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.