Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Their Eyes Were Watching God
The significance of the title of the novel, "Their eyes were watching God" is debatable. There are two primary times in chapter 18 that the title is directly referenced in the book that seem to have a racial connotation, thus touching one of the book's central themes. The first reference says, "the time was past for asking the white folks what to look for through that door. Six eyes were questioning God." In this inference, the author accuses black people of looking to the white people to learn of their futures.
They only turn to question God when they realize that the answers that they seek will not come from the white people. For instance, when they followed the white people and hung around the Everglades when the hurricane was coming, they ended up being in danger and suffering rather than being safe. In the second inference, "they seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." It could well mean that they were literally in the dark with lights out or that the darkness meant their black skins. Nevertheless, there is a sense of not questioning God but waiting and watching what God will bring their way.
Furthermore, the title could be about independence and not following others to tell you of your future. Janie in the book depicts this clearly as she rejected other people's ideas on what she should want in her life and goes after it, such as love. She figured that the only option is to wait on God for her future. Most of the black characters' desires are fueled by what they can see, mainly white people. Nanny is such a character who looked to the white people in terms of material belongings and wealth to determine what her future held. She eventually was led astray. The author used this as a sharp contrast with Janine, probably to reinforce the title that all eyes should be fixed on God rather than other people.
The title also powerfully depicts that God is the master of all, both Black and white people. As such, there is nothing that happens that is by the people's free will. With the already existing notion of the 'master-slave relationship, the black people Take some comfort in God being the equalizer, and the white people may just as well be slaves of God. Free will is irrelevant in one's life as everything is seemingly controlled by fate, and later God controls both nature and destiny. It is only befitting that all eyes are set on God, who holds the people's joys, sorrow, and existence.
The book manages to ring to light how gender roles apply in society. Hurston portrays the societal hierarchy as, in Nanny's eyes, white men were highest and looked down upon black men while the black men, in turn, looked down upon the black women. In short, everyone treated black women poorly. According to the author, men are more practical than women, as depicted with the quote, "Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly" Women are portrayed as holding on to unrealistic dreams and often failing to distinguish between those dreams and reality.
Similarly, the mark of matur...