Eyes that were watching God

I really like titles, and so this blog post is on the title of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Huston. The most obvious allusion to the title is when the hurricane approaches the muck, and "six eyes were watching god". But what does that mean, to be watching god? Obviously, Jesus himself doesn't descend from the heavens and bless the rains (African American Literature, not Africa).

Taking a step back, I think Hurston wants to show us how vulnerable the inhabitants of the muck are. As an anthropologist, it's her job to portray life in the muck as accurately as possible. She shows how much the black inhabitants of the muck are at the mercy of natural disaster and other things beyond their control. Interestingly, Mr. Mitchell noted in class that one main criticism for Their Eyes Were Watching God was that Hurston seemed to portray life in the muck as a frivolous and happy endeavor. Working all day and gambling all night, Tea Cake remarks that he "can't lose", which I'm sure many itinerant workers around the country had much to disagree with. However the hurricane scene somewhat dispels that notion.

Another thought that I had about the title was a possible religious message of the novel. Perhaps due to my nonreligious background, I couldn't find many religious allusions in the novel at least at first glance so I discarded that notion.

So what do you guys think? In my brief over-simplistic analysis of Their Eyes Were Watching God (I haven't gotten around to drafting my essay yet) I believe that the title refers to that scene only, but are there any others? Unlike Invisible Man, the titular idea isn't a central point in the novel.

Comments

  1. ZonaOctober 28, 2018 at 9:57 AM

    Interesting post! I agree, it's different that the title isn't explored super deeply, and especially since religion isn't a huge theme in this novel. But I think you're right that the line "six eyes were watching god" refers to their vulnerability. I guess this could also be a criticism of the novel, that none of the characters are self-reliant, just waiting and seeing what happens to them (this is probably something Ellison would say, I imagine). Although I don't really know much about Hurston, Ellison, or Wright's religious beliefs, but I think it would be interesting to understand that in the context of their novels.

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  2. Nina GalvezOctober 30, 2018 at 10:18 AM

    Good post! The only other reference I can see the title making is when everyone is watching Janie as she walks back to her house in her muddy overhauls. This might be a stretch but throughout the book, Janie is portrayed as angelic? in some way. Thus they are watching her? They could also being watching God to see what he will do to Janie. I don't know, just a few interpretations that are very big stretches. But for some reason I feel like that scene also relates...

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  3. EmmaOctober 30, 2018 at 11:40 AM

    I'm embarrassed because I didn't even catch that obvious reference to the title. That moment is a really powerful one, especially in combination with a reference to the title. It illustrates how helpless the men were in the face of such a grand natural disaster. It is interesting how religion isn't more of a central theme in this novel, considering the word "God" in the title.

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  4. IzzyNovember 2, 2018 at 3:07 PM

    I also am not from a religious background and the only obvious religious reference that I could see was the line "six eyes were watching God." However, I think there are possible illusions to maybe the story of Noah's Arc with the whole Hurricane thing. Maybe they stopped respecting God as much as they needed to or something while they were in the Muck. I know its a big stretch but I just felt it could be important.

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  5. Annemily HogansonNovember 5, 2018 at 11:25 AM

    I was also interested in how the title is religious but I didn't remember there being a lot in the novel about faith. When I was looking back through the novel though, I found a lot of casual references to God (for example "If God don't think no mo' 'bout 'em then Ah do" (on page 5), "De Lawd will provide" (on 13), and at one point it's mentioned that Janie doesn't work in the store on Sundays). Given this and also that the book was written by a religious woman in the 1930s, I think faith is supposed to be so ingrained in many of the characters' lives that it doesn't have to be discussed. I also googled why the book's title is what it is and my favorite theory that I found was that instead of living her life according to societal expectations or white people's expectations, Janie follows God's plan or only answers to her God. I also think it's interesting that Hurston might have felt the need to qualify a book about a woman following her own plan with a title that suggests it's actually God's plan.

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  6. Ayah JaberNovember 10, 2018 at 4:19 PM

    Interesting post. I like Annemily's theory but that leads me to wonder why the title was "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and not "Her Eyes Were Watching God." I wonder how conscious Hurston was about writing a feminist novel, I sort of got the vibe that this this story came to Hurston naturally and she was just more inclined to write about a female protagonist.

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