Zora Neale Hurston’s Novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God described the struggles of what it meant to be a woman of color in America during the 20th Century in the South.  She brings this societal situation through the main character, Janie Crawford.  In addition, the main character is biracial.  So, because of her background, she is also discriminated and being taken advantage of for being a “mulatto” in the very same black society she lives in.  the most significant subject about this particular novel is that Hurston eloquently injected symbolisms throughout the novel from the beginning to the very end. As Janie’s story went on, there were more symbolism that enabled Janie to attain life experience and identity.   Hurston gives the reader an opportunity to listen to Janie recant her own story of personal growth through unsuccessful marriages to finding the meaning of true love. At the end of the novel, Janie found who she is as a person.  She has found her identity, which is one of the central symbolic themes throughout the entire novel.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston immediately uses one of the main symbols, identity, as one of the purposes for writing the novel.  The very first paragraph symbolizes the beginning of Janie searching for her purpose in life.  It stated, “For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked by death and time.  That is the life of men”(Hurston 1).  Hurston gives the reader so many questions to ask with this excerpt.  Is she trying to say that a dream can never be reached? Is she trying to say that in the beginning a dream is within your grasp, but as life goes on the dream begins to wither? And if any of these are true, is that what happened with Janie Crawford?  
    
Before Janie could even discover herself, Hurston first shows Janie’s Floridian roots to the reader.  Janie’s grandmother is introduced, being the only close family Janie ever knew.  She is very protective of Janie, petrified that something might happen to her if she ever allows Janie to become independent.  While Janie was young and naïve sitting under the pear tree, her grandmother made an identity for the black woman.  The grandmother thinks that “de nigger woman is de mule of de world”(Hurston 14).  Throughout her life, Janie’s grandmother experienced racism and gender inequality in addition of used to being a slave.  Her experiences made her come to the conclusion that in the world’s perspective, the black woman is nothing but a woman of no value.  Also, in the 20th century, black women were treated unequally compared to the white women.  The black women were being subjected to be treated like animals, particularly a mule, to carry the burdens of men all over the world (Dilbeck par. 3).