Numerous critical pieces were dedicated to the review of racism and racial climate in the discourse of the literary works over the twentieth century. One of the most prominent ones is Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, which effectively conveys the mere essence of racism throughout the entire book. Although the subject of race isn’t a central subject of this literary masterpiece, students all across the globe are often asked to craft Their Eyes Were Watching God essay pieces regarding this subject. Read on to investigate the ways through which racism is unveiled in the story, especially considering its secondary role in the plot.

Racial Climate

Overall, it wouldn’t be a big of a surprise to point out that the story was set in central and southern Florida at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the historical perspective, Southern states enacted new bills that heavily disenfranchised African Americans. If you’re struggling to raise awareness over the racial climate in your essay about Their Eyes Were Watching God, just consider the historical context of the novel’s setting.  

The crucial point is that the author efficiently conveys the racial notions throughout the subjects of Jim Crow laws, decline in the political representation, and the implementation of the sharecropping systems. Basically, Their Eyes Were Watching God essay pieces often articulate regarding the success in Hurston’s intentions to represent the harsh conditions of the African Americans during the beginning of the twentieth century.

Secondary Role?

Yeah, we’ve mentioned that racial climate is a secondary notion of the novel, but we still insist on depicting it as an environmental obstacle of Janie’s path throughout the book. The next time you’re hesitant on how to characterize the racial climate in your Their Eyes Were Watching God essay, be sure to mention that this book explicitly represents the unjust behavior towards black individuals. One of the most prominent examples concerning the exceptional role of racial relations pertains to the second chapter of the novel. More precisely, Nanny Crawford reveals her own attitude towards female independence, which primarily relies upon attaining marriage.

By placing a substantial emphasis on the essence of racial relations, the author effectively represents how harsh the attitude toward African Americans could be. Taking into consideration the example of Tea Cake, who was forced to dig graves without having the need to proceed with this work, the author explicitly demonstrates the severeness of racial relations in the course of the novel. Similarly, any Their Eyes Were Watching God essay should focus on the direct actions conducted to oppress African Americans through the novel.

Social Issues

One of the most detrimental aspects regarding the author and her book was that she was heavily criticized for not revealing the issue of race as the most fundamental one. Since the primary focus of the novel was to circulate over the social issues, instead of stressing the racial climate. Because of that, any essay about Their Eyes Were Watching God should mention that the author missed a lot in depicting the beginning of the twentieth century in the Southern states. Regardless of what is your personal opinion on this matter, don’t underestimate other problematic issues revealed by Hurston in the novel.

Apparently, the author creates an atmosphere of oppression imposed against African Americans, which, in turn, is decisive for understanding Hurston’s intentions. Not only the blacks are depicted as the individuals who could not achieve any success because of their racial background, some of them also insist on this argument in the novel’s narrative.

Final Remarks

Overall, it doesn’t really matter whether race and racism are the central subjects of the novel or not. Importantly, Hurston conveys the idea of racial relations variously, including the episodes of direct verbal harassment to the general negative characteristics of the African Americans. Thus, if you’re struggling with your Their Eyes Were Watching God essay, kindly review the entire atmosphere depicted in the book will show you countless examples of how racism was enforced in the book’s setting. In either sub-topics, racial relations are worth studying in the context of Hurston’s literary masterpiece.