The Search for a Message

            Does Hurston’s novel have a message? After reading two books so centralized around the problem of race, Hurston’s book feels somewhat underwhelming. Richard Wright seemed to think so, saying Hurston’s “novel carries no theme, no message, no thought.” However, part of the problem is that we came in probably expecting another novel based around race. While searching for the message on race, we can miss the Hurston’s discussion on gender and culture.

            In Hurston’s novel, we meet Janie, who is the black female protagonist of the story. As readers, we get to see her become independent. She learns how to do several skills, such as shooting a gun, which at that time, would be unusual for a woman to know how to do. Instead of staying in Eatonville to mourn the loss of her husband before remarrying, she does the unconventional and leaves with a stranger to eventually go work on the Muck. Janie doesn’t want to be treated as a wealthy person but instead wants to be working along with Tea Cake and his friends. Janie knows what she wants to do and does it. Present day, this sort of story wouldn’t be surprising, but when this book was actually published, it would have been a lot more surprising. The novel depicts the empowerment of Janie, which is somewhat revolutionary.

            Another key thing to remember is the culture depicted. As we learned in the documentary, Hurston grew up and studied these southern rural communities and had a deep interest in them. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a way for Hurston to show to the world what these communities were really like. She doesn’t show all her knowledge about those rural towns, but we get to see some aspects like the porch where the community members would come together to meet. The introduction of this culture can also go over our head, because of the time period we’re in. When this book was published, there were not really any books taking place in those rural areas, and if they did, the people were usually represented by what society thought they would act like. For Hurston to show these communities in this way would be something different and new.

            Overall, Hurston’s book did have a message to show us, but it can be easier to miss since her messages are much more drastic in another time period and are less race related. Having a black female protagonist would be normal by today’s standards, and we don’t really have a pre-existing idea of these rural communities from a previous time period. All of that plus the expectation for a message on race makes the novel seem much mellower. However, once put into perspective, I think it’s quite evident that Hurston’s novel has a message and a somewhat radical one at that.