Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay: The Role of Conflict

The primary conflicts in this novel are human versus society, and to a smaller extent, human versus themselves. The conflict is unmasked through the primary character’s narration and how many other characters say about her. The human versus society angle is one worth digging deeper into, and the majority of the conflict that swirls around Janie comes from this source.

The story revolves around Janie and begins with her rather inglorious return to town after a mysterious but seemingly turbulent absence. The neighbors fuss in regards to the overalls she’s wearing: “What she doin coming back in dem overhalls? Can’t she find no dress to hold? ” (Hurston 2). The gossip of Janie’s neighbors is called “mass cruelty. ” Their heedless and hurtful talk represents the cruel and unfair expectations of womanhood that Janie fights against throughout the novel.

The story turns to yesteryear in the 2nd chapter, as told by Janie and an omnipotent narrator. Her grandmother promises her in marriage to an older and prosperous local man when she is only sixteen. Janie is expected by society to get married, as here is the traditional role of the lady in society. She longs to fall in love, but this seems to be an indulgence that's denied. When she complains to her grandmother that she doesn't love her new husband, Logan, she's told she's got a “mouf full uh foolishness” (Hurston 23).

Quite similar happens with Janie’s 2nd husband, Starks. An upstanding man of wealth and charisma, Janie initially appears to believe that he'll give her a better life. He does provide nicer clothing and a house, but he is just as indifferent to her feelings as Logan and expects her to work just as hard. Though it is not farm work, Janie’s discontent remains.

Janie’s situation and location may possibly change, but she still remains conflicted. She is forced to accept what society wants for her in the place of finding out for herself. This really is one of the novel’s themes. People find their hopes and dreams through conflict, and the conflict in the novel helps you to explain this to the reader.

Works Cited

Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. University of Illinois Press, 1991.
Wall, Cheryl A. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Casebook. Oxford UP on Demand, 2000.