An Analysis of the Feminist Consciousness in the Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God_英语论文

摘要

《他们眼望上苍》是美国文学史上早期的女性主义作品之一。出版之初，正是黑人抗议小说潮流盛行的年代，因此，这部小说遭到了许多黑人作家和批评家的责难。故事讲述了女主人公珍妮共有三段婚姻，分别是与富裕的中年农夫洛根，有野心有财产的乔以及年轻自由开放的甜点心。

本文主要分为三个部分，第一部分介绍了作者佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿和《他们眼望上苍》，同时阐述了象征物像的概念和本文目的。第二部分是本文的主题部分，包括三章，从珍妮与洛根的婚姻，珍妮与乔的婚姻以及珍妮与甜点心的婚姻中女性主义意识觉醒过程中的象征物像来解读《他们眼望上苍》中的女性主义意识觉醒过程。最后一部分是结论，总结了珍妮的成长以及文中反复出现的象征物像的重要作用。

关键词：《他们眼望上苍》；女性主义；象征物像

Abstract

Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the earliest feminine works in American literature, which suffered a lot of criticism form African-American writers and critics since it was published in a period that the “Protest novel” was the prevalence. It tells a life-long story about a woman called Janie who has married to three men during her lifetime. Janie’s first marriage was with a wealthy farmer Logan, who was much older than her. After breaking up with Logan, Janie married to an ambitious man called Jody who has some possession. Her last marriage was with a young free-spirited laborer Tea Cake. 

This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part introduces Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God, it also expatiates symbolic representation and the purpose of this paper. The second part is the main body that includes three chapters. The symbolic representation of awakening of feminist consciousness is analyzed in detail in terms of the marriage of Janie with Logan, the marriage of Janie with Jody and the marriage of Janie with Tea Cake in theses three chapters. The last part is conclusion, which sums up the growth of Janie and the importance of the symbolic representations show up in the novel. 

Key words: Their Eyes Were Watching God; feminist consciousness; symbolic representation

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 A brief introduction to the author and the novel 1

1.2 A brief introduction to symbolic representation2

2. Demonstration 2

2.1 An analysis of Janie throwing away apron.2

2.1.1 Janie and Logan’s marriage.2

2.1.2 Janie’s fight against her husband Logan.3

2.2 An analysis of Janie burning hairband. .4

2.2.1 Janie and Jody’s marriage4

2.2.2 Janie’s fight against her husband Jody.5

2.3 An analysis of Janie putting on overalls6

2.3.1 Janie and Tea Cake’s marriage 6

2.3.2 Janie’s fight against social mores for Tea Cake7

3. Conclusion.8

Works Cited9

Bibliography10