janie’s unwavering determination to live life on her own terms.

Why it is considered a classic

Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered a classic due to its rich portrayal of the African American experience in the 1930s. Zora Neale Hurston’s vivid storytelling and exploration of themes such as love, self-discovery, and independence have resonated with readers for generations.

The protagonist, Janie Crawford, defies societal expectations and seeks her own path to fulfillment, making her a timeless symbol of empowerment and resilience. The book’s enduring relevance and Hurston’s masterful prose have solidified its place as a significant work in American literature.

Moving on to the next section about “Reception of the book”..

In conclusion, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a vital piece of African American and Southern literature. The novel addresses themes of love, self-discovery, and independence through the compelling voice of Janie Crawford.

Despite initial mixed reception, the book has endured as a classic due to its powerful portrayal of Janie’s journey to find fulfillment in her relationships and identity.

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Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel Paperback – November 16, 2010

“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith

One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Dimensions 4.5 x 0.84 x 7.12 inches
• Publisher Amistad
• Publication date November 16, 2010
• ISBN-10 0062001701
• ISBN-13 978-0062001702
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

From the back cover.

One of the most important works of twentieth-century American literature, Zora Neale Hurston's beloved 1937 classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God , is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty, and heartfelt wisdom. Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. A true literary wonder, Hurston's masterwork remains as relevant and affecting today as when it was first published—perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature.

About the Author

Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist. She wrote four novels ( Jonah’s Gourd Vine , 1934; Their Eyes Were Watching God , 1937; Moses, Man of the Mountains , 1939; and Seraph on the Suwanee , 1948) as well as The Life of Herod the Great , which she was still writing when she died; two books of folklore ( Mules and Men , 1935, and Every Tongue Got to Confess , 2001); a work of anthropological research ( Tell My Horse , 1938); an autobiography ( Dust Tracks on a Road , 1942); an international bestselling ethnographic work ( Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo ,” 2018); and over fifty short stories, essays, and plays. She attended Howard University, Barnard College, and Columbia University and was a graduate of Barnard College in 1928. She was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama, and grew up in Eatonville, Florida.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amistad; Reprint, Limited edition (November 16, 2010)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062001701
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062001702
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 16+ years, from customers
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 0.84 x 7.12 inches
• #5,347 in Classic American Literature
• #76,716 in Classic Literature & Fiction
• #149,798 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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About the author

Zora neale hurston.

Zora Neale Hurston was born on Jan. 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama. Hurston moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida, when she was still a toddler. Her writings reveal no recollection of her Alabama beginnings. For Hurston, Eatonville was always home.

Growing up in Eatonville, in an eight-room house on five acres of land, Zora had a relatively happy childhood, despite frequent clashes with her preacher-father. Her mother, on the other hand, urged young Zora and her seven siblings to "jump at de sun."

Hurston's idyllic childhood came to an abrupt end, though, when her mother died in 1904. Zora was only 13 years old.

After Lucy Hurston's death, Zora's father remarried quickly and seemed to have little time or money for his children. Zora worked a series of menial jobs over the ensuing years, struggled to finish her schooling, and eventually joined a Gilbert & Sullivan traveling troupe as a maid to the lead singer. In 1917, she turned up in Baltimore; by then, she was 26 years old and still hadn't finished high school. Needing to present herself as a teenager to qualify for free public schooling, she lopped 10 years off her life--giving her age as 16 and the year of her birth as 1901. Once gone, those years were never restored: From that moment forward, Hurston would always present herself as at least 10 years younger than she actually was.

Zora also had a fiery intellect, and an infectious sense of humor. Zora used these talents--and dozens more--to elbow her way into the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, befriending such luminaries as poet Langston Hughes and popular singer/actress Ethel Waters.

By 1935, Hurston--who'd graduated from Barnard College in 1928--had published several short stories and articles, as well as a novel (Jonah's Gourd Vine) and a well-received collection of black Southern folklore (Mules and Men). But the late 1930s and early '40s marked the real zenith of her career. She published her masterwork, Their Eyes Were Watching God, in 1937; Tell My Horse, her study of Caribbean Voodoo practices, in 1938; and another masterful novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, in 1939. When her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, was published in 1942, Hurston finally received the well-earned acclaim that had long eluded her. That year, she was profiled in Who's Who in America, Current Biography and Twentieth Century Authors. She went on to publish another novel, Seraph on the Suwanee, in 1948.

Still, Hurston never received the financial rewards she deserved. So when she died on Jan. 28, 1960--at age 69, after suffering a stroke--her neighbors in Fort Pierce, Florida, had to take up a collection for her funeral. The collection didn't yield enough to pay for a headstone, however, so Hurston was buried in a grave that remained unmarked until 1973.

That summer, a young writer named Alice Walker traveled to Fort Pierce to place a marker on the grave of the author who had so inspired her own work.

Walker entered the snake-infested cemetery where Hurston's remains had been laid to rest. Wading through waist-high weeds, she soon stumbled upon a sunken rectangular patch of ground that she determined to be Hurston's grave. Walker chose a plain gray headstone. Borrowing from a Jean Toomer poem, she dressed the marker up with a fitting epitaph: "Zora Neale Hurston: A Genius of the South."

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Customers say

Customers find the characters richly developed. They also say the emotional tone truly captures the emotional journey towards self-realization. Customers describe the content as fascinating, symbolic, and excellent at blending African-American and feminist themes. They find the tone very realistic, refreshing, and classic. Opinions are mixed on the pace and writing style, with some finding it fast and others slow.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book fascinating, philosophical, and poetic. They say it offers a glimpse into African American life in the Deep South. Readers describe the book as a remarkable work of literary fiction. They mention that the plot is complex yet easy to understand.

"This is a fantastic story. I loved the plot. It's complex , yet easy to understand (once you get used to the colloquial dialect)...." Read more

"...a page-turning story that you can’t put down; it offers a glimpse into African American life in the Deep South in the early twentieth century; and it..." Read more

"...Steeped in the Black vernacular of the times, a ripe understanding of people , and told in brilliant poetic prose, Their Eyes Are Watching God is a..." Read more

"...passage from which the book's name was derived is both profound and symbolic :..." Read more

Customers find the book truly captures the emotional journey towards self-realization. They say it’s a profound, poignant offering for her people. Readers also find the rhythm soothing. They mention the book is full of emotions, sadness, hope, joy, fun, and irony. They also say the book has a slow start but builds up to a blasting crescendo.

"... This book hit all emotions . I was sad and felt empathy for Janie, I was happy, and I was angry beyond belief...." Read more

"...For the novel, with its subject, metaphors, and singular pacing , makes for a great act of valor...." Read more

"...The book is romantic, intense, tragic , and humorous...." Read more

"...freedom and love are universal but she also provides many insights into different forms of oppression , particularly of women...." Read more

Customers find the characters in the book rich and memorable.

"...One of the biggest messages in the story is that people are complex and imperfect. You can love a person and not love everything they do...." Read more

"...book originally grabbed my attention because it was narrated by a strong female character ...." Read more

"...The characters are richly developed , and the narrative weaves through different phases of Janie’s life with grace and poignancy...." Read more

"...Hurston's characters are rich and human and Janie, the main character, is well developed and grows from each of her significant relationships over..." Read more

Customers find the tone of the book very realistic, classic, and refreshing. They also say there's never a dull moment.

"...Overall a good read and an interesting story. It really kept my attention ." Read more

"...It's a treasure and a classic of American literature and you should buy it, read it, pass it on to your children. Enjoy!" Read more

"...This book is american literature at its finest !" Read more

"Best book I’ve read in a while. Lulls you for a while then wakes your soul to its beauty. Lovely language throughout and a moving story...." Read more

Customers find the book wonderful, with strong feminist and African American rhetoric. They say it's a great read for women of all ages and teaches both men and women the power of respect and equality.

"...It teaches both men and women , adults and children, the power of respect, equality, love, and freedom, especially for women...." Read more

" Fantastic book for all women to read written in 1938 but as up-to-date as if written yesterday. So glad I was told about itRead it." Read more

"...It is the uplifting story of a young, sharp, independent girl , Janie, with few options as was typical of women in the first half of the 1900's and..." Read more

"...Not only groundbreaking as a piece of feminist literature , but also as one of the first books of its kind written about the African American..." Read more

Customers find the book an exceptional work that does the trick. They also say the woman's life and love are powerful and beautiful.

"...’s exploration of race, gender, and identity is profound and still resonates today ." Read more

"...It is one of the greatest novels I have ever read: technically perfect , incredibly deep and poignant, never less than enthralling, never short of..." Read more

"...It is a novel that works on so many levels . It's a story about love and hate, about blacks and whites, and about strong women and justice...." Read more

"Loved, loved, loved this book! It is now one of my favorites. A powerful , moving story that was burned in my memory long after I read it...." Read more

Customers find the writing style brilliant, easy to read, and seamless. They also appreciate the beautiful meditations and metaphors that seem real. However, some find the style hard to read and awkward.

"...Written decades ago, it feels timeless. The writing is seamless. Not a spare word , but at the same time there were stunningly vivid descriptions of..." Read more

"...This story that Hurston created is so relatable that I felt aspects of Janie’s life in my own, even without the many years of experience she had...." Read more

"...Yes, this book begins as difficult to read ...." Read more

"...not make a great novel, and what makes this one great is that it is well written and downright fun to read...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the pace of the book. Some find it a very good fast read, while others say it starts slow and is difficult to read on.

"...Between the spare writing and shorter length, it’s a quick read , too...." Read more

"...In my opinion, the book starts slow and is sometimes difficult to read on, however don’t give up on it...." Read more

" very fast delivery " Read more

"...The pace is slow at first but speeds up when a hurricane hits the Everglades...." Read more

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