Language as a Reflection of Life, Power, Relationships and Self-Realization in Hurstons Work - Essay Example

Language as a Reflection of Life, Power, Relationships and Self-Realization in Hurston’s Work Nora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story that narrates the interrelationship between language, power, gender, love and life, relationship and self-realization amongst others. Hurston narrates most of the storyline through the prism of her major character Janie. She uses Janie to explore the old order of the society during a time when racism and gender issues were factors that dictated much in terms of the nature of interactions in the society. Though pegged majorly in search for love and personal identity, the author brings out other themes as closely interwoven with themes of gender and sexuality using language. The language of men and that of Janie and other women reflect different inclinations to societal approaches to its issues. This paper shall analyze, critique and discuss how language has been used to change the status quo or sustain it. The thesis statement shall be: Language, as used in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a double edge sword that has the power to effect both positive and negative changes. As the story begins, the author brings to the attentions of the reader that the whole narration is based on a flashback. The major character is narrating her life to her best friend Phoeby in a friendly language between age-mates. Through that narration, her grandmother’s use of language depicts responsibility though stuck in the past. Nanny Crawford’s use of language may be seen to be overly restricted to safeguard her beliefs about life, which according to her, has to be defined through the prism of financial responsibility. She marries off Janie for two reasons after seeing her kiss Johnny Taylor. She persuades Janie into marrying the aged Logan Killicks. Her language as she admonishes Janie tells that her perspective about marriage is overly focused on life, family and stability as opposed to happiness. That is evidenced when she tells her that she should not let her down like her mother Leafy who deserted her. Her grandmother says, “So you don’t want to marry off decent like, do yuh?...You want to make me suck the sorrow yo’ mama did, eh? (Hurston 30)” One may also observe Nanny Crawford’s language, though a woman, depicts that belief that family relationships amongst married people should be safeguarded by all means. When Janie realizes that Logan was interested more in a farm assistant than in wife, she comes to lament to her grandmother Nanny Crawford about her marital issues. Janie’s language while presenting her complaints to her grandmother is a different prism of the young generation’s reflection about life and relationship. She uses the example of the pollinating bee she had seen as an example that marriage should be found on love and mutual understanding. Her language reflects life and relationship as a feeling of love, happiness and mutual understanding. Janie says to her grandmother, “Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think (Hurston 37).” One may observe that the two women use language to address the same concerns, though both with different preferred approaches. At one end, the older one sees life as complete when one is married and has a home as well as financial security. On the other hand, the younger generation feels that a good marriage should be defined by love, freedom of speech, mutual understanding and genuine care. Therefore, one can argue that language, as used by different women in the story, depicts a generational change in choices and preference about life and relationships. The use of language between men and men as well as between men and women reflects much on power relations, relationships and self-realization. In the aftermath of Nanny Crawford’s death, Janie breaks her marriage to Logan and runs away with Jody. Jody, like many men, is overly concerned with power relations. He is a stumble block to feminism as she lords over her wife with absolute authority as if she were some property that he owns. His language is revolves around power relations to the extent that he imagines Janie married him since he is a mayor. He asks her, “Well, honey, how yuh lak bein’ Mrs. Mayor? (Hurston 51)” However, when Jody got overly consumed in his little power fiascos, Jane faced him squarely. She found her voice. Jody was making fun of her about being in the store until she got as old as Methuselah when she walked right up to him and registered her displeasure. She had said, “Stop mixin’ up mah doing things with mah looks, Jody (Hurston 73).” Men’s use of language is also contrasted especially when considering Tea Cake’s relationship with Janie. Unlike the first two men in Janie’s life, Tea Cake, like his name, was appealing and perhaps palatable just like his name. He loved Janie genuinely and through him, Janie developed her voice. One should notice that Janie’s self-realization takes place while she is still with Jody, but she develops that voice while with Tea Cake. Tea Cakes language and relationship with her is the epitome of her dreams about life. For once, she found a man whom from the way he selects the sort of language to use around her, demonstrates to her that love can be found. He comes out as her first true love though her third husband. Although their relationship is checkered by a few challenges, his language to Janie as they interact demonstrates that men’s approach to power, relationships and life are individual traits and cannot be generalized. When he finally dies, the white folk who come to defend Janie at the court in solidarity for her innocence show employ the use of language that shows changing power relations across genders as demonstrated by Lester (Lester 42). Their language may be seen to reflect a pro-feminism assertion that a woman has the right to choose life when her life is in danger (Bromley 65; and Collins 59). In short, Hurston’s use of language in the story uses various relationships to bring out the various challenges that face both male and female. Although there are distinct voices that are still heavily inclined on the old status quo that downgrades women, the sound voices are rising up against the status quo of old gender relations and balance of power. Such voices are not gender specific but cut across all genders through the example of Tea Cake, the white women who defended Janie. It is through them that the old order is being done away with and new order ushered in for the betterment of the society. Therefore, one can say that Hurston’s use of language is her work Their Eyes Were Watching God is a demonstration that positive change is not inevitable. Works Cited Bromley, Victoria L. Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012. Print. Collins, Patricia H. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. London: Routledge, 2008. Print. Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Collins, 2006. Lester, Neal. Understanding Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, Connecticut: The Greenwood Press, 1999. Page, Yolanda W. Icons of African American Literature: The Black Literary World. Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 2011. Print. Read More