Posted by kip on 3/17/2005, 2:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Their Eyes Were Watching God" kip
Link: http://i.am/zora
129.115.206.173
yes -- that's the "ships on the horizon" -- the ship is the hope, the unknown quantity, anticipated. can't do anything about it, but hope. the die is cast, and that's what it means to live a fatalistic life. fatalist, believing in fate. that was the life janie led before teacake. before she asserted what she wanted, succumbing to the will of grandmother, killicks, whoever. not expressing her opinion because she was not in control anyway. so her opinion didn't matter.
once she took control, asserted her personal "Agency" (fancy academic meaning: ability to make decisions), she no longer needed the ship. with teacake, she CREATED her own ship, actively and through personal strength and will. that ship, that "fate" was within her control.
this does not necessarily mean "their eyes" is an agnostic or atheistic novel. it is not a question of believing in God or not -- it is a question of being passive or active. we may believe in God yet still assert our personal decision-making. in fact, when people turn over all their choices to fate/god (some omnipotent, untouchable power dictating life), that's when things get ugly:
gambling. toleration of abuse. underachievement. self-hatred.
essentially, janie's eyes were watching God, hoping for God to fix her life. when it came down to it, janie had to look at herself in the mirror. her own skin. her own eyes. she had to fix her own life. self-sufficiency, independence, agency.
asi es. janie por fin tomaba control de su propia vida. pues ya no encontro' dependencia inevitable en dios. que viva la Janie, y viva la Zora.
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