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Essay / Hurston's use of personification and animal imagery in Their Eyes Were Looking at God 'Ah can see' (14). it simply sets the stage for a number of connections between humans and animals that communicate Hurston's ideas about human relationships. Animals, particularly mules, appear as powerful symbols throughout the novel. Through anecdotes that personify animals and images of humans as animals, Hurston connects the two and reinforces Nanny's belief about the societal position of black women in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hurston's depiction of animals as if they possessed human qualities draws parallels with humans in the story and subtly questions human behavior. Matt Bonner's The Mule Stories serve to establish the Mule as a silly, foolish, and stubborn personality and to create bonds between the human and the Mule. With their stories, the townspeople give the mule character and personality, as if he had a real personality: “He’s just too mean because he’s fat.” He remains poor and raw with disappointment. (49) They even give the mule a full funeral speech and ceremony as if he were a human, just as important as anyone in the town. The two funerals of the mule fully establish the connection between human and animal. The buzzard ceremony is remarkably similar to Jody Starks' elaborate funeral services. During his eulogy, Jody refers to the mule as "our most distinguished citizen" and "dear departed brother." (57) Although his tone is facetious, Jody recognizes the genuine connection the citizens felt with the mule. The formal buzzard “Parson” (58) procedure and call-and-response ceremony bring a humane quality to the animals. The ceremony also mocks the ridiculous actions of humans, particularly Jody's pompous behavior and the way others in Eatonville look after him. Hurston often uses animal imagery to describe humans in Their Eyes Were Watching God to show the subjugation of the two Americans. blacks and women, reaffirming Nanny's beliefs. From the beginning, the small black inhabitants of Eatonville are described not as humans but as “mules and other brutes” who “occupied the skin” (1) of the citizens. Neither the narrator nor Janie take these “meat skins” (183) seriously and seem not to care much about their cruel gossip. Hurston blames the malicious talk of the Eatonville porch guards not on the "tongueless, earless, eyeless" gossipers themselves, but on the "boss," who uses the guards as "commodities." (1) Hurston places the blame on her superiors because she believes her lazy and crude characters are the product of the way white society has treated them. Likewise, women are generally not considered equal to men, but as prizes and possessions in the eyes of God. This is clear from the town's attitude toward Janie and the manners of her first two husbands. It is clear from the way Janie's first husband Logan speaks to her that he views her as his possession rather than his mate; calling for her help, he tells Janie, “you don’t have a special place. It's wherever Ah needs you. (30) In her second marriage, even Janie considers herself a prize of her husband; as the wife of a rich man, she realizes that "she.
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