Their Eyes Were Watching God Theme Analysis

Many times, when dealing with a famous novel, you can read it with numerous times and find the author trying to convey a different theme and meaning. One time the main motif may be about death and life and the next time you read the novel you may only see the theme of the dangers of racism. One such book is Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Hurston, an African-American writer with a strong since of culture. In this book there are numerous themes that you could relate to, however, the two that are most talked about in conjunction to each other is the desperate search for love the main character goes through and the ugly reality of her husbands when it comes to greed. When Hurston introduces Janie to the reader she is strong-willed and …show more content…
She believes that his plans for wealth, success, and making a small town great will carry over into his love for her. Again, she puts her trust in the plans of another, and again she is disappointed. Joe Starks loves the town that he has built from the ground up, making himself the soul ruler over the people. However, he treats his wife like a pretty possession rather than a woman with feelings. All the wealth that he has accumulated can not help the fact that he treats her with disrespect in public. When Janie finally stands up for herself and forces Joe to listen to the complaints of a long marriage, he refuses to let her see him, even on his death bed. Once she made the mistake of thinking that the plans of another were better than her own desire to be loved, and again she made the same mistake, thinking that Joe’s love for wealth and power would equate to the love that he held for his wife. Security and having the best in the town do not make Janie happy, in fact, it only makes her feel more depressed and anti-social towards her husband and the town itself, what she really needs is someone who will not put wealth over Janie and love her for who she