Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Their Eyes Were Watching God
One thing that made me angry when watching the movie, was the scene, NOT in the book, in which Janie, as a girl, is swimming and looking up at the sky, and when Nanny asks her about it, Janie says that she is "watching God." It feels like this gratuitous inclusion cheapens the phrase because when used at the end of the book, it has several deeper meanings than a girl floating on her back staring at the sky. For one thing, because the characters are in the midst of a terrible storm, they can be "watching God" because they are observing the power exerted in the natural forces. They are also "watching God" to see how he might protect or provide for them, or not, and what he might allow to happen to them. It is also interesting in the "Life or death" aspect of the situation, as they might be about to go to God if they are about to die. However, throughout the entire book, the theme of growth and destiny/the unpredictability of the future plays with the title, as the characters often seem unable to control their situations and the lives into which they've been born.
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