Their Eyes Were Watching God - Rebirth of Transcendentalism Essay Example for Free

Their Eyes Were Watching God Rebirth of Transcendentalism Essay A century slipped by between the time of introspective philosophy and the distribution of Zora Neale Hurston’s epic, Their Eyes Were Watching God. During this time, the methods of reasoning of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau blurred as the post-war period of social authenticity started to rule American culture and American writing. Along these lines, Their Eyes, distributed in 1937, was disdained and reprimanded by numerous individuals for not being â€Å"political or serious† enough. It was not until twenty years after Hurston’s demise that individuals started to acknowledge Hurston’s works, particularly Their Eyes, as significant literary works in the African American and the American women's activist developments. With further examination, despite the fact that Their Eyes is an advanced novel, it really returns the perusers to the time of Thoreau and Emerson; Their Eyes Were Watching God has components of introspective philosophy †confidence, individuality, and the over-soul †as bolstered by the expositions of visionary scholars. To start, an essential thought of introspective philosophy is confidence, which focuses on a person’s own judgment and instinct. Janie, the hero of Their Eyes, shows confidence when she utilizes her own decisions for the battles she faces. For instance, as she understands that her marriage with Jody is tumbling down, â€Å"she saw that it never was the fragile living creature and blood figure she had always wanted. Simply something she had snatched up to wrap her fantasies over. [†¦] She had an inside and an outside now and abruptly she knew how not to blend them† (Hurston, 72). Janie knows her objectives and wants, both are which broken by Jody, so she should now recognize the distinction between the falsehoods and reality of her fantasy. Along with fearlessness, her instinct invigorates her the to talk up to Jody on his passing bed. Besides, when she at long last finds the affection for her life, she feels â€Å"a self-squashing love, [allowing] her spirit [to] slither from its covering up place† (Hurston, 128). She doesn’t shroud her emotions however goes to seek after her darling, Tea Cake. She is solid will and has authority over her emotions and contemplations. Indeed, even Tea Cake urges Janie to utilize her own psyche, â€Å"‘Nobody else on earth family hold uh flame tuh you, infant. You got de keys to de kingdom’† (Hurston, 109). As Emerson would state that Janie has visionary standards in light of the fact that, â€Å"[She has the] respectability of [her] own psyche [†¦] What [she] must do is every one of that worries [her], not what the individuals think† (Emerson, 80). Her past encounters and her current decisions lead Janie to creator her own way later on. Just when Janie depends on herself and holds her â€Å"keys to de kingdom† does she discover her satisfaction and contact her fantasy. Besides, another component of introspective philosophy is rebelliousness, or independence, which focuses on the significance of finding one’s personality as opposed to surrendering to society. Emerson clarifies rebelliousness as â€Å"the extraordinary man who amidst the group keeps with immaculate pleasantness the autonomy of isolation (Emerson 80). Janie shows precisely this on the day she shows up back in Eatonville. Wearing her blue silk dress, she unquestionably strolls past the ladies and men, overlooking their destructive tattles and leaving them in stunningness. In spite of her isolation because of Tea Cake’s demise, Janie invites her autonomy; she is flawlessly calm with herself. In addition, Thoreau likewise expounds on individuality; he composes, â€Å"The just commitment which I reserve a privilege to accept that is to do whenever what I think right [†¦] They just can compel me who comply with a higher law than I† (Thoreau, 104). Janie shares Thoreau’s demeanor when she faces both of her late spouses and pronounces what she accepts is correct. Logan reveals to her that she doesn’t have a place anyplace however â€Å"‘It’s any place Ah need yuh’† (Hurston, 31). This is presumably the most exceedingly terrible thing he can say to his love bird; it’s destructive, defaming, and ill bred. In any case, in contrast to the various ladies, for example, Nanny, during the time, Janie supports herself by shouting back at his wrongs so she can recover her autonomy and nobility. With respect to Jody †a spouse who makes her tie her hair back, prevents her from securing discourse and social connection, and misuses her †Janie at long last takes up the fearlessness to come clean at his deathbed. â€Å"‘All dis bowin’ down, all dis submission under yo’ voiceâ€dat ain’t whut Ah hurried off down de street tuh get some answers concerning you’† (Hurston, 86). Jody has squashed her deepest desires and her picture of affection, and she’s not going to let him overlook that. She would not comply; she has no commitment to comply. After Jody’s passing, Janie is at long last free. Much more, she feels no regret and she doesn’t grieve in light of the fact that the lost of her better half gives her back her independence. To wrap things up, the over-soul is another point of convergence of introspective philosophy; it associates God, Nature, and Man. Emerson writes in his paper, Over-soul, â€Å"We live in progression, in division, in parts, in particles. Interim inside man is the spirit of the entire; the astute quietness; the all inclusive excellence, to which each part and molecule is similarly related; the interminable One† (Emerson, Over-soul). This over-soul associates the wrecked bits of the universe together. Hurston’s Their Eyes contains numerous subtleties that help the over-soul. For example, first and foremost Janie â€Å"saw a residue bearing honey bee sink into the sanctum of a sprout; the thousand sister-calyxes curve to meet the affection grasp and the elated shudder of the tree structure root to most diminutive branch creaming in each bloom and foaming with delight† (Hurston, 11). This symbolism of the honey bee and the blossom represents Janie’s dream. The honey bee and the blossom existed together in congruity, much the same as what Janie trusts her marriage will be. This is Janie’s blameless soul as portrayed commonly. Later on be that as it may, as she’s constrained into wedding a man she doesn’t love, she starts to know â€Å"the expressions of the trees and the breeze. She regularly addressed falling seeds and stated, ‘Ah trust you fall on delicate ground’ [†¦] Janie’s first dream was dead, so she turned into a woman† (Hurston 25). As she develops more, she likewise starts to comprehend the sound of nature. Nature and Janie’s spirits have all the earmarks of being one, joined together and becoming together. She converses with the seeds, notice them, feeling for them of a world that can be frustrating and unreasonable. At long last, after she shoots her cherished Tea Cake so as to ensure herself, Hurston composes that Janie â€Å"pulled in her viewpoint like an incredible fish-net. Pulled it from around the abdomen of the world and hung it behind her. Such a large amount of life in its lattices! She brought in her spirit to come and see† (Hurston, 193). Despite the fact that it was an appalling and abrupt passing, Janie is in harmony. The adoration for Tea Cake won't be overlooked in light of the fact that he will consistently be with her. Janie now comprehends the riddles of nature and her reality; she is prepared for whatever that may come. Janie has learned and developed, above all, she has discovered her spirit. With everything taken into account, after a century, Their Eyes Were Watching God prompts the resurrection of visionary thoughts, including yet not constrained to independence, individuality, and the over-soul. All through her excursion, Janie starts to distinguish herself as a confident individual with a spirit, which are all supernatural attributes. In the mid 1900s, in light of the on going social equality developments, an African American lady is the least anticipated that individual should forces every one of these characteristics. All things considered, Janie Crawford turns into an unmistakable writing figure that gives individuals expectations and dreams, while satisfying those of Emerson and Thoreau. Reference index Emerson, Ralph Waldo. From Self-Reliance. The InterActive Reader Plus. Illinoise: McDougal Littell, 2003. 78-83. Print. Ferguson, Craig. Ralph Waldo Emerson †Within Man Is the Soul of the Whole; the Wise Silence; the Universal Beauty Transcendental MeditationBlog. N. p. , 27 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. . Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print. Thoreau, Hentry David. From Civil Disobedience. The InterActive Reader Plus. Illinoise: McDougal Littell, 2003. 90-105. Print.