The use of clothing in the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God." by Zora Neale Hurston

        In the novel Their Eyes were watching God Zora Neale Hurston portrays a woman named Janie's search for love and freedom. Janie, throughout the novel, bounces through three different marriages, with a brief stint at being a widow in between. Throughout these episodes, Hurston uses Janie`s clothing as a visual bookmark of where Janie is in her search for true love and how she is being influenced by those around her. Janie's first article …

…and heavy shoes, for they represented Janie's relationship with Tea Cake and showed that she had found true love and it was blind. All of Janie's clothes represent her search for true love and her relationships with those around her. When you look around, that is true most of the time in the real world, too. We all wear our clothes a silent messengers, and Hurston used this tool clearly and well in her novel.