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Essay / The theme of female liberation in their eyes looked at God
The Alpha femaleSay no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayZora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God shows black women in the South not as weak slaves and submissive to their husbands, but rather like black women from the South. Eyes charts Janie's evolution as an independent black woman. Outgrowing her three husbands during her adolescence into adulthood, she establishes her own role in the community. Fundamental differences between men and women govern her relationship with these men; but it doesn't matter, she triumphs over all. By taking on the strength of Logan, Jody, and Tea Cake, Janie indeed becomes the alpha male. During her first marriage to Logan Killicks, Janie is too young and inexperienced to realize the complexities of communication between men and women. Attracted by the fantasy of "the dust-bearing bee sinking into the sanctuary of a flower", she believes that marriages are a simple unification of any man with any woman, like any any bee with any flower. Directed by her grandmother, Janie marries Logan, a man who, while he certainly deserves some credit for his self-sustaining farm, definitely doesn't have the power to be the alpha male. Instead, he attempts to compensate for his lack of physical attractiveness by making Janie the more desirable woman. However, she sees clearly through his facade and leaves him in his world of illusions living on his farm on the fringes of society. By leaving him, Janie gains a better feeling of love; and that to achieve it, she must achieve it by herself. Joe Starks, better known as Jody, draws his power from those he steps on to reach the top. Although Jody originally resembles "a bee for her bloom" who would have "flower dust and spring sprinkled on everything", her charm and magic immediately disappear with their marriage. Her first impressions of him were that of the alpha male, well dressed and well educated; however, she soon realizes that his own insecurities cause him to lash out at others. According to Tannen's book You Just Don't Understand, Jody lives "as an individual in a hierarchical social order in which he [is] either at a higher or lower level" than the residents of Eatonville. In his struggle to reach the top, he presents Janie as his most prized possession and his representation of his power. However, Jody becomes too flamboyant and ostentatious with his gold spitting cup which, according to Gladwell's article Listening to Khakis, is "a fathead" or too "effeminate". In doing so, he loses his virility and his rank in the male hierarchical social order. Essentially, he becomes the fashion-conscious, overconfident woman. For years, Jody silences Janie and forces her to wear her hair up to hide her budding sexuality. Even toward the end of his life, when his power over the townspeople wavers, he tries to cling to the one person over whom he believes he has overwhelming influence. Like a beaten wolf fighting the other wolves of his idolized companion, Jody tries to keep her out of the public eye. Instead, he wants it to be visible enough to show it off; but very far away, so that men like Hicks would "collapse and lose interest immediately." The final confrontation between him and Janie ends up destroying him by castrating the leadership he cherishes. His attack not only humiliates his rank, but also deprives him of "his illusion of irresistible masculinity which all men cherish" as their undeniable privilege.,.