by: Olivia McCullum
There are many different examples of symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Many of these examples aid in the understanding of the plot and the characters to their full potential such as Janie’s hair, mules, the sun, the pear tree, and the hurricane.
Janie’s hair is a symbol of her power and identity. “The young girl was gone, but the handsome woman had taken her place. She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight, the length, the glory was there” (87). It represents her independence and individuality. Because Janie’s hair is so admired, Joe forces Janie to wear a head-rag in public, which constrains Janie’s femininity in an attempt to keep her to himself. Janie begins to wear her hair down once Jody dies. This symbolizes the freedom that Janie must feel now that she is out of that relationship. She feels free now that her husband has no control over her life. This is one of the most important symbols in the novel. Janie is not one to “sit still” until she finds what she is looking for, a husband. Once Janie is released from the relationship, she releases her hair.
Janie sympathizes with the mule because she understands how difficult it has to be to be a mule in the world. “They oughta be shamed uh theyselves! teasin’ dat poor brute beast lak they is! Done been worked tuh death; done had his disposition ruint wid mistreatment, and now they got tuh finish devilin’ ‘im tuh death. Wisht I had mah way wid ‘em all” (56). By definition, a mule is a cross between a donkey and a horse and is only bred to do work. Janie’s third and final husband, Tea Cake, allows Janie to be the woman she has always wanted to be. Until he came into her life, Janie was a mule and unable to bear children. Women were not treated well during this time and Janie felt like a mule while trying to live her own life and be her own person.
The sun is a symbol of rebirth. In the novel, Hurston points out the different positions of the sun. The sun demonstrates that life will go on. No matter how tragic the day before was, the sun will always rise the next morning. This is a simple example of symbolism, yet a very important and very beneficial in the plot.
Janie is sixteen and desires to experience the world. Janie feels like her life is being wasted. Janie experiences feelings of wasted potential and suffocation. The symbol of the pear tree sets up the plot of the story. The pear tree symbolizes Janie’s sexuality and emotional state. When Janie is happy the tree blossoms within her or when she is being abused and unhappy, the tree withers. The pear tree also represents Janie’s ideal view of nature. She sees a perfect moment in nature while looking out at the horizon watching the sun. She later longs for that same harmony with nature that she has been looking for since the moment under the pear tree. “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. So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation. Then Janie felt a pain remorseless sweet that left her limp and languid” (11)
The hurricane is a very important part of the plot. The hurricane represents the destruction of nature. It functions as the opposite of the pear tree and horizon symbolism. The horizon stands for beauty and pleasure, where the hurricane represents chaos and destruction. The hurricane causes the characters to wonder and question who they are and what their place in the world is and whether God cares about them. “Their eyes were watching god” as they were watching the hurricane on the horizon.
All of these symbols in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston are very important to the novel. They help one to understand the plot, the characters personalities, and the setting of the novel.
