Journal #8 - Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston chose the title Their Eyes Were Watching God because she wanted to highlight one of the ideas in the book. This title represents the idea that no matter how much power a man has, God still can control his fate. And when people realize this, they look up to God to watch for what God will choose to do.
Under this context, the already begins with a cynical view on religion. As I am reading, this view is supported by different effects that Hurston places in the book. Just thinking about the denotations of the title placed a religious feel onto the book.


Instead of using TEWWG, Hurston could have used a title like Struggles in Life and Happiness. This title would directly represent the growing up and search for happiness that Janie underwent and the obstacles that she faced during this period. Reading under this title would automatically define the plot of the book as Janie's battle for happiness, and would highlight examples of these struggles for me to notice.


My pastiche is called "Watching, Waiting" and I believe that this title works because a main problem in my pastiche is the submissiveness and lack of action by the main character, and this title would represent that. But also, the submissiveness and lack of action is represented abstractly by symbols, motifs,  and other techniques, with "watching" and "waiting" prominent among them. My title and my story both support each other.