Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, uses a struggle that WEB Du Bois describes as "double consciousness" to trace the journey of Janie Crawford towards individuality. In “The Souls of Black Folk,” Du Bois describes African Americans as both gifted and cursed with “two souls, two thoughts, two irreconcilable efforts” because of their race. Hurston's text applies this theory, not to the struggle to find individuality amidst the demands of two different races, but to the struggle of a woman seeking individuality amidst the differing demands of society and herself. At the beginning of the novel, Janie plays roles that others expect of her, rather than fulfilling her own desires. This disparity between her needs and her actions creates a division within her, leaving her with two selves: the self that follows society's expectations and the self with her own desires. Janie's journey toward individuality is revealed in the gradual dissipation of the submissive self and the emancipation of the inner self. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The text first establishes the division between Janie's two selves when Nanny discovers Janie kissing Johnny Taylor. In her heart, Janie wants to be a “flowering tree” and feel “the embrace of love” (11). His soul cries out to “fight against life”(11) and to free his new sexuality. Nanny, however, believes that this is a “harm and danger” (13) and wants to save Janie from it by marrying her “in a decent way” (13) to Logan Killicks. Nanny's phrase, "marry properly" (13), indirectly conveys to Janie that she must conform, marry, and avoid her sexuality to be acceptable. The word “decent” suggests that sexuality is indecent, inappropriate, vulgar and unacceptable. Even though Janie's inner self does not agree with this interpretation of sexuality, Janie acts accordingly. She believes that marrying Logan Killicks would be “desecrating the pear tree,” but she doesn’t “know how to tell Nanny” (14). At that moment, Janie splits in two. One submits to Nanny's belief that sexuality is base and evil, and agrees to marry Logan Killicks. Her other, unrealized self continues to desire “to be a handstand” (11) and to embrace her sensuality. The fact that Janie cannot and does not convey this desire to Nanny shows her inability to assert her identity. Additionally, her behavior shows that she values ​​the demands and beliefs of others above her own. In her marriage to Jody, Janie places her husband's desires before her own, but she finally becomes aware of the self that struggles against her submission. Jody “wants her submission” (71) so that he can force her to sit in a “high chair” and have her as a symbol of his own greatness. He prevents her from participating in porch chats and other community events because he says she is above "that common, uh, mess" (60). At first, his submissiveness gives in to Jody's demands. To cope with his desires, “she does not change her mind but agrees with his mouth” (63). For a time, she “learns to keep quiet” (71) about her own desires and to play the role that Jody and the town expect of her. However, unlike Nanny, Jody realizes that she "knows very little" (71) herself and does not have to silently submit to Jody's beliefs as if they were more valid than her own. Furthermore, her many disagreements with Jody cause her to realize that she has “an interior” (72) where her forbidden desires and ideas reside. She discovers that her “interior” (72) contains “a host of thoughts that she has never.