Themes In Their Eyes Were Watching God

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God in the Bucket “Cast your bucket down where you are!” were the words of Booker T. Washington that resounded in the heads of thousands of black Americans in the years of and following Reconstruction. During this time, many people shared Washington’s philosophy of upward class mobility and the gradual progression of the black race towards the standards of white society. In her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston defies this philosophy of essentially striving to become “white.” She brilliantly portrays a vibrant black society that stands alone; her political message is subtle – it lies in the complete absence of whites throughout most of the book. She does not address the white population, because it is not part of her…show more content…
This is done not as an attack on white society, but as a sort of trial that Janie must face to prove her blackness. The hurricane uproots the thriving black community living out on the muck and carries away the life that Janie loves. But she is still with Teacake and tells him “Ah’m wid mah husband in uh storm, dat’s all… if you kin see de light at all. Ah wuz fumblin’ round and God opened de door.”(p.151) her love for TeaCake is so strong- he has given her a life of love, equality and adventure. The events at the end of the book test the love and Janie must prove her dedication to TeaCake to end his miserable rabid state, Janie feels the wrath of the ‘boys’ from the back of the courtroom. They forgive her later, however, when they realize that what she did was best and that she truly lives TeaCake. Janie’s decision to return to Eatonville with her newfound selfhood shows the solidarity that she feels with the black community and the words of Mrs. Turner made her forget her white lineage and love her blackness. Janie’s to selfhood is also a journey through the varying lifestyles and communities of the thriving African American culture. Hurston succeeds in portraying a political message through her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Instead of attacking white society, she shows the thriving black society that stands alone, exempt from white puppetry, and gains a respevt for the everyday life and culture of the African Americans. Flouting the well-loved philosophies of Booker T. Washington, Hurston stresses black pride and group solidarity. For ‘throwing that bucket down’ doesn’t do much good if there is gold in the
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