Tansitions in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

The transition from Rationalism to Romanticism and into Realism in American Literature can be seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God in the way that Janie evolves as a woman and falls in love.  Nanny's longing for Janie to live the fairytale love story shows many Americans' open-mindedness to Romanticism.  However, Janie's resistance to getting married represents some Americans' refusal to accept a new way of thinking.  These opposing views on a new time period created a new time period, Romanticism, that was closely followed by another time period, Realism, that was similar to Rationalism.  This resistance to Romanticism accounts for the immediate change back into a more intellectual centered way of life in Realism.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Nanny's longing for Janie to get married represents some Americans' support of a new time period, Romanticism.  These Americans experienced Rationalism and learned to see the world around them through reasoning and logic.  During this time period, Americans examined their lives and developed their own dreams.  The idea of the self-made man emerged during Rationalism, and many Americans thought that they had their life goals set.  However, these Americans did not obtain a sense of fulfillment from this way of life, and longed for a new way of living where they would feel content even if they didn't achieve their goals.  Their answer that would fill this void of fulfillment was love.  Because of this, American Literature transitioned from Rationalism to Romanticism.  This new time period brought about an interest in nature, heightened emotion and imagination, and a rebellion against social rules.  This new way of life allowed Americans to form relationships that were valuable to them just as their individual endeavors were.  Even though many Americans enjoyed this time period, some still resented the change and wanted to go back to a society where the individual's mind and thoughts were valued over emotion and nature.  Because of this, American Literature transitioned from Romanticism to Realism.  This transition can be seen in Their Eyes Were Watching God in the way that Janie eventually realized that love is not for her and chooses to return to the development of her own character and the pursuing of her dreams.

American Dream in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

In the book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God,"by Zora Neale Hurston, the ideal of the American Dream is present in the way that Janie's life develops throughout the book.  Her friend and guardian, Nanny, longs for her to be married.  After months of searching for a candidate for marriage, she finds Logan Killicks, and Janie and Logan get married.  Janie is feeling the pressure from society to be in love with Logan.  The narrator says, "Yes, she would love Logan after they were married.  She could see now way for it to come about, but Nanny and the old folks had said it, so it must be so.  Husbands and wives always loved each other, and that was what marriage meant.  It was just so."  This perspective on marriage portrays the idea that the standard marriage instantly transforms a person's life into perfection.  However, Janie realizes that love takes work, and she is willing to strive for love while developing other aspects of her life that characterize the American Dream.

Through Americans' progression in their lives and progress towards reaching the American Dream, many of them uncovered truths about themselves that were unknown to them before, such as a passion, value, belief, or goal.  Janie is pursuing the dream that is proposed to her by Nannie.  She describes it by saying, "Heah you is wid de onliest organ in town, amongst colored folks, in yo' parlor.  Got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road and...Lawd have mussy!  Dat's de very prong all us black women gets hung on.  Dis love!  Dat's just whut's got us pullin' and uh haulin' and sweatin' and doin' from can't see in de mornin' till can't see at night."  Nannie is telling Janie how much she and other colored folks wish to have a husband, a house, and land.  She says that they are willing to work, haul, and sweat to obtain this life, and for them, this is the American Dream.  Janie is on her way to realizing this American Dream when she gets married, but once Nannie dies, Janie begins to reconsider what her own dreams are.  With her support gone, Janie turns to nature to ponder her duty in life and stands outside listening for sources of direction.  As she stands there, the narrator says, "She knew now that marriage did not make love.  Janie's first dream was dead, so she became a woman."  The author is using Janie as an example to show that even if Americans think they know how their life will turn out and have one life dream, their plan and path can always change.  It is through developing their morals, beliefs, goals, and striving for success that Americans realize their true calling and in life.

Community in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

In my last post, I talked about Americans’ interactions with society and the negative energy and ideas that are a result of this.  The motive for Americans’ interaction with society comes from a need to associate their ideas and beliefs with others so that they feel accepted, supported, and “normal.”  Society portrays a standard of “normal,” however most Americans don’t fit into this mold and therefore do not feel accepted or supported by others.  Because of this, many Americans looked to the people directly surrounding them for examples of living and also for the same values of acceptance, support, and normalcy.  This sense of community is much more welcoming than the ideals of society, and plenty of Americans use this environment to help them sustain success.

In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows the concept of community through the relationship between two women, Pheoby and Janie.  Hurston starts the scene with Pheoby having just arrived at Janie’s house after leaving the clique of women who represent society.  They discuss the habits of the clique, and Pheoby says, “Most of dese zigaboos is so het up over yo’ business till the liable to hurry theyself to Judgement to find out about you if they don’t soon know.”  Pheoby knows that these women will do anything they can to get their hands on other people’s business, and she also knows that they will twist it around and make it sound bad.  Because Pheoby knows how the clique works, she wants to protect her friend, Janie, from getting hurt by them.  She knows Janie has had a rough life and sometimes people need to talk about their experiences.  To keep Janie from telling the clique her entire life story, Pheoby offers to talk to Janie when she says, “It’s hard for me to understand what you mean, de way you tell it.  And then again Ah’m hard of understandin’ sometimes.”  Pheoby’s words reveal that she and Janie have had conversations like these before.  Her willingness to hear Janie’s story again, as well as her desire to understand her better this time show that their relationship is always evolving and she hopes to strengthen it and support Janie more every day.  The pair’s friendship parallels many relationships that are prevalent in communities in America.  Americans look to members of their community for honest advice on business, raising a family, religion, politics, and finance- all components to life in America.  Those relationships that are fostered in communities are like Janie’s and Pheoby’s.  Americans are always trying to help each other succeed and live happy lives.  Society offers criticism that only weakens people’s self-esteem, but people in communities are there to give constructive criticism so that all Americans can experience the benefits and support found in “sibling” relationships.

Society in Their Eyes Were Watching God

For my American Literature project, I am looking at the concept of “siblings” and the relationships that are fostered in society and community.  During America’s early years, many Americans struggled to create new lives for themselves despite the opportunities that the country provided.  Poverty and other setbacks prevented them from achieving their own idea of success, whatever that may be.  For some, success was to own their own business.  Others wanted to have a family of their own, and a few people were simply trying to survive.  Regardless of their goals, Americans realized that they could not attain them by themselves.  They began to turn to their community and society to find sources of support.  From these groups, Americans formed relationships and bonds similar to those of “siblings” which helped them overcome their struggles.  When looking towards society, many Americans saw an unattainable standard of life and so-called “success”.  The glamour and nobility of those few “successful” people who were publicized as the standard of society was not realistic, and it created a false image of the hopes and dreams of Americans. 

In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the two surroundings, society, and community, are visible.  In the beginning of the book, Hurston introduces a number of characters who fall into one of the different categories.  She establishes the idea of society through a clique of women.  She begins by narrating the “birth” of these women who represent society and how they came to be so bitter by saying:

The skins felt powerful and human.  They became lords of sounds and lesser things.  They passed nations through their mouths.  They sat in judgment.  Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times…They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs.  It was mass cruelty.   A mood came alive.  Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song” (1).

Hurston uses these words to formulate a description of the women that perfectly represents the ways and actions of society.  It shows the power that society possesses, and that the things that they have power over are really not of much importance.  She explains that the clique’s spitefulness is a result of their jealousy, and this parallels the way that the people in society project a standard of unrealistic success to others because they too wish to achieve real success and live happy lives, but are unable to.  She reports their harsh words of criticism and judgment and shows how they affect others when she says, “killing tools out of laughs.”  This uncovers the negative result of society’s words upon its members and shows that many peoples’ distress is a result of others' amusement.

Hard Work

One of the most prominent rationalist ideas is the concept that everyone has the ability to achieve greatness.  Rationalists believed that everyone could be successful, but the level of success you achieved could vary.  Only through hard work, could one be successful.  Naturally, everyone wanted to amount to a high level of wealth and value, so there was an emphasis on hard work in society.  At the time, being successful was considered living the American Dream.  This included having a substantial amount of money that you could live off of, having a house, and working your way up in the social classes as high as you could. Many people devoted their whole lives towards working towards this idea in hopes of one day being prosperous.  Rationalist also believed in social mobility, so through the hard work that people put in, not only did they gain money, but they also gained a new social status and could change their way of life.

The book Of Mice and Men is set on a large ranch that requires many ranch-hands.  The business of ranching is almost solely based off of labor, and that is the purest form of “work”.  Labor was the first form of “work,” and for a long time was the only way to earn a living.  This choice in setting sets the tone of the book, and shows the readers that promotions in life; in their jobs, or relationships will be earned through dedication and effort.  All of the men on the ranch are there to hopefully make some money so that they can go off and have a prosperous life once they have earned enough.  George and Lennie travel together, and are hoping to have a ranch and house of their own one day.  George is small, but smart, and Lennie is big and strong, but can’t function up to par socially.  The two are dedicated to supporting each other in life, and their personalities blend together to create a perfect team.  On the ranch, they work hard each day to earn money so that they can live their dream.  This dream is similar to the American Dream, a concept during the time of Rationalism.

Sin and Goodness

The Rationalist believed that everyone is born without sin or taint.  Because of this, rationalists had the idea that everyone started equal, and no one was born with any strikes against them.  This allowed people to believe that they had the ability to live just as anyone else did as a righteous man.  However, because Rationalists believed they were born free from sin, the sin that they did commit was a big issue and had a great impact on their character.  Because sin had a large negative effect on people, goodness was also magnified and helped boost people’s reflections on their peers.  Having good morals and values will take you far in life, and if a man was well respected among his peers, he was likely to achieve at a high level.  One of the most important aspects of life is the relationship that people build with each other, and it is evident that the better reputation you have, the more success will come your way.

Throughout the book, there is an emphasis placed on the relationships of the characters.  It is evident which characters are in charge- Curley and his wife.  Any time they are around the men, everyone gets very stiff and they have to make sure they don’t say anything to get themselves in trouble.  The men at the ranch are scared of Curley and his wife, because they know that at any moment, they could be thrown out of their jobs.  It is obvious that the relationship between the men and Curley and his wife is imperfect, and there is no respect to be found anywhere.  Because Curley and his wife don’t have the nicest hearts, no one likes them and the men make fun of them behind their backs.  Even though no one respects Curley and his wife, they have to make sure that they are nice to them so that they don’t get kicked out of the ranch.  They all make sure that they don’t do anything that will upset the bosses, and try to stay clear of trouble.  Generally, the person that keeps quiet and does their work will be the one who achieves the most and has the best relationship with their bosses and others.  The men try to help each other out, and the ones that are well-liked find a happiness that is hard to reach in their situations.  Slim builds good relationships with George and Lennie, as well as the other men, and in the end, turns out comforting George after he shoots Lennie.  Because of Slim’s positive personality, he helps George overcome the sin of this in his life.  This is something that a good man would do, and Slim is praised for it.

Utopian Society

During the period of Rationalism, the idea of a utopian society emerged.  This is a perfect society, but in reality, perfection cannot actually be achieved.  Even though realistically, perfecting a society is not possible, this concept served as a goal for the people of this time.  The Rationalists were developing the idea of America, and they struggled with defining what it meant to be “American.” Though their work in shaping America, they were able to create as close to a Utopian society as they could get.  With trial and error, they created an “ideal” society; one that fit their needs, but was always evolving and becoming better.

In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie have a dream of one day owning their own ranch and house.  George says, “Someday-we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and­­­––“ then Lennie interrupts and says, “An’ have rabbits.”  For Lennie, the rabbits represent their goal in life.  He loves to feel soft things, and anytime he thinks of tending the rabbits, he gets so excited.  Each day, George and Lennie get up with the desire to do their work so that they can obtain enough money to live on their own.  Now, they are living with other men who they don’t particularly get along with, but in the future, they will be together and have their own cattle, garden, rabbits, and house.  For them, this is a Utopian Society, and just as the Rationalists did, they work towards it every day.