Their Eyes Were Watching God Symbolism

In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the effects of nature, feminism and geography are significant in the cultural and attitude changes of the characters. Zora Neale Hurston displays a mastering of symbolism in her most important work, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Symbols take the form of people, objects, and events, adding to the color and meaning of the story. Throughout the book, Hurston uses symbols of a pear tree, the horizon, Janie’s hair, the mule, and the devastating hurricane to express the character’s traits, struggles, and circumstances. The symbols help the reader understand the meaning of the story and are crucial in interpreting the novel. The major theme of nature is used throughout the novel because the
Nature has an overall effect on the culture and attitude of Janie because nature was her life, anything that she did always had some type of connection to her spirituality and nature. “We all know God never lets us down, that he is utterly reliable and consistent. The Bible teaches that God is immutable; unchanging in his nature, character and purpose” (Kandiah 2). The spiritual aspect of the novel also ties in with nature because nature was personified as God going against Janie, Teacake and Motorboat. “The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude 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” (Hurston 160). When faced with a natural disaster in the magnitude of a hurricane does man feel humbled at his smallness in the face of God. The characters realize that their free will can’t stand against His will. Janie took caution when dealing with certain people and situations, showing that she was down to earth and into nature. “Naw it ain’t it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. It’s de strongest thing God ever made, now. Fact is it’s de onliest thing God ever made. He made nature and nature made everything else” (Hurston 65). The hurricane represents the destructive fury of nature. As such, it functions as the opposite of the pear tree and horizon imagery: whereas the pear tree and horizon stand for beauty and pleasure, the hurricane demonstrates how chaotic and capricious the world can be. The hurricane makes the characters question who they are and what their place in the universe is. Its impersonal nature, it is simply a force of pure destruction, lacking consciousness and