A quote for any occasion
The Pear Tree Symbol Analysis. Throughout the novel, the pear tree symbolizes for Janie the feeling she experienced directly while sitting beneath it – the sense of possibility in life for a connection between the self and the natural world, and the feelings of sexual desire and love.
Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God , Hurston employs the symbolism of a pear tree – its mysteries and wonders – as a representation of Janie’s questions, hopes, and aspirations. The tree embodies the roots of her memories, the branches of her vision, and the blossoming of her dreams.
As Tea Cake is so much younger than her and might be after her money, Janie tries to talk herself out of being attracted to him. Here, the image of the bee attracted to a pear tree symbolizes the sexuality, passion, and natural energy between a man and a woman. Janie now feels complete within herself.
When Janie is sixteen, she often sits under a blossoming pear tree, deeply moved by the images of fertile springtime. One day, caught up in the atmosphere of her budding sexuality, she kisses a local boy named Johnny Taylor .
In many cultures spanning thousands of years, we can find references to the fruit of the Pear tree as a symbol of divine sustenance, abundance and longevity. The shape of the pear has represented the female form in the art world for centuries, creating a strong symbol of fruitfulness and femininity.
Janie’s hair is a symbol of her power and unconventional identity; it represents her strength and individuality in three ways. First, it represents her independence and defiance of petty community standards. Turner worships Janie because of her straight hair and other Caucasian characteristics.
The pear tree in “ Bliss ” symbolizes Bertha’s attraction to Pearl Fulton, a friend she has invited to her dinner party. In this moment, to Bertha, the pear tree looks like a huge flaming candle in the light from the moon and this symbolizes the strength of Bertha’s desire.
3. Why had Janie been spending so much time underneath the pear tree ? Ever since the pear tree began to bloom, “it had called her to come and gaze on a mystery.” Janie is enamored with the tree and loves to sit under it and listen to the bees among the flowers. 4.
Janie’s first husband was an older man, Logan Killicks . The marriage began with an arrangement by Nanny, Janie’s grandmother, and ended when Janie left with Joe Starks , her second husband. The marriage to Joe Starks ended when Starks died. Janie’s third husband was Vergible Woods, or Tea Cake .
Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of how Janie achieves a strong sense of self and comes to appreciate her independence. But her journey toward enlightenment is not undertaken alone.
Their Eyes Were Watching God possesses a unique structure. The story is told in the context of a “frame.” The novel both begins and ends with two people, Janie and Pheoby, sitting on the porch of Janie’s house. As the story proceeds chronologically, however, the story is not a first – person narrative.
Sam Watson convinces Pheoby to talk to Janie so that she doesn’t end up like Ms. Tyler, an old widow who was cheated by a younger man. Pheoby tells Janie that Tea Cake is too low for her, but Janie replies that while Jody wanted her to act pretentious and high-class, Tea Cake treats her as she wants to be treated.
Janie hopes that she will truly discover love through marriage where both individual’s share a constant love for one another. She imagines that her marriage will be just like the image of the bee and the blossom. For instance, to Janie , the bee represents the man coming to meet the woman, the blossom.
Born into slavery, Nanny tells Janie her life story when the girl is sixteen. Her experiences make her sadly aware of what can happen to an attractive woman. Her daughter , Leafy, was the product of the attentions of a white master. Nanny fled the plantation to escape a brutal beating promised by her mistress.
He dies in Janie’s arms after Janie is forced to shoot him to save her own life and relieve his pain.