What does the pear tree symbolize in Their Eyes Are Watching God?

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.

What does the blossoming pear tree mainly represent for Janie?

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.

How does Janie describe the pear tree?

Here, the pear tree and the bees symbolize the energy and harmony of nature. The erotic language makes it clear that the pear tree also represents sexuality. Later in the passage, Janie thinks, “Oh to be a pear tree—any tree in bloom!” Janie’s wish shows that the pear tree also symbolizes Janie herself.

When Janie discovers the pear tree What do you think the tree represents Can you relate to this adolescent moment Or does it seem unique to her development what happens to Janie’s dreams when she marries Logan How do they change when she meets Joe do?

The pear tree, in particular, is symbolic of Janie’s sexual development and desires. Janie views her sexuality as a natural thing, just like this tree. Early on in the novel, Janie sits under this tree and thinks about love, sex, and marriage.

Why has Janie decided to sell the store?

Janie decided to sell the store because she didn’t want to keep it anymore and she knew that Tea Cake wasn’t cut out to run the store. Janie keeps two hundred dollars hidden in her shirt because Pheoby cautioned her to have something in case Tea Cake runs off and leaves her with nothing but the clothes on her back.

What did Janie’s hair symbolize?

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.

What does the pear tree symbolize in bliss?

The pear tree in “Bliss” symbolizes Bertha’s attraction to Pearl Fulton, a friend she has invited to her dinner party. The tree also represents hidden desire more generally throughout the story. During the dinner party, Bertha and Pearl stand and look through the window at the pear tree together.

What does a pear tree symbolize?

The pear tree is a symbol of comfort. In many Korean legends, the pear gives women fertility. It also bestows wisdom and health. In some Christian contexts, the pear symbolizes the Virgin and Child, likely because of its sweetness.

Who did Janie kiss under the pear tree?

Johnny Taylor
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.

Why isn’t Janie mean to Tea Cake when he comes back?

Why has Janie decided not to be nice to Tea Cake anymore? She doesn’t know the kind of man Tea Cake is so she is determined not to get sucked into another marriage without love so she decides to treat him coldly if he ever comes back. He doesn’t think Tea Cake is good enough for Janie and is worried about her safety.

What is Tea Cake’s real name?

Vergible Woods
Vergible Woods, known as Tea Cake, is the third husband of Janie Crawford, the protagonist of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937).

Why is Janie’s hair so important?

Hair. Janie’s hair is a symbol of her power and unconventional identity; it represents her strength and individuality in three ways. Her hair contributes to the normally white male power that she wields, which helps her disrupt traditional power relationships (male over female, white over Black) throughout the novel.

What does the pear tree mean in their eyes were watching God?

The erotic language makes it clear that the pear tree also represents sexuality. Later in the passage, Janie thinks, “Oh to be a pear tree— any tree in bloom!” Janie’s wish shows that the pear tree also symbolizes Janie herself.

What did they say about their eyes watching God?

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Quotes about Pear Tree and Horizon | SparkNotes Their Eyes Were Watching God She was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her.

Who was Tea Cake in their eyes were watching God?

He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom—a pear tree blossom in the spring. After two unsatisfactory marriages, Janie meets Tea Cake, a younger man who makes her laugh. It is a case of love at first sight.

Why was there a pear tree and a horizon?

The horizon and the pear tree represent conflicting elements of Janie’s nature. Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon—for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you—and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter’s neck tight enough to choke her.