"Their Eyes Were Watching God" Question 1

This blog is going to be extremely corny.  Do not say I did not warn you.  What does the writing reveal about the authors values and attitudes?  The most prominent thing I believe that Zora Neale Hurston's writing revealed about her was her belief in true love (see how corny it already is?).  From the very beginning she talks of a bee pollinating a pear tree.  She finds she is very jealous of the pear tree and from then on how she became obsessed with finding true love.  Finding true love might just be one of the things she wants to value most in her life.  She's only sixteen at the time of the bee-pear tree happening so she's not really even sure what that means or when she'll find it or  even how, all she knows is she wants to.  The writing also reveals the author values family.  The main character, Janie, is originally married to Logan Killicks, a farmer who Janie wouldn't have looked at twice had it not been for her grandmother, Nanny.  Logan is really quite a despicable man, completely taking advantage of Janie and insisting on her working with him in the fields as well in the house, cleaning and making him meals.  Sounds like fun right?  Janie perseveres for basically one reason, Nanny.  Before Nanny dies, she makes sure that Janie is married of to an acceptable man.  So Janie sticks with Logan because it is what Nanny wanted.  I think this shows that family is an important thing to the author, as it should be.  Janie stays with Logan, despite the fact she doesn't love him even in the slightest sense and he is absolutely horrible to her.  That is until he threatens her life, then she is outta there.  I think this shows that the author valued happiness.  The author is basically saying if you're not happy and you can do something about it, why not do something about it?  Janie sticks around as long as she can possible bear, but once it comes to her life she knows it's time to do what's best for her.  "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is written in third person omniscient.  At the beginning, the narrator tells us about the thoughts and feelings of Janie, Phoebe (Janie's friend), and the gossipy people of Janie's town.  



Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.