Their Eyes Were Watching God A Feminist

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a novel that follows the journey of the protagonist, Janie. The story follows her chronologically through her marriages, oppression, and her evolution to a independent women. When looking at her journey through feminist literary criticism, readers will find that Janie is constricted and oppressed by the patriarchal society through her denial of various form of expression like speech and love, portrayed as socially inferior through symbolism, and her rise to self-empowerment.
Janie, like many other women during this time is deprived of speech, love, and happiness by the patriarchal society. The first instance of Janie being taught the patriarchal mindset is when she comes to her grandmother
The lack of power she stems not from the positions she is in but the ability in that position. When Jody Starks becomes mayor of Eatonville, he starts a store and puts Janie in charge of the cash register and basic duties need to be done. Although Janie is in the position of power for the first time, Jody is the one who makes the final deal in the store and controls what she can and cannot do in the store making her a puppet. For example, Janie is forbidden to join in on the talks of the town which shows how that even though she is in the position that has power, she is not independent. This illustrates the male power and control to dominate a woman in all aspect of her life. In her first two marriages, Janie lacked power and independence because she was kept ignorant for many thing. She only begins to develop her power through thing that Tea Cake teaches her like chess and shooting. Tea Cake had asked her whether she cherish the game and her answer was “Yes, Ah do, and then agin Ah don’t know whether Ah do or not, ‘cause nobody ain’t never showed me how” (95). Janie is deprived of knowledge as simple a knowing how to play a game for entertainment. This is a display of narrowness of Janie’s and women’s view of their world. Janie was also taught how to shoot and for the first time she is able to gain a little power and independence. She not only learn the trade but surpass Tea Cake showing the potential of women that can never be display because of the patracical society. The achievement of Janie in surpassing Tea Cake is a painful reminder of how women are unable to have the same opportunity as males even though we have the capacity and the