Cultural Analysis Paper - Stephanie Reynolds

Stephanie Reynolds
Dr. Reeves
November 22, 2011
ANT 210 NO1

Their Eyes Were Watching God



       Acclaimed as one of the best examples of female African American independence, the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, follows the life and experiences of the African American woman Janie. This novel, written by Zora Neale Hurston, profoundly analyzes the culture surrounding the deep south of Florida around the early 1920s or 1930s (Spark Notes “Key Facts”). Also, Hurston’s famous novel concerns the roles of men and women during this time, and how an individual fits properly within society. Due to the lingering dialogue between Janie and her grandmother about a woman’s place in society, the unexpected display of character by Janie, and the unique dialect form used by all of the characters in the novel; the reader can begin to fully understand the African American culture in the southern region of Florida.
        In order to understand the novel’s message, it is imperative to understand the novel’s plot and who the important characters are. Janie’s long story actually begins at the end of her tale, when she returns home to the gossiping townsfolk of Eatonville. Her friend and confidant, known as Pheoby Watson, finds Janie sitting alone and lost in thought at her old manor home. Janie begins her story by telling Pheoby about her parents she never met and about her childhood. Janie Crawford was a young girl abandoned by her mother and raised by her religious grandmother instead. Janie’s “Nanny” only wanted the best for her granddaughter and her main priority becomes marrying Janie off as soon as possible. This novel tells of the happiness and misery experienced by Janie throughout her life and her reactions to the three different husbands she lives with for a time. Since Janie is a young, attractive woman, she is unhappy being with her much older first husband, who does not treat her very well. Janie eventually meets the charismatic and ambitious Joe “Jody” Starks, who was just passing by the farmhouse Janie shared with her first husband. Eventually, the two young love birds run off and elope together to Eatonville, Florida. What stands out about the small town of Eatonville though is that its population is mostly African American folks living comfortable, slow lives without the interference of any rich white people. Due to Jody’s strong personality and political mind, he soon becomes the Mayor of Eatonville and sets up a successful general store for the community. As the years pass in Janie and Jody’s marriage, they both grow apart from one another and Janie realizes how stifling and oppressive her life has become. Jody only wants her to be the most submissive and perfect Mayor’s wife, but Janie only wants to be a part of the “common people: of the town. Janie’s personality does not really follow the gender role of a black woman set down by the Eatonville townsfolk. (A gender role is the cultural expectations of men and women in a particular society, including the division of labor.) (Nanda and Warms 181).        

       Moving on from the plot, the cultural aspect if Hurston’s famous novel can be analyzed through the important advice that Janie’s grandmother gives her. This advice concerns the “culture” of poor African Americans years after the Civil War, and what Janie should expect from the world. The term culture refers to the learned behaviors and symbols that allow people to live in groups, the primary means by which humans adapt to their environment, and the ways of life characteristic of a particular human society (Nanda and Warms 5). The first important dialogue between the two women occurs when Nanny explains why she wants Janie to be married off so Nanny can be sure Janie is safe and secure in life. Nanny tells the young Janie that “de white man is de ruler of everything…so de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womanfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see. Ah been prayin’ fuh it tuh be different wid yuh” (Hurston, Zora Neale 14). This firm advice for Janie not only reveals a woman’s, especially a black woman’s, low position in society, but how insecure that position is. She wants young Janie to understand how marrying a man with some money will be more secure than Janie remaining alone after Nanny dies. The culture of the black folks comes into play here since Nanny reveals how powerful the white man is since they are the elites within society, who have built up a dominant race from the hard work and sweat of the black man. The white race are considered elites because they are a higher social strata that have differential access to all culturally valued resources; whether power, wealth, or prestige, and possessively protects their control over these resources (Nanda and Warms 209). However, the black man passes the work load onto the black woman, is seen as a sort of “mule,” in the eyes of the black man. Nanny experienced slavery when she was young, and she has done everything in her power to prevent her only granddaughter to end up in the same way. The reader should remember this advice Nanny gave to the young and naïve Janie since it is the reason why Janie ends up in her first failed marriage to the older farmer Logan. Due to Nanny’s and Janie’s conversation at the beginning of the novel about a black woman’s position in life, it demonstrates an important cultural aspect of southern Florida during this time.
          Next, Janie herself defies society with her memorable, and rather unexpected, actions throughout the novel. She defies the townsfolk of Eatonville, her second husband Jody, and even the legal system which puts her on trial for the murder of Tea Cake. The townsfolk of Eatonville get a good idea of Janie’s character when she fist arrives with Jody and she seems very aloof and formidable as the Mayor’s wife. The common people do not mess with her since the fear Jody’s anger, since he was an authoritative figure. Due to her husband’s authority, or his ability to cause others to act based on him holding an appointed office, Janie could never be normal like the others (206). In the words of the author, “Janie soon began to feel the impact of awe and envy against her sensibilities. The wife of the Mayor was not just another woman as she had supposed. She slept with authority and so she was part of it in the town mind. She couldn’t get but so close to most of them in spirit” (Hurston Zora Neale 46). Janie unexpectedly puts in her thoughts when Jody and another man were discussing about whether it was right or wrong to beat women. Although this is only a small action from Janie, it shows how she is slowly becoming her own person and breaking away from her husband’s oppressive nature. The townsfolk expect Janie to act in a certain way not only because she us the Mayor’s wife, but also because she is a black woman. Janie follows their expectations and Jody’s rules for awhile, but inside she thinks differently. In this way, Janie is a sort of deviant, or an individual who transgresses society’s rules, with the town of Eatonville (Nanda and Warms 208). Janie’s biggest demonstration of her deviancy is when she openly insults Jody in his store and in front of the townsfolk. While Janie’s words and reasons for defying Jody were entirely justified since he started insulting her first, she completely shocks everyone with this unprecedented behavior. Here was Jody Starks, the Mayor of Eatonville, torn to pieces and brought completely down by his supposedly submissive and sympathetic wife Janie. Since Jody was considered a sort of bigman in the town since he made himself the leader of Eatonville through his personal achievements of building up the small town instead of being elected; his wife’s words really cut him down (137). Hurston writes “Joe Starks realized all the meanings and his vanity bled like the flood. Janie had robbed him of his illusion of irresistible maleness that all men cherish, which was terrible…but Janie had done worse. She had cast down his empty armor before men and they had laughed, would keep on laughing” (79-80). Janie is supposed to be subordinate to her husband, which was considered an essential cultural guideline within the society during this time, but she defied Jody instead. Her unexpected outburst results in her being severely hit a few times by the furious Jody and he wants little to do with her from now on.
         Finally, near the end of the novel, Janie is arrested and put on trial for the murder of Tea Cake. Her trial itself should not be considered fair by today’s standards because her jury was composed of all white males. Despite this setback though, Janie remains resilient and shows only courage in the courtroom. The white men and the presiding judge all probably expected this black woman to break down and plea for her innocence, but Janie did no such thing. Even the white women following the trial supported and crowded around her when she was let go. However, Tea Cake’s friends were not as thrilled about Janie gaining her freedom since they felt she had not been put on trial properly. In the words of one of Tea Cake’s friends, “de nigger woman kin kill up all de mens dey wants tuh, but you bet’ not kill one uh dem…Well, you know what dey say ‘uh white man and uh nigger woman is de freest thing on earth.’ Dey do as dey please” (189). This quotation reveals two aspects of African American culture in south Florida. One: a black woman is more likely to get off of murder charges than a black man ever will, and two: some of the black men were angry Janie got off for this reason. Janie is found innocent not only because she is a black woman, but because of her calm and reserved actions in the courtroom, which helped her defy the all white male jury in the first place. Janie is considered a deviant within southern black culture since she did not act as expected with the townsfolk of Eatonville, with her oppressive and demanding husband Jody, and in front of the jury that presided at the murder trial.
           Hurston’s African American novel stands out from many other novels of the same genre for one main reason: she uses a unique dialect for her characters. This dialect, known as the African American English Vernacular (AAEV), or “Ebonics,” is a little difficult for the reader to understand at first, but comes naturally as he or she continues through the novel. Hurston’s choice of a unique dialect can be explained with anthropological linguistics, which is a type of study that deals with language and its relation to culture (Nanda and Warms 10). The AAEV dialect in southern Florida during Janie’s time s very important since it is the main type of communication among the townspeople of Eatonville and the residents of the Everglades in Jacksonville. Even the doctor who cares for Tea Cake speaks using this dialect, so education is not a factor with people who speak it. The importance of AAEV though is that it “has deep roots in the African American community, particularly among rural and urban working-class blacks. Although not all American of African origins speak it, AAEV is emblematic of black speech in the minds of many” (75). In Hurston’s novel, the AAEV is emblematic of the various characters, who were mostly rural class workers, and lived in small, tightly bound communities. Hurston’s choice to use the AAEV for her characters really demonstrates how true she wanted to stay to southern Florida culture and language.
          Finally, after reading Hurston’s famous novel, I really felt only admiration for the main character Janie. This young African American woman led an interesting, but hard life, trying to find her own peace and happiness. Even though she faced adversity from her first two husbands, the other townsfolk of Eatonville, and from the dominant white race, Janie still pulled through and let no one tear her down. Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, not only serves to portray the cultural aspects of African Americans in southern Florida, but to show that against all odds, the will of a strong black woman should never be underestimated.
　
                                                                             Works Citied

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Perennial Modern
          Classics, 1937. Print.

Nanda, Serena, and Richard L. Warms. Culture Counts: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub Co, 2009. Print.

SparkNotes Editors. “Spark Note on Their Eyes Were Watching God.” SparkNotes.com. Spark Notes LLC. 2007. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.