Through Janie's growth from a girl so removed from any identity that she does not know her own race, to a woman strong enough to returning to one's hometown that wants nothing more than to revel in its miseries, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston shows that the only way to flourish is to ignore society's categorizations and focus on one's own desires, while avoiding selfishness. This is highlighted as Janie moves through abusive relationships to one that finally gives her space for her own thoughts and dreams. The novel itself serves as a model of independence because it avoids the stereotypical composition of black literature, focusing sparingly on black-white relationships, but instead magnifying the black woman's interior, implying that she has the power to control her own destiny. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The novel opens as Janie returns to her town, the recipient of scathing remarks about her marriage to young Tea Cake. She walks past the porch guards, causing one of them to remark: "'Don't worry about what it was, she might stop and say a few words to us. She acts like we're telling her We had done something." (3) Janie clearly learned something from her trip, namely to shake off criticism from those who waste "too much time making fun of things they know nothing about." (6) But Janie wasn't always so confident. When she was a child, we called her “Alphabet” because so many people gave me different names. » (9) To add to her identity crisis, she didn't know she was black until she saw a photo of herself wearing white. children: "'But before I saw the photo, I thought it was like the rest.'" (9) As a teenager, curious about sexuality, she watches a bee pollinate and thinks: "So it was a marriage! " (11) Eager to experiment, she finds her bee in Johnny Taylor but her nanny wants her to marry the "old skull." (13) Logan, revealing his selfishness and lack of attention to Janie's wishes: "" So you don’t” I don’t want to get married properly, do you? You just want to hug and kiss and feel first with one man, then with another, right? You want to make me suck the same grief as your mama, huh?'" (13))Janie leaves Logan and marries Joe Starks, an enterprising man who seems promising but is more restrictive and self-important than Logan. His philosophy is presented as anything but feminist during a mayor's speech: "'She's a woman and her place is in the house.'" (41) Janie's feeling of oppression in her all-black town does not come from a man white, but of her husband: "It was probably the way Joe expressed himself without giving him a chance to say anything one way or another that took the shine out of things." (41) The final blow to Janie's free will comes when Joe orders Janie to tie her hair up in the store they run, her main connection to sensuality “She was in the store for him to look at. , not the others", is her selfish reasoning. Her struggle is useless, as Hurston writes: "The time came when she struggled with her tongue as best she could, but it was of no use to her . It just made Joe want to do more. He wanted her submission and he would continue. to fight until he feels he has got it. (67) Joe's deathbed comment to Janie is quite ironic about this: "It's because you don't have good feelings for anyone." You.