In Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, uses a number of symbolisms such as color, the store, and her husbands to solidify the overall theme of independence and individuality. Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered by many to be a classic American feminist piece highlighting what life was like for African Americans in the post-slavery era of the early 1900s. One source summarizes the story as: 1 "one woman's search for fulfillment and liberation in a society where women are objects to be used for physical labor and pleasure." This is why the overall theme is concurrent with independence and the self. The first way the author uses symbolism to show the overall theme is with color. Many times in the novel Janie ostentatiously wears a different color depending on what is happening. Although the message is indirect, most can find meaning in it. Starting from the first chapter, the color Blue is mentioned. «... Where is the blue satin dress she left here?» (pg.2) This is the beginning where Janie returns with nothing and the women of the town gossip about her status and appearance. Even later the author shows that she wears blue because of Tea Cake, "Wait till you see the new blue satin Tea Cake chosen for me, you rise with him." (p. 115) Traditionally the color blue represents 2 depth and stability. It can also symbolize trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth and heaven. From the beginning Hurston indicates that Janie will have some of these traits and over the course of the novel the reader realizes that Janie is actually loyal, stable, wise and confident after meeting Tea Cake. The next color used by the author is white. . When Janie and Jody are about to build... middle of paper... James Robert Saunders, "Feminism as a Key to Understanding 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston and 'The Color' by Alice Walker Purple', " in The Hollins Critic, vol. XXV, n. 4, October 1988, pp. 1-11. Reproduced by permission.1. c.Robert E. Hemenway, in his Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography, University of Illinois Press, 1977, 371 p.2. "Pro Color Wheel: Meaning of Color." Color Wheel Pro: See color theory in action! Color Wheel, January 22, 2001. Web. February 13, 2012. .3. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 51: African American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940. A Bruccoli Clark Layman Book. By Trudier Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Gale Group, 1987, pp. 133-145.4. Hurston, Zora Neal. Their eyes looked upon God. New York: Harper Collins, 1937. Print.