Their Eyes Were Watching God Themes

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Their Eyes Were Watching God, men and women occupy very different roles. Women are not only considered the weaker sex, but they're fundamentally def...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Their Eyes Were Watching God, idealized romantic love is the protagonist’s ultimate goal. She battles against the commonly held view of love as un...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Sex triggers the protagonist's interest in love; Janie is fascinated by both the bodily pleasure triggered by sex as well as its implications for new l...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Innocence is closely linked to youth, idealism, and—to a lesser extent—virginity. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, reference to the protagonist’s...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In addition to the basic premise that racism holds white men as inherently superior to blacks, the narrator presents the oppressed minority as a commun...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Their Eyes Were Watching God, fate is synonymous with God and nature...while a person’s free will has much to do with his decisions and his faith....

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Social class is often closely tied to one’s material wealth. However, Their Eyes Were Watching God seems to draw an inverse relationship between oneâ...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Their Eyes Were Watching God, slavery isn't just in the past. Not only does the trauma continue to reverberate, but it serves as the founding idea o...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Dialogue in Their Eyes Were Watching God is transcribed phonetically to capture the cadence and idioms of black vernacular. The protagonist is especial...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Jealousy is an ugly beast (with famous green eyes) that affects men, women, and communities at large. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, jealousy ranges...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Beauty can be defined both internally and externally—and external beauty is comprised only of socially acceptable standards of attractiveness, sexual...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Their Eyes Were Watching God, death is presented as both the traditional ending of a life and a cause for grief. However, it also has a positive con...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Two types of pride are present in Their Eyes Were Watching God—a negative interpretation that has the connotations of hubris and conceit and a positi...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) The protagonist’s hopes for her future drive basically the entirety of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie has an image of true love, and she strives...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Whether you heed the advice of a dating listicle or Freud, you know that it's true: if you want to truly know someone, you need to know about their mem...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Their Eyes Were Watching God, compassion is unconditional sympathy for all manner of people, no matter what their flaws. Special attention is paid t...