In high school, I read this book and I fell in love with it immediately. Since then, I've read it several times and still cannot get enough of it! One of the things I love about "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is that is reads almost like poetry. It is so detailed in every image that it feels as if I'm there witnessing the story.
It also has powerful and beautiful symbolism. For example, the scene with the pear tree and the bee. It is written with flair of naivety that reveals Janie's own personality. It shows that she wants to experience love and "to struggle with life" no matter the cost (11). This scene also shows how close Hurston was to nature. Not only this scene, but the mule, too. The mule symbolizes how Nanny believes that the "[black] woman is de mule uh de world" (14). By allowing the townspeople to treat Matt Bonner's mule that manner, Hurston is creating a metaphor for the way black women were treated.
Another interesting aspect of this book is that it shows how fleeting and unpredictable life is. I mean, Janie first had to marry Logan Killicks whom she really did not want to even be with. Then, out of thin air, comes Joe Starks, promising that she'll be treated like a queen and how he'll always be there. Of course, Janie believes him thinking that this will surely be love.
Hurston proves that there's nothing wrong with trying to find love among the bees and pear trees.
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