Gender dichotomies and the feminine quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Abstract:

This essay analyzes the novel

Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston.

The main focus is on whether the protagonist Janie acquires independence and a voice of her

own. Her quest for a voice is looked at in relation to the four characters, Nanny, Killicks,

Starks and Tea Cake, which all play a significant role in her journey throughout the novel. The

main theoretical terms used in this essay are directly linked to gender and gender roles and are

used to aid my hypothesis that gender is indeed socially constructed, and therefore it can be

constructed differently. What I aim to achieve with this study is to look at whether the novel

represents that a woman can acquire an independent voice in a male dominated society, if the

gender roles are constructed differently. The analysis shows, with the help of theory, that even

though Janie faces a lot of resistance, she manages to acquire an individual voice in Hurston’s

story.