Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

book data

23,193 ratings, 3.93 average rating, 1,824 reviews (more data...)

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2		6%
1		2%

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published

June 1st 2006 (first published 1937) by Harper Perennial Modern Classics

binding

Paperback, 256 pages

setting

The United States

isbn

0061120065 (isbn13: 9780061120060)

description

At the height of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston was the preeminent black woman writer in the United States. She was a som...more

[close] At the height of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston was the preeminent black woman writer in the United States. She was a sometime-collaborator with Langston Hughes and a fierce rival of Richard Wright. Her stories appeared in major magazines, she consulted on Hollywood screenplays, and she penned four novels, an autobiography, countless essays, and two books on black mythology. Yet by the late 1950s, Hurston was living in obscurity, working as a maid in a Florida hotel. She died in 1960 in a Welfare home, was buried in an unmarked grave, and quickly faded from literary consciousness until 1975 when Alice Walker almost single-handedly revived interest in her work.

Of Hurston's fiction, Their Eyes Were Watching God is arguably the best-known and perhaps the most controversial. The novel follows the fortunes of Janie Crawford, a woman living in the black town of Eaton, Florida. Hurston sets up her characters and her locale in the first chapter, which, along with the last, acts as a framing device for the story of Janie's life. Unlike Wright and Ralph Ellison, Hurston does not write explicitly about black people in the context of a white world--a fact that earned her scathing criticism from the social realists--but she doesn't ignore the impact of black-white relations either:

It was the time for sitting on porches beside the road. It was the time to hear things and talk. These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences all day long. Mules and other brutes had occupied their skins. But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. They became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgment.

One person the citizens of Eaton are inclined to judge is Janie Crawford, who has married three men and been tried for the murder of one of them. Janie feels no compulsion to justify herself to the town, but she does explain herself to her friend, Phoeby, with the implicit understanding that Phoeby can "tell 'em what Ah say if you wants to. Dat's just de same as me 'cause mah tongue is in mah friend's mouf."

Hurston's use of dialect enraged other African American writers such as Wright, who accused her of pandering to white readers by giving them the black stereotypes they expected. Decades later, however, outrage has been replaced by admiration for her depictions of black life, and especially the lives of black women. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston breathes humanity into both her men and women, and allows them to speak in their own voices. --Alix Wilber

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07/03/07

AJ Griffin rated it:

recommends it for: people interested in historical ebonics, I suppose

Another "I don't remember it very well, but I know I liked it" story. Here's what I do recall:

A) The main character was a woman, and she had something like 3 lovers throughout the book. Saucy.
B) One of these dudes was named either Teabag, Cornbread, Teabread, or Breadbag. Or something.
C) There was some issue with the weather towards the end.
D) Zora Neal Hurston got arrested for fucking a kid, or something (I guess that wasn't really in the book, but whate...more

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07/27/07

Tara rated it:

(review of isbn 0060916508)

bookshelves: collegereadinglist1994-1998

I must be the only person who read this and hated it.

I read this book when I was a junior in college in an American Lit class. I was looking forward to reading it when I saw it on my book list and read the back cover. I enjoy the writings of Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou, so I was looking forward to reading a book that took place in a past time period and was about black characters/community. I really feel like I got my hopes up for nothing. I was so disappointed in this novel. ...more

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10/31/08

Beth(MN) rated it:

(review of isbn 0060838671)

bookshelves: 1001-books, 2008, african-american, all-women-should-read, classics, tnbbc-winter-challenge, tv-and-movies

Read in December, 2008

Except for the scene where Tea Cake combs Janie’s hair and is actually scratching out all her dandruff (ew), I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I loved the writing style. I’m not terribly keen on poetry, per se, but Hurston’s prose felt poetic and many of the sentences beat out a steady rhythm I could almost hear, even reading silently to myself. The dialogue between the characters was it’s stark opposite, using a phonetic dialect commonly used by black people living in the s...more Except for the scene where Tea Cake combs Janie’s hair and is actually scratching out all her dandruff (ew), I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I loved the writing style. I’m not terribly keen on poetry, per se, but Hurston’s prose felt poetic and many of the sentences beat out a steady rhythm I could almost hear, even reading silently to myself. The dialogue between the characters was it’s stark opposite, using a phonetic dialect commonly used by black people living in the south. Switching back and forth between more traditional English and the spoken dialect slowed me down a little bit so it took me slightly longer to read this book than I’d anticipated, but that’s not a complaint. I really enjoyed it and think that this is one of those books that all women, regardless of race or geography should read at some point in their lives.

The main character is a young woman named Janie. She is 17 at the start of the story and living with her elderly grandmother, Nanny Crawford. Her grandmother had been a slave and when the Emancipation Proclamation came down, Nanny walked away with a baby in her arms (Janie’s mother) who had been conceived after Nanny was raped by a white man. When Janie’s mother was a young woman, she was also raped by a white man, which was how Janie was conceived. Shortly after Janie’s birth, her mother ran off and Janie was raised by her grandmother.

Since her father and grandfather were white men, Janie’s hair looks different from the hair of other black women. It is smooth and silky and even though Janie isn’t an exceptionally beautiful woman, men are still very attracted to her and her unusual hair. Her skin is also lighter, described as a “coffee with cream” color.

When Janie’s grandmother catches her kissing a no-good young man, she decides it is time for Janie to be married to a respectable man named Logan Killicks who is a wealthy but unattractive farmer and somewhat of a dud in Janie’s opinion. The only reason Janie agreed to the marriage in the first place was out of a sense of duty and obligation to her grandmother. Janie and Logan are only married for a very short time and when Janie finally realizes that she can’t fall in love with Killicks, she runs away with a second man named Jody Starks.

Starks was also wealthy, handsome, charismatic and for quite some time, Janie was content in her marriage to him. Jody and Janie moved to Eatonville, FL, an all black town in Florida where Jody was quickly promoted to Mayor. Before too long, Starks became controlling, verbally abusive and even physically abusive to Janie. He forced her to keep her head covered so none of the other men in their neighborhood could admire her “white” hair. He frequently scolded her, citing the reason a woman should do whatever her husband told her to do was because women were incapable of thinking for themselves. After 20 years of marriage, Starks dies due to kidney complications and Janie takes over running the store he had opened early in their marriage.

Less than a year after Joe Starks passed away, Janie meets and falls in love with a man who is 12 years her junior, Tea Cake Woods. Janie and Tea Cake get married. The relationship is passionate but not without problems. They are faced with jealousy and several issues crop up that seem to stem from the age difference between them. On top of all that, a biracial neighbor named Mrs. Woods begins to harass Janie for her involvement with Tea Cake, basically telling her that he isn’t worth the time because his skin is too dark and that mixed race people with dominant Caucasian features should be “classed up” and given rights that will both distinguish them from black people and move them closer to the spheres that are traveled by white people.

Overall, I thought the book was good. There were certain parts of it that probably could have been fleshed out a bit more and made the book even better. Regardless, the issues covered in the book are something that all Americans will have some reaction to, no matter our personal backgrounds.

From a female perspective, the book is about how Janie discovers herself and grows into her own self which is something that all women have to do at some point in our lives. Janie was able to discover herself after three marriages to three different men and that made me think about some of the experiences I’ve had so far in my life in comparison to the experiences other women have been through (sister, mother, grandmother, female friends, etc.). It’s interesting that so many of us “find” ourselves after being mistreated by men. When you talk to a man about how he discovered himself and what happened when he fully accepted and grew into his manhood, it seldom had anything to do with a woman. But even in our more progressive society, one where women are not second-class citizens, many of us are still in a position where we don’t recognize the power within ourselves to be strong and capable until we’ve been screwed over by a man. I’ve never really considered myself much of a feminist but when I read something like this, it almost makes me feel like a reluctant feminist. It was a very interesting book, one I could see myself rereading in the future.
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02/13/09

Logan rated it:

(review of isbn 0072434228)

bookshelves: 1001-list, african-american, classics, fiction

Read in February, 2009

recommended to Logan by: Sally
recommends it for: Poets, Lovers and Screenwriters

You know those books that sit on your shelf and mock you for being too hesitant to pick them up? We all have them. They sit there, perched on the edge of the shelf like hooligans on a stoop tossing out insults to passersby and just daring them to pick them up and give 'em a spin. For me, Their Eyes Were Watching God was the ringleader of my abusive books. It would yell vicious things at me as I sat near the shelf and once, in collusion with my long-time archenemy gravity, contrived to whap m...more You know those books that sit on your shelf and mock you for being too hesitant to pick them up? We all have them. They sit there, perched on the edge of the shelf like hooligans on a stoop tossing out insults to passersby and just daring them to pick them up and give 'em a spin. For me, Their Eyes Were Watching God was the ringleader of my abusive books. It would yell vicious things at me as I sat near the shelf and once, in collusion with my long-time archenemy gravity, contrived to whap me upside the head. Suffice to say, I was intimidated. Yet we all have to face our fears at some time and February seemed like the right time for me.

Looking back on my years-long avoidance of this book, I can't help but think that I make some truly awful decisions. This is one of the most lyrically beautiful books that I have ever read and, at the same time, one of the most ground-breaking portraits of an independent woman's voice that I've ever come across. Neale Hurston's book is simultaneously a work of art and a strong declaration of independence for the entire female gender.

Janie is a woman who first tries to conform herself to the molds that she has been taught in the form of two very dissatisfying marriages to men who feel compelled to, after heaping praise upon her for her independent spirit, snuff it completely out. After the death of her second husband, Janie chucks social propriety out the window and listens instead to that niggling voice inside that dares her to dream of a better life, even if the person she wants to share that life with is far beneath her on the limiting rungs of social positioning. Instead this man, the charming and appreciative Tea Cake, is a rascal who cares more about enjoying the everyday moments of life than he does for climbing to the top of the dung heap. His very lack of sober seriousness is what draws Janie to him, his living example proof of what is possible for her.

Hurston's style is beautiful, her poetic prose balanced perfectly with spot-on accurate renderings of the rural Southern dialect. J.D. Salinger, who I hold in the absolute highest esteem when it comes to rating dialogue, is put to shame by Hurston's ability to craft the slow drawl and missing consonants in her characters' speech. Reading it can not help but conjure each person's voice within your head so that, after a while, it's as though you're listening to a radio telecast rather than reading a book.(less)

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01/24/08

Melissa rated it:

bookshelves: master-s-exam, teach-it

Read in June, 2008

When I teach Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, I tell my students the Alice Walker headstone story and teach the book as a Black Feminist novel that is far, far ahead of its time. I noticed this year that my introduction made my students expect the protagonist, Janie, to jump from the novel's pages as a woman warrior, take no shit from anyone, and--I don't know--burn her bra. But the real beauty of Hurston's novel is that her heroine is a real character living in a real world-...more When I teach Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, I tell my students the Alice Walker headstone story and teach the book as a Black Feminist novel that is far, far ahead of its time. I noticed this year that my introduction made my students expect the protagonist, Janie, to jump from the novel's pages as a woman warrior, take no shit from anyone, and--I don't know--burn her bra. But the real beauty of Hurston's novel is that her heroine is a real character living in a real world--albeit, one that is touched by literary genius and reflective of literary genres as varied and vital as (Hurston's scholarly focus) African American Folk Tradition and the odyssey of the "high mimetic form". (A Black woman presented as the hero of an epic journey in 1937--simply amazing.) Janie struggles. Janie submits. Janie silences herself. But Janie grows. And, in my mind, a revolution begins.

Hurston's character construction is superb. At once, her characters are strongly allegorical AND so real that they are breathing entities in the reader's mind (and disturbingly remind you of that uncle you don't really like). Janie is as real as they come. By the end of the story, I, as a reader, am her best friend Pheoby, sitting on that porch with her and listening her to tale. I understand her insecurities, I feel her pain, I smile as she inexplicably giggles for two pages, and I am full of that emotion the conclusion of Hurston's epic tale creates.

I love that Hurston gives her readers the tools to understanding Janie's motivation and responses very early in the book in the form of her beautifully constructed pear tree and mule metaphors. It is a wonderful book to teach to those teenagers who still think literary analysis is a sham that teachers come up with to torture students, because Hurston stitches her novel together with meaningful patterns of metaphors and symbols that deliberately guide readers through Janie's experience.

Hurston's literary talent shines in her ability both to construct believable, life-like dialogue in strong southern dialect and to create poetic prose rich in metaphor and meaning, as well as in her ability both to spin a tale that leaves the reader in greedy suspense and to write a story that says so much about the nature of love, power, language, race, gender, and identity. The more I read this book, the more I like it.

On a side note: As the book is so strongly embedded in oral tradition, my classes listen to a few chapters of the audio book, which is read by Ruby Dee (who also played the role of Janie's grandmother in Oprah's movie). It is simply fantastic. If you're a fan of the book, you should definitely listen to it.(less)

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02/10/09

Ashley rated it:

(review of isbn 0060931418)

Read in February, 2009

recommends it for: adults

This book was a little hard to get into, just because of the styl of writing. Zora Neale Hurston uses authentic African-American language from times of slavery throughout the book, and for me, someone who has never read anything like that, it was very strange at first. There are times when I had to read out loud to understand what they were saying. However, this book sends a powerful message about the state of the African-American woman during and just after the time of slavery. It was very ...more

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05/02/08

Amber Vaughn rated it:

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” is one of the best books I have read throughout my high school career. I usually don’t like books that have the country “slang” dialogue, because it takes me longer to read and comprehend. Even thought Zora Neale Hurston wrote this way in her novel, the was so interesting to me that I continued reading it even though I’m not accustomed to that type of writing. Every paragraph brought out my imagination, and I often found myself picturing the story in my...more “Their Eyes Were Watching God” is one of the best books I have read throughout my high school career. I usually don’t like books that have the country “slang” dialogue, because it takes me longer to read and comprehend. Even thought Zora Neale Hurston wrote this way in her novel, the was so interesting to me that I continued reading it even though I’m not accustomed to that type of writing. Every paragraph brought out my imagination, and I often found myself picturing the story in my head as if it were a movie.
This novel took place around the 1920’s in the state of Florida. Janie, the main character was a beautiful young African-American girl with long silky hair like a white person. She was often praised and adored for her long beautiful hair. She was raised by her grandmother who was something like a maid. They lived in the back of a white family’s yard. Janie had never really known she was black until she saw her first photograph standing next to all the other white kids, and she realized she didn’t look anything like them.
Janie’s grandmother always wanted the best for her granddaughter, especially when it came to men and her financial future. A young man named Logan Killicks was the rich man in their town. He was intelligent, he had money, and land, but one thing Logan was lacking was good looks. All Janie’s grandmother was for her was a stable home and financial security when she could no longer care for Janie. Logan and Janie ended up getting married. Janie did this mainly to please her grandmother and make her happy. Later on things began to get rocky in their marriage, and Janie ran off with a man named Jody Starks who was roaming through her neighborhood one day. Jody Starks was very prosperous and became the mayor of his own town called Eatonville. Although Starks had money and power, he was the jealous type and became very controlling over Janie. He even went to the extreme of making her tie up her hair in the store they opened so men who came through could not admire it. Jody later died of kidney complications. After Jody died Janie met a nice young man named Vergibil Woods, but better known as “Tea Cake”. Janie loved Tea Cake with all her heart and Tea Cake loved her equally if not more. They would later move to the Everglades and be happily together as long as they lived.
Zora Neale Hurston has one of the most unique styles of writing. She leads you on many times in the story to make you contemplate what was going to happen next. An example of this is when she shows how all of Janie’s marriages start off so well but ended on a sour note. Many readers probably would have never expected those outcomes, because I know I didn’t. The way Zora Neale Hurston uses the southern dialogue to give you the depiction of where the story was set and how they lived was very interesting.
This story can appeal to many age groups and ethnicities. But it mainly focuses on African-Americans who lived in the south. It tells you about the way blacks were secluded from whites, and basically had their own cities. Throughout this novel you never really hear about any whites, except at the beginning with Janie and her white friends. It also shows how blacks had to employ each other and themselves by opening shops in their towns, farm, or raise enough food for just their family. I am pretty sure if you ask someone who was around back then they would be able to relate to this story in some way.
In certain categories this could be considered a great American novel, but in some categories it is lacking. This does not quite fit the depiction with the family who has achieved the life of the “American Dream”. There will never be a great American novel in my opinion. The great American novel will have to target more than one group of people and that may be very difficult to do. This book for example is more appealing to blacks, and therefore it may not reach out to other cultures as it does the black community. Although it may not be a great American novel it does have some of the qualities. It includes suspense, humor, and a realistic character base.
I had a very strong personal connection to this book and Zora Neale Hurston. Me being a black young woman who lives in the south is probably one of the main reasons. Many times when I was reading this book it made me want to put myself in Janie’s shoes and feel, see, and hear what she was going through. Books like this make me motivated to keep going. After all of her failed attempts at finding love Janie kept going. This keeps me going and always gives me something to look upon when I get discouraged. Three of four of my grandparents are still living today and I sometimes wonder how it was when their parents were alive back then. I wonder if their lives were similar to some of the things that happened in this story. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially teenagers who are in need of a life lesson.
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04/29/08

Alexis rated it:

recommended to Alexis by: Chad Barwick
recommends it for: Everyone

Have you ever tried to discover yourself, even if all odds were against you? Their Eyes Were Watching God is all about a lady named Janie road to self discovery. It was not a easy road to take either. The story was set in the 1930’s in Florida. Janie is not only a woman, but she is also bi-racial. At times, because of her ethnicity, things were even more complicated for her.
Zora Neale Hurston dealt with a lot of different issues that are still common in today’s society. One of...more Have you ever tried to discover yourself, even if all odds were against you? Their Eyes Were Watching God is all about a lady named Janie road to self discovery. It was not a easy road to take either. The story was set in the 1930’s in Florida. Janie is not only a woman, but she is also bi-racial. At times, because of her ethnicity, things were even more complicated for her.
Zora Neale Hurston dealt with a lot of different issues that are still common in today’s society. One of the first issues that you confront is love and marriage. Everybody has their own separate idea about love and what love is. With the high divorce rates going on in America now, more people really need to know and love themselves first, before searching for their own ideal of love. Hurston beautifully illustrates that throughout the book.
Janie was forced to marry at the age of sixteen to a man who didn’t really love her. That part of the story helps me relate with all of the people around the world who don’t get to chose love, but to whom it is forced upon by arranged marriage. Janie eventually gets out of that marriage and soon enough she is married again.
Have you ever wanted love, but all your partner was concerned about was having a trophy wife? Well, that’s exactly how Janie’s second marriage went. Jody, the husband, is on his own personal quest for power and money. I believe that happens a lot in today’s society. Especially with the entire power couples craze going on. Unfortunately, when you want love and your spouse wants power and money, a lot of the things you want are put on hold. Jody also had a serious problem. He viewed woman as subordinate to men. Woman couldn’t stand up or speak for themselves in his viewpoint. What Janie learned from this marriage was a very critical point in her journey for self discovery.
I wont ruin what happens in the third marriage, but think about the previous two and then make a good guess about how the third will be. Another issue that Hurston addresses in this book is racism and prejudices. I am a bi-racial child, and I could absolutely relate to this issue and the way Hurston confronted it is a classic. Even back in the 1930’s there was racism between the blacks and whites. Better yet, did you know that there was a clash between the light skinned and dark skinned blacks also? That still continues today. Dark skinned blacks believe that light skinned blacks think that they are better and so on.
Hurston illustrated this clash through a character named Mrs. Turner. Look out for her because she is one tough cookie, bent in her stubborn ways and views. Mrs. Turner has Caucasian looking features, and she praises Janie for her Caucasian looking features. Unfortunately Janie’s third husband, Tea Cake, is a really dark skinned brother. Mrs. Turner is set on breaking them up and hooking Janie up with her brother. I’m sure that everyone out there has met somebody who is like this. Actually, you can relate this towards the problem that some people have with biracial relationships. Have you ever seen a white woman and a black man together? Then of course you hear someone in the background, claiming that all the good men are being taken by the white people and so on. After seeing how Hurston handles this issue, I guarantee you that your outlook will change.
Hurston is also known for using a lot of little discreet symbols in this book. I will give a hint: Janie’s hair is one of the symbols. As you read the book though, you will recognize a lot more of them. A lot of this book relates to Zora Neale Hurstons own life actually. Hurston was born and raised in Florida. Hurston’s mother, like Janie’s, was absent throughout her life. After reading Hurston’s autobiography, you will realize a lot more similarities.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is old enough to read and especially to those who are about to get married.Everyone needs to go on their own separate journey to self discovery. Now, how everyone starts their journey and where it takes them will be different, but I promise you that reading this book will be a great starting point.
Another plus in this book is the language. An example of the language would be “Well, Tony tells me tuh humor her along. He moved here from up de State hopin’ tuh change her, but it aint.” The different character names in this book will have you rolling with laughter also. Basically, this book contains the perfect recipe for a great read. It has humor, drama, mystery, and more humor!
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09/11/07

Lucy rated it:

Read in October, 2007

This was another book I had little knowledge of when deciding to add it to my "to-read" list. I'd heard of the title, learned it was an Oprah's Book Club choice, and saw it at Sam's Club which inspired me to put a hold on it at the library, but I didn't actually know what it was about.

For that reason, I was a little nervous when I read the foreward and the critic walked me through its rediscovery in the 60s (it was written in 1937) and subsequent controversy over its worthi...more This was another book I had little knowledge of when deciding to add it to my "to-read" list. I'd heard of the title, learned it was an Oprah's Book Club choice, and saw it at Sam's Club which inspired me to put a hold on it at the library, but I didn't actually know what it was about.

For that reason, I was a little nervous when I read the foreward and the critic walked me through its rediscovery in the 60s (it was written in 1937) and subsequent controversy over its worthiness as a part of African American literature. Yikes. What's a white, middle class, northerner to do? I prepared myself to read with a sheltered caution.

Honestly, I don't understand the controversy. I don't think it white washes over the ugly aspects of the south in the 1930s, but it also doesn't dwell on every injustice or the blatant unfairness of the times. It simply tells the story as is. Perhaps the African American community fears fingers and voices pointing to the book saying, "See? It wasn't so bad? Your history isn't all oppression and misery." If that is or was the case, I think its safe to say that while the Zora Neale Hurston's portrayal of African American history doesn't attempt the heights of horror of, say, a Toni Morrison novel, it also doesn't give the reader a rosy tinted view of their history either.

The main character, Janie, is an African American teenage girl, raised by a grandmother who, while a slave, was raped and impregnated by a white man. The grandmother bore a daughter, Janie's mother, who, later, was also raped by a peer while in school, which left Janie's mother traumatized and uninterested in her baby. Left to be raised by her grandmother, Janie's childhood and rearing was old-fashioned and she was left with a limited understanding of the world, especially the male/female romantic relationship. Janie does have a vivid experience involving watching pear blossoms being pollinated by bees, which leaves her yearning for romantic love.

Convinced by her grandmother that love can develop after marriage, Janie marries an older farmer who is looking for a hard working wife to help take care of his land. After a short amount of time, Janie realizes there are no pear blossoms there, and that this life does not make her happy. One day, while doing a chore, she comes upon a charismatic man named Jody, who dresses and acts like a free white man, much different than the other men she has been exposed to, and is on his way to live in an all-black community, Eatonville.

Jody smooth talks Janie into going with him and she leaves the farm and her husband in search of her pear blossom. Unfortunately for Janie, this new opportunity doesn't present happiness either and after 20 years or so of marriage and being a trophy to her powerful husband who became Mayor of Eatonville, she finally becomes a widow and experiences independence for the first time. With that independence, she meets and marries the much younger Tea Cake, her pear blossom, and begins to understand and enjoy the inner person she always knew she was.

The power of this novel comes from the phonetic dialogue which transports you to the black south, and the honest expose of the attitudes and expectations of blacks during this period of our country's history. I feel that Janie went through a great deal of growth and discovery and is an excellent example of the silent and dignified power women have and have always had, even when its ability to express itself is limited.(less)

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04/01/08

Jackie "the Librarian" rated it:

bookshelves: adultfiction, classics

Read in January, 1985

recommends it for: Harlem Renaissance readers

This is not your dusty dead white European man type classic. This is a colorful, romantic and dramatic story from the point of view of a black woman living in the southern US in the early 20th century.
I just have impressions of the story, which may be a bit jumbled, since I haven't read this since college. I remember the main character, Janie is a woman with long flowing hair who we see hanging over a gate and meeting a beautiful younger man named Tea Cake. But she has a mean husband who h...more

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02/08/08

Suzanne rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This is just extraordinary and one of the best books I have ever read. The narrative and phonetic dialog transported me into that world, the world of central Florida (before Disney) and the Everglades. This is a lean book, spare, with no excess verbiage and no implied social criticism. Hurston lets you come to your own conclusions and packages it in a love story that shatters you with its truthfulness. For men and women alike....it is a must read.

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02/04/09

Sally rated it:

Read in February, 2009

At first, this book was hard to get into. I had a hard time getting past the way the author wrote the conversations between the different characters. But once I was able to do that, I really enjoyed this book.

About a girl, Janie, who doesn't see color and doesn't know she is black until she is older and sees a picture of herself She is content to let others think what is best for her until she grow's up and finds out what she really wants. Love. She wants to be loved unconditionally...more

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10/10/08

Alisa rated it:

I hate, hate hated this book, and I really can't explain WHY very well, but I'll try.

It was well written, the metaphors, etc were good (I read it for an English class so I know ALL about the metaphors), the characters were well rounded, it IS a really fine example of Hurston's work.

What I hated was the forward in the particular version I read. It was about a conference of women who loved the book or something, and one lady just went on and on how Janie is a strong female...more

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05/08/08

Reyna rated it:

recommended to Reyna by: Mr. Barwick
recommends it for: GIRLS

“Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a great novel to read. Zora Hurston tells the sad story of a middle age African woman. Zora reveals the story in a very poetic way and uses many dialogues. Some parts of the novel include topics of love, passion and dreams. The whole idea behind the novel is to connect nature and humanity. The novel is full of similarities and metaphors. It describes relationships of love that later are converted to hatred. The story takes p...more “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a great novel to read. Zora Hurston tells the sad story of a middle age African woman. Zora reveals the story in a very poetic way and uses many dialogues. Some parts of the novel include topics of love, passion and dreams. The whole idea behind the novel is to connect nature and humanity. The novel is full of similarities and metaphors. It describes relationships of love that later are converted to hatred. The story takes place during a time of racism and consists of realistic characters. Their Eyes Were Watching God allows everyone to dream about love and passion. It teaches the lessons of general respect.
The story starts when Janie Crawford, the middle age African woman, comes back to her old neighborhood in Eatonville, Florida. Her neighbors start to want to talk about her with out knowing her sad story. Her friend, Pheoby Watson, is the only one who sticks to her side and listens to her without judging her. Janie takes the opportunity to open herself up and starts to let out her sad story. She begins by telling Pheoby her sad childhood, where she reveals that at her young age she didn’t realize that she was dark skin. As a young girl, she lived in the backyard of Ms. Washburn and her family, which were a white family. This was the family that her Nanny worked for as a servant. She was able to receive education and when she got older she changed the way she felt.
Nanny, Janie’s grandmother and guardian, and herself moved out of the backyard they were staying at. Nanny decided to marry Janie to Logan Killicks, a man that Janie did not love, thinking that this marriage was the safest thing for Janie. Nanny loved her granddaughter a lot and always took care of her after Janie’s mother left them. Janie did not marry Logan, but she did move in with him thinking that some day she would be able to love him. However, their lives together lacked love, passion and respect, all the basic elements needed in a healthy relationship. He was indifferent to her. Even after the fact that she was a very attractive woman.
After, some time Janie ran off with a stranger named Joe Starkes. Joe was a very smooth-tongue and ambitious man. Joe and Janie move to Eatonville and there Joe becomes a very important figure. He becomes known as the mayor of the town. Janie becomes the figure of the “mayor’s wife.” After some time Janie starts to be really miserable. Joe keeps her isolated from the community. She appears to be fine with it, but deep inside she still dreams. One day being Joe disrespects her image causing her to get angry and slaps him. Joe becomes angry because she did it in front of the neighbors. Their marriage starts to go even more down. Joe starts to become ill and she doesn’t have any interaction with him. Until the day Joe dies in an argument, where Janie tells him that she feels.
After, Joe’s death Janie starts to take care of things by her self. She gives the image of a free woman when she lets her long pretty hair down. Out the no where a young man named Tea Cake shows up. Tea Cake is a guy that is twelve years young than her. However they share a romance. Janie marries him after nine months of Joe’s death. Janie sells the store she had and moves to Jacksonville with Tea Cake. At the begging of their marriage they start to have problems because of money. Tea Cake leaves her one night making Janie think that all he wanted was her money. However, Tea Cake comes back tells her that he truly loves her. They move again, this time to Everglades. There they harvest and do a lot of socializing.
A very bad hurricane hits them. For the first time in the book the title of this novel comes in. Nature and humanity join when four of them stay standing looking at the door. Tea Cake becomes ill of rabies and blind by jealousy. Janie struggles some time to find what she has been looking for all her life.
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04/20/08

Michelle rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in June, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This book was assigned reading in high school for all the other English classes in 11th grade, but mine read Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" instead. So I was always curious about it, but, after reading it many years later, I'll say it didn't capture me. It's memorable, but I wouldn't call it great. Alice Walker, however, says there's no book more important to her than this one.

Set in 1930s Florida the story follows an independent woman of mixed race through three marriage...more

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11/23/07

Cara rated it:

bookshelves: assigned, borrowed

Read in January, 2008

I wrote a college essay on this book for the University of Michigan.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, set in the early 1900s, follows the life journey of an African American woman named Janie. I was drawn by Janie’s ability to adapt and remain strong, qualities that I’d like to encourage in myself. Following the life of a powerful female protagonist, the novel’s theme is of personal growth and intrapersonal development. This theme and its main character were e...more I wrote a college essay on this book for the University of Michigan.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, set in the early 1900s, follows the life journey of an African American woman named Janie. I was drawn by Janie’s ability to adapt and remain strong, qualities that I’d like to encourage in myself. Following the life of a powerful female protagonist, the novel’s theme is of personal growth and intrapersonal development. This theme and its main character were exceptionally compelling to a young woman turning the final page of high school.
Janie, as a heroine, is inspiring. She believes in humanity’s ability to allow their inner souls triumph over life’s “mud” and “like all the other tumbling mud-balls, Janie had tried to show her shine” (86). With each bittersweet triumph in her search for selfhood and marriages of nature, Janie grew into more powerful, adaptive woman. She escaped from her arranged, loveless first marriage to spend years with a man who would control her words, dress, and activities. Yet running off with her ambitious second husband signified her resolve to make her own choices and changes, even if their natures couldn’t honestly wed as she wanted. “He did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for the far horizon” (28). Her voice, her desire to truly express herself, grew because of the challenges and confines her second marriage set upon her. “But Ah’m uh woman every inch of me, and Ah know it” (75). This line, uttered in confrontation with her husband, sent thrills through me as Janie recognizes her power as an individual and embraces her femininity.
In addition to being a powerful testament to the strength of the “fairer” sex, Huston weaves a theme of spiritual and intrapersonal growth into the fabric of Janie’s story. In the beginning, young Janie covetously observed bees pollinate a pear tree; she recognized this as marriage as nature intended, evoking a deep-seated desire for a connection with nature and God. Years later, in her third marriage, Janie falls in love with another man; their marriage made of “pollen and blooming trees” that she longed for. Nature, unfortunately, is as destructive as it is giving. A hurricane rips through Janie’s life, ultimately causing her love’s death. This representation of balance between nature’s opposing forces, growth and decay, served as stark reminder of its unpredictability and raw power. No person or persons can stand against its power alone, only withstand it, with their eyes looking toward to peace and feeling peace within themselves.
Janie grieves but moves on, bringing only the seeds Tea Cake wished to plant. Despite all of her sorrow, she felt at peace. “She had pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net” (184) and was satisfied with her life’s experiences. The heroine’s last spoken words were “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves” (183). To a teenager who has yet to sail to her horizon, to have Janie’s ability to embrace her own spirituality and independence is the highest of aspirations.
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03/26/07

Erin rated it:

(review of isbn 0060931418)

bookshelves: college, favorites, grad-school

Read in January, 1999

recommends it for: Everyone, especially women!

Perhaps my absolute favorite, Their Eyes is a novel with which I truly have a relationship. I love Hurston's lyrical voice, I love her heroine, Janie, and I love the themes. Here's part of my masters thesis introduction:
Zora Neale Hurston’s creation of the complex character, Janie Mae in Their Eyes Were Watching God achieved the goal of putting forth a strong black female voice long before America experienced the sweeping changes of the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements. Lorraine Beth...more

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02/16/08

Nolan rated it:

I love the way Hurston describes things...

Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.

So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead. Not the dead of sick and ailing with friends at the pillow and the feet. She had come back from the sodden and bloated; the sudden dead, their eyes flung wide open in judgme...more

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01/08/09

Ramon rated it:

(review of isbn 0060931418)

Read in January, 2009

wow. long time since i chuckled and suffered over the same book...so unexpected, i only picked it up out of a vague sense of familiarity. wrong. id actually never heard of it. how is that possible?? it is nothing short of classic. i mean you have to get accustomed to the flow of the dialect, but its a lesson that pays. it adds authenticity to the novel and the irony of reading it is priceless. i guess the title captured me. but its the prose that i savor. its unlike anything ive ever read. i can...more

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09/01/08

Nilaja rated it:

(review of other edition)

recommends it for: Males and Females

The human experience at its finest. As you walk through the life of the lead character Janie, you will find out how strong women really are. You'll find out about the many faces we wear as women in order to be who we are. You'll find out about what true sacrifice really is. Through Zora Neal Hurston you'll learn what it is to be an honest author, because this story is hers. The things she learned about what love can and will do for you. Sometimes it smothers you, sometimes it cares, someti...more

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Favorite fictional African-American heroine?

Janie Crawford Their Eyes Were Watching God

12 votes, 18.8%

Beneatha Younger A Raisin in the Sun

8 votes, 12.5%

Celie The Color Purple

27 votes, 42.2%

Sula Peace Sula

5 votes, 7.8%

Jane Pittman The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

2 votes, 3.1%

Lila Mae Watson The Intuitionist: A Novel

3 votes, 4.7%

Cassie Logan Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

7 votes, 10.9%

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quotes from this book

"..she began to stand around the gate and expect things. What things? She didn't know exactly. Her breath was gusty and short. She knew things that nobody ever told her. For instance, the words of the trees and the wind. .. She knew the world was a stallion rolling in the blue pasture of ether. She knew that God tore down the old world every evening and built a new one by sun-up. It was wonderful to see it take form with the sun and emerge from the gray dust of its making. " More quotes...