Nanny And Leafy’s Victory Over Slavery and Adversity

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Had been Watching God follows Janie Crawford’s journey by means of three marriages and her search for freedom, independence, and really like by means of black womanhood in the 20th century. In the starting of the novel, Hurston, via telling Nanny’s story, shows how black women of the 19th and 20th centuries have dealt with attempting to discover power and be resilient via adversity. In her novel Their Eyes Had been Watching God, Hurston uses Nanny’s journey in attempting to defend Leafy and the story of her struggles in performing so to portray how despite those struggles, she can overcome them by means of obtaining strength in her vulnerability as a black, enslaved woman.

Hurston very first portrays the thought of energy in vulnerability by way of alluding to the historical and cultural context of the lives of black ladies, and a lot more specifically, of enslaved black women and their female descendants. Soon after Nanny has sat Janie down soon after reprimanding her for kissing a boy from the neighborhood, Hurston begins to describe the situation of black individuals, by saying that they are “branches without having roots”, especially Nanny and other enslaved, black females (Hurston 16). Hurston’s use of imagery with the phrase “branches without having roots” expresses on one particular level that black men and women have no foundation or basis from which to draw strength or power, and on one more level, they factually do not have any roots in the United States, as practically all black men and women have been forced from their property countries and into America. Black folks are branches without having roots, connected only by their shared histories of struggle for freedom, independence, and humanity, with no foundation upon which they may possibly draw any strength to fulfill dreams. This shows how black individuals are born into instability since of the reality that they are black. This is substantial to mention since it means that despite the fact that they have no foundation from which they might draw strength from behind them, they have these “branches” or their offspring to do so, by continuing to work hard and with hope to give greater futures for them. Hurston shows that regardless of the lack of stability and strength, Nanny and other black folk could by no means be “beat down…so low” as to be “[robbed] of they will.” (16). Hurston’s tone expressed via Nanny in this line is one of resilience, with her producing an image of a black person getting physically beaten “low” but nevertheless preserving their dignity and their will—they can never be beaten down low sufficient. Near the end of that paragraph, Hurston’s repetitive use of “Ah didn’t want” (16) in 4 distinct lines shows how Nanny’s sheer will and determination in wanting a greater life for Leafy and herself allowed for her to find the strength to, with no significantly support, escape her scenario.

Later on in the chapter, Hurston particulars how Nanny discovered energy in her vulnerable state and predicament. Nanny’s mistress visits her bed following the Master has left for war, and is angered upon the sight of Nanny lying in bed with newborn Leafy. Hurston expresses this anger with the Mistress saying that Nanny does not understand “who is Mistis”, so she begins hitting her, and Nanny felt the “last licks” the Mistress gave her “burn like fire”, having not felt the very first couple due to the fact she was seeking soon after Leafy (Hurston 17). Hurston’s use of alliteration with “last licks” brings interest to Nanny’s resilience and strength, with the rolling ‘l’ sound contrasting with the simile “burning like fire”. Hurston’s use of this simile fleshes out the excellent physical pains Nanny endured in her fragile state, just possessing offered birth to Leafy. Fire destroys something it touches, and regardless of the burn of her face and physique at the hands of the jealous and angry Mistress, Nanny was not destroyed. Alternatively, the Mistress has even gotten to the point of feeling like she have to remind Nanny that she is the superior 1.

Hurston says that Nanny showed no visible signs of being impacted by the violence: “Ah didn’t cry” and “Ah didn’t do absolutely nothing else” (17). Hurston’s purposeful and repeated diction of “Ah didn’t” shifts the power more than to Nanny, as she is creating alternatives to not give in to the weakness the Mistress expected her to show. This is her finding strength in spite of her obvious vulnerability while lying in bed with Leafy in her lap. Alternatively she has a cool demeanor, saying that “Ah ain’t absolutely nothing but [an N—] and a slave” (17) to the Mistress’ face when asked how the child was white. Hurston’s use of dialect with “ain’t nothing” and the diction of “[N—] and slave” are apparent reminders to readers and to the Mistress that regardless of getting an object, not even a human becoming, in addition to becoming a black lady Nanny was capable to be equal, in a sense, to her white Mistress, and probably even greater because Nanny is the 1 in bed getting had the youngster of the Master, not the wife. In her submissiveness, saying she is “nothing”, Hurston is saying Nanny is everything—that she is equal to the white woman, probably even greater, and it is in this submissiveness and forced servitude that Nanny is nonetheless able to discover strength. Hurston shows that Nanny is not the promiscuous black slave-lady all raped black ladies were believed to be when they gave birth to the mixed-white children of their masters, but that they she and females like her are a lot more, far more for becoming a woman and a mother who protect her kids. Consequently, Hurston’s literary selections go beyond the story of Nanny as a character and serve to show the techniques in which black women have shown resilience by means of adversity in a historical context for the sake of their children and for far better futures.

Zora Neale Hurston makes use of Nanny’s story in Their Eyes Had been Watching God and her struggles as a representation of the struggles of enslaved black girls and attempts to further the idea that they are much more than the subservient attitudes they must take and the loss of independence and freedom they have had to endure. Hurston instead shows that there is yet strength to be found in that submissiveness through using their devoted adore and hope for a much better future as a path to relative independence and freedom.