Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Imagery is the usage and formation of descriptions and details to create a mental image in the reader's head. These descriptions help create a vivid image in the reader's head and really enhace the reader's experience. Imagery can be found in almost any kind or form of literature and it a very important component in modern English literature. Imagery is used a lot in Their Eyes Were Watching God and it is very easy to point out because there is so much of it. The imagery used really helps the reader understand what is going on since they have images of the various events that go on in the book. The imagery was also helpful if some things in the book did not make sense and it adds emphasis and detail to the characters and events of this famous novel. Here is a list of the imagery I found in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1.  “the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume,” Description of Janie’s hair, which is a big symbol in the novel. Page 2

2. “time makes everything old so the kissing, young darkness became a montropolous old thing while Janie talked.” Time loomed on as Janie told her story to Phoeby. Page 7

3. “She had glossy leave and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her.” This compares Janie to the blooming pear tree and how it is blooming as she is growing up and becoming a woman. Page 11

4. “Mind- pictures brought feelings, and feelings dragged out dramas from the hollows of her heart.” Nanny is trying to raise Janie while remembering the past things from her life, and trying to do better this time. Page 16

5. “They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged.” This is symbolizing the start of a new day, and Janie has a new start for happiness. Page 33

6. “The fact that the thought pictures were always crayon enlargements of life made it even nicer to listen.” Listening to stories and talking makes life seem a lot better than it is to Janie; it idealizes things. Page 51

7. “The new moon had been up and down three times before she got worried in mind.” It had been a long time before Janie started to worry that she wasn’t falling in love with Logan as she hoped she would with time. Page 22

8. “She knew the world was a stallion rolling in the blue pasture of ether.” Life is fast changing and constantly moving. Page 25

9. “The women took the faded shirt and muddy overalls and laid them away for remembrance.” This was a description of the clothes Janie was wearing at the time, which was different then what she left wearing. Pg. 2

10. “From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom.” This describes how the pear tree grew during the seasons and how Janie should grow into a woman. Page 10

11. “There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight.” The mind is very complex, especially in Janie’s case and it works in strange ways. Page 24

12. “The shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world.” This is a good description of Joe Stark’s clothing and how stylish he was on the day he met Janie. Page 27

13. “Joe noted the scant dozen of shame-faced houses scattered in the sand and palmetto roots and said, “God, they call this a town? Why,’tain’t nothing but a raw place in de woods.”” This describes Joe’s first impression on the town of Eatonville and how rundown it was at the time. Page 34

14. “This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it. Her hair was NOT going to show in the store.” Janie was not allowed to let down her beautiful hair in the store and she was annoyed about it. Page 55

15. “His prosperous- looking belly that used to thrust out so pugnaciously and intimidate folks, sagged like a load suspended from his loins.” This describes how Joe was looking and getting much older, especially in his stomach since he was getting fatter. Page 77

16. “Tuh think Ah been wid Jody twenty yeahs and Ah just now got tuh bear de name un poisonin’ him! It’s ‘bout to kill me, Pheoby. Sorrow dogged by sorrow is in mah heart.” The rumor about Janie trying to poison Joe with her cooking is so much that it could kill Janie. She feels sorry for Joe and all of her sorrow is in her heart. Page 83

17. “Janie starched and ironed her face and came set in the funeral behind her veil. It was like a wall of stone and steel.” Janie did come to the funeral in clothing that looked like she was concerned and mournful over the death of Joe, but her veil blocked her unconcerned feelings on her face about Joe’s death. Page 88

18. “Those full, lazy eyes with the lashes curling sharply away like drawn scimitars. The lean, over-paddled shoulders and narrow waist. Even nice!” Janie notices some of the physical appearances of Tea Cake that make him so attractive, which impresses her a lot. Page 96

19. “In the cool of the afternoon the fiend from hell specially sent to lovers arrived at Janie’s ear. Doubt.” The devil had brought doubt to Janie after she had not seen Tea Cake for a while and she was starting to think if Tea Cake was worth it. Page 108

20. “Done took to high heel slippers and a ten dollar hat! Looking like some young girl, always in blue because Tea Cake told her to wear it. Poor Joe Starks. Bet he turns in his grave every day.” Tea Cake spoiled Janie a lot on expensive items and he did anything for her. Joe, even though is dead, must be really mad at Janie and cannot stand Tea Cake at all. Page 110

21. “But, don’t care how firm your determination is, you can’t keep turning round in one place like a horse grinding sugar cane.” You cannot stand in one place to accomplish something, but rather you must move around and have determination. Page 118

22. “Dirt roads so rich and black that a half mile of it would have fertilized a Kansas wheat field.” The dirt in the roads were so fertile and were rich in nutrients that it could all have been used to help a huge wheat field grow in Kansas. Page 129

23. “A little seed of fear was growing into a tree.” Janie’s fear that Tea Cake would end up running away with Nunkie was continually rising and what was just a little fear was turning into a lot of fear. Page 136

24. “Look at me! Ah ain’t got no flat nose and liver lips. Ah’m uh featured woman. Ah got white folks’ features in mah face.” Mrs. Turner thinks that she has physical characteristics that make her part of the white race, not the ugly black in her opinion. Page 142

25. “See dat! Mah woman would spread her lungs all over Palm Beach County, let alone knock out mah jaw teeth.” Any woman except Janie would yell and scream if they were whipped by their husbands and they would even retaliate, but Janie is the kind of person who would submit to it. Page 148

26. “The monstropolous beast had left his bed. The two hundred miles an hour wind has loosed his chains. He seized hold of his dikes and ran forward until he met the quarters; uprooted them like grass and rushed on after his supposed-to-be conquerors, rolling the dikes, rolling the houses, rolling the people in the houses along with other timbers.” The hurricane was rolling on and it was reaching its peak strength. It was destroying almost everything in its path and even killing people in its wake, leaving catastrophic damage. Pages 161-162

27. “Corpses were not just found in wrecked houses. They were under houses, tangled in shrubbery, floating in water, hanging in trees, drifting under wreckage. The hurricane was so devastating that it took bodies with it and threw them everywhere. Everywhere you looked in the muck there would be a dead body around. Page 170

28. “Ah done been done tuh de horizon and back and now Ah kin set heah in mah house and live by comparisons.” Janie says that she has lived her dream by finally finding love in her life and she is satisfied to be at home again. Page 191

My favorite example of imagery in the quotes listed is the one about the hurricane because it is the most detailed description of all the quotes. It shows how strong and powerful the hurricane was and shows how devastating the hurricane was. This quote really helps the reader understand what the situation was like for Tea Cake and Janie and is so detailed, which is why I like it so much. This is a great example of putting a vivid image inside the reader's head so they can see what it would be like to be at the sight of the hurricane. This quote can even help the reader understand what is going on and a mental image can help the reader follow along with the story. This is definitely my favorite quote and the best example of imagery because of its ability to create a mental image in the reader's head.