Their Eyes Were Watching God, Pt. 1

First of all, I'll just start off by saying that, so far, this novel is unlike anything else I've ever read. During my junior year of high school, my English class read and analyzed Toni Morrison's Beloved, and her novel, Sula, was one of the texts that I used for my AP Lit test last year. I thought those were difficult to approach, but Hurston's novel is on an entirely different level of complication. The essential plot line thus far is not confusing, but the surrounding narrative and -- especially -- the black vernacular lead the reader astray from what could be a simplistic plot line.

Some of Hurston's word choices and the imagery she paints reminds me of scenes directly out of Toomer's Cane. Just like Toomer, Hurston paints beautiful images of the lazy, lush Southern landscape, and, in a very dichotic nature, pairs these images with anecdotes of trauma and pain. The events in chapter two pose a perfect example of this. As the chapter opens, Janie is pondering questions of love and marriage while relaxing under a pear tree. Hurston describes the beauty of the tree and of the outdoor nature in detail, writing, "she was...soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her" (11). Hurston goes on to use phrases like, "love embrace and...ecstatic shiver of the tree," and describes the setting as "a revelation" (11). For the next page, Janie simply basks in the beauty of rural Florida, and the reader feels a very positive, warm vibe from the narrator's diction.

However, suddenly, the tone and message of the novel take a sharp twist as Nanny scolds Janie for kissing Johnny Taylor on the street. Nanny launches into the story of Janie's mother's downfall in life, and a dark shadow seems to pass over the chapter. Nanny shares anecdotes of abuse and rape, and how these hardships penetrate generations, continuing to cause pain.

Hurston's ability to show such a contrast in a small portion of the novel really stood out to me. At times, her writing style models that of Toomer (especially when she describes the beauty of the South), and at other times, her darker topics remind me some of McKay/Cullen's more serious topics. Although every single page of this novel takes me a little longer to read because of the black dialect, I'm fascinated by Hurston's writing style. I'm interested to see where the novel goes next.

Quick prediction: The tree that Hurston describes seems to be a developing theme related to Janie's life and development emotionally and sexually. I wonder if the tree motif will continue to appear as the novel progresses?