Importance of cruelty in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Importance of cruelty in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston has portrayed how the theme of racism and inequality is dominant in society. Racial prejudice has resulted in oppression and cruelty of the black people. The black people are viewed as inferior individuals due to the color of their skin. Hurston has also expressed how gender discrimination is dominant in the novel. The racial cruelty enables the readers to understand the draw an accurate image of the social and political discrimination that is prevalent in society.  Janie Crawford does not give in to the victimization that the society owes for the black race. She is a courageous individual who is determined to believe in his sense of worthiness and significance. This paper will focus on how Hurston has revealed segregation based on gender, social class and races and how she has used cruelty.

Janie’s grandmother says that racial discrimination had been so prevalent in their days and she wished that the racial prejudice would come to an end. She further notes that what she has undergone is what her grandchild is experiencing and nothing has changed. Jane is desperate for finding a husband, she is married by many husbands but none provides her with the care she deserves. The three husbands she is married to treats her unfairly and do not give her the comfort she wants. She is first married to a stodgy who does not provide security to her.  After being dissatisfied by her first marriage she is later married to Joe (Hurston, 112). Joe is an affluent man who is a mayor, he also has a lot of power but does not treat Janie with the respect she deserves. The cruelty that Janie faces results in her promiscuous behavior of seeking many husbands.

Cruelty has resulted in a break of the marriage relationship between loved ones. Logan notices that Janie is unfaithful to her because of their relationship with Joe. Joe Starks aims at winning Janie to be his wife by promising her that he will purchase land in Eatonville where they will reside together. Logan is angered by Janie thus he engages in a fight with Janie. Logan threatens to terminate the life of Janie by killing her using an ax (Hurston, 59). Lucky Janie manages to escape via the gate. Jane goes away with Joe so that he can marry her. Woman is portrayed as meager beings who were inferior to men, their responsibilities are very minute. They can only be married and are further presented as objects for sexual satisfaction.

The woman is psychologically and physically tortured by males in society.  When the relationship of Janie with Joe begins to fade due to misunderstanding. Janie is slapped heavily by Joe for making a bad meal. Joe demeans Janie to her old age and her ugliness (Hurston, 47). Joe expresses the weakness of Janie so that the other people cannot notice that he is aging. Criticism of women is very rampant, Joe throws insults to Janie for making minor mistakes. Man characters plots to degrade the female characters in front of the congregation by presenting out their flaws so that women can be viewed as lesser beings.

The cruelty that women face strengthens them in developing the courage to face the male in society. Janie courageously attacks Joe in front of people for patronizing her. She tells Joe that he is nothing but a loud voice.  She openly condemns Joe for his debilitating health. She ashamed him by saying that when he uncovers his clothes he has nothing. Joe later becomes very sick but he does not want Janie to enter his room to assist him. The significance of women is seen here despite being presented as inferior beings. Since a woman is caring thus Joe could be taken care of by Janie.

Hurston has portrayed the theme of gender inequality in her novel. The women have no place in society. The expectations of women in society are very minor. They are expected to be respectful wives who should not question their husbands even when they feel that their rights are being violated. The opinions of women are not adhered to by the male characters in the novel. The women are not to disobey the directions by their husbands. The women can only gain power by being married to men who are in power. Men are expected to portray their aggressiveness and masculinity through dominating over their wives (Hurston, 57). However, some female characters such as Janie are very aggressive and are not quietened by the men. She is impetuous and outspoken. She follows her intuition and finds her own path. She has a lot of indifferences with her husbands and she does not allow herself to be victimized. She even fights with her first two husbands.

In her novel, Hurston has highlighted various aspects of racism as a form of cruelty and its importance. ’We see uh mingled people and all of us got black kinsfolks as well as yeller kinfolks’ (Hurston, 78).’’  Janie confronts Mrs. Turner because of her inferior perception of the black race. Mrs. Turner believes that the individuals who have a mixed origin are superior to those who are of black origin. Janie does not accept the conception of Mrs. Turner about the black people since they also have black relatives whom they share a common origin. Tea Cake affirms that condemns the racial segregation of the black race by the white.  When the victims of the hurricane are buried. The people of the black races are not buried with coffin. The whites, on the other hand, are given a decent burial. The whites are buried in pine coffins that are provided by the whites. The burial crews are also given directions to ensure that no black people are buried together with the whites. Tea Cake defends the black by saying that there is no racial segregation in heaven.

In conclusion Cruelty in the novel as expressed by the use of tough insults has resulted in the degradation of societal morals. The social life of characters is demoralized as a result of the breakdown of family relationships. Harsh insults are used by Joe to express anger and stress has led to literation by Janie thus resulted to fight. Men use insults against women to express their power and masculinity.  Men have used insults against women to confront them as a means of demeaning them. The women have refused to give in to the facts that they are weaker beings. Janie is aggressive and fights back the discrimination that she encounters. She confronts Joe when he is laying on his deathbed. Janie openly tells him that death is inevitable to him that he is in a critical situation and he will die.