Analysis of The Portrayal of The Protagonist in zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Wathing God.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam tugas akhir ini, saya akan menganalisis penggambaran tokoh utama dalam novel yang berjudul Their Eyes Were Watching God karya Zora Neale Hurston. Tokoh utama dalam novel tersebut bernama Janie Mae Crawford, seorang wanita berdarah campuran Afrika-Amerika yang menemukan jati dirinya melalui perjalanan hidupnya.

Hingga umur enam belas tahun, Janie hidup di bawah otoritas neneknya yang memiliki konsep pencapaian kebahagiaan melalui pernikahan. Perjodohan yang dilakukan neneknya adalah titik awal perjalanan hidup Janie menjadi wanita yang dewasa. Kurangnya pengalaman membuatnya percaya pada konsep kebahagiaan yang ditanamkan neneknya. Maka ketika pernikahannya gagal, Janie menikah kembali hingga pernikahannya yang ketiga dengan seorang pria yang umurnya jauh lebih muda dari padanya. Ia dapat menjadi dirinya sendiri ketika ia memutuskan untuk melepaskan diri dari ketergantungannya terhadap orang lain.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Life is full of choices; yet, we cannot choose where or when we are to be born and raised. Choices are part of human life, but not everyone can make good choices in life. Maturity is required for one to choose wisely and afterward one will be responsible for their decisions in life. Maturity is a stage of one’s life when one is truly aware of one’s true self. While true self refers to one’s real character or personality that is shaped by one’s life background. One’s true self is shown through the choices that one takes.

Their Eyes Were Watching God is Zora Neale Hurston’s novel which reflects this situation; when a person has to make decisions to find one’s true self. The protagonist is Janie Mae Crawford, an African American girl who grows under her grandmother’s rules and dominance. Hurston focuses on Janie’s process of finding her true self through the three marriages she has had. The transformation of Janie’s characteristics is shown clearly in the novel.

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Eyes Were Watching God, which was published in 1937. This novel is highly acclaimed as the most important work of Hurston. “Hurston became the most successful and most significant black woman writer of the first half of the 20th Century. Over a career that spanned more than 30 years, she published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography, numerous short stories, and several essays, articles and plays” (Boyd).

Alice Walker, another prominent African-American writer, rediscovered Hurston’s work in the late 1960 and on Hurston’s second novel she claimed that “there is no book more important to me than this one.” Some new books have also been written about Hurston afterwards. “Throughout her country, this novel is the required reading in many high schools and colleges” (Boyd).

Oprah Winfrey also admired Their Eyes Were Watching God, and she claimed this novel as her “favorite love story of all time.” Therefore, Winfrey produced a television adaptation of it. It aired for the first time in 2005 and it is estimated to have been watched by 24,6 million viewers, which further entrenched the novel in the public consciousness and in the American literary canon (Boyd).

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Maranatha Christian University literary work; the character that the reader or audience empathizes with” (Wiehardt).

Statement of the Problems

The problems that I am going to analyze in my thesis are as follows: 1. How is the protagonist portrayed?

2. Why is the protagonist portrayed in such a way?

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the study in my thesis are formulated as follows: 1. to analyze how the protagonist is portrayed.

2. to reveal why the protagonist is portrayed in such a way.

Method of Research

I conduct the library research for my thesis. First, I read the novel and I pay attention mostly to the protagonist in the story. Second, I read several reference books and search for some materials from the internet websites to create an objective analysis. After that, I start to write my thesis from Chapter One and then Chapter Two. In the end, I draw the conclusion from my analysis.

Organization of the Thesis

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CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

Having analyzed the novel, I would like to draw some conclusions. The protagonist has a complex life experience that shapes her. Janie Mae Crawford is introduced as a naïve, dependent and obedient girl who later is transformed by her life experiences into an aware, rebellious and independent woman. She is also portrayed as a persistent and tough woman as she makes herself able to face her complex life journey. She eventually finds her true self after going through three marriages that give her valuable lessons.

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Maranatha Christian University Janie’s persistence and toughness turn her failure in marriages into a better understanding of herself and her life. Through Logan’s mistreatments she becomes aware of what she deserves in life, instead of just being a slave who works hard doing manual labor every day. Her awareness of her desire together with her persistence leads her into her next marriages. Her awareness about herself happens through a process and it is not an instant change; therefore, through her marriage with Joe, she comes to another realization that money and wealth cannot buy her happiness. In the abundant life she receives, she feels empty because she is treated like an object. Being mistreated by Joe, Janie shows her rebellious nature; she rebels against the obstacles in her life. The death of Joe confirms that freedom is what Janie wants. She wants freedom to speak her mind and to be herself.

After knowing what she wants, she chooses to live with Tea Cake, the man who gives her that freedom. She feels alive as she never feels so loved and appreciated before Tea Cake comes into her life. However, the fact that the society puts males in control and power over females, also happen in Janie’s third marriage.

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Maranatha Christian University Janie’s persistence in finding happiness leads her into an awareness of her desire to be herself and to express herself freely, which lead her into the realization of the need to be independent. Her experiences have given her valuable lessons to be who she is at the end.

The analysis shows that Janie is a dynamic character. From being naïve, obedient, and dependent, she is later changed by her persistence and toughness in facing her life process, into an aware, rebellious, and independent woman. Her portrayal also shows how powerful the impact and influence the society can have on a person. Janie cannot be herself when the rigid rules and control from her grandma and her husband limit her movement. Janie’s persistence and toughness is the key for the changes of her characteristic in enduring life difficulties and later leads her into her freedom from the clutch of the norms of the society.

One can learn from Janie that one has the right to live one’s life according to one’s own way to be oneself and be responsible with one’s choices. After analyzing the novel, I can see how great the novel is. The protagonist’s life journey and transformation offer valuable lessons. The complex situation of Janie’s life reflects the situation in real life, that one’s life could be very difficult and complex. It makes her story more alive because the readers can relate the story to their own life. The readers could also see the example of a person who struggles and never gives up in finding her true self despite all the difficulties one has to face.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text:

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, Inc. 1998. Print.

References:

“Aware.” Def. 1. Oxford Dictionaries Online. Oxford University Press, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014

Bernando, Karen. “Characterization in Literature”. Storybites. 2014. Web. 14 October 2014.

Boyd, Valerie. “About Zora Neale Hurston.” Zora Neale Hurston. The Estate of Zora Neale Hurston. 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

---. “A Protofeminist Postcard from Haiti.” Zora Heale Hurston. The Estate of Zora Neale Hurston 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

---. “The Official Web Site of Zora Neale Hurston.” Zora Neale Hurston. The Estate of Zora Neale Hurston.2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

“Dependent.” Def. 1. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Pearson Education Limited, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014

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Maranatha Christian University “Independent.” Def. 4a. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.Pearson

Education Limited, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014

“Naïve.”Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7thed. Oxford University Press. 2005. Print.

“Obedient.” Def. 1. Cambridge International Dictionary of English. Cambridge University Press. 1995. Print.

“Persistent.” Def. 2. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7thed. Oxford University Press. 2005. Print.

“Rebellious.” Def. 1. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

“Tough.” Def. 2. Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.