Their Eyes Were Watching God (Ch 14-16): Black Racism

In chapters 15 and 16, Hurston mentions once again the racism that exists in the novel. For chapters 6 and 7, I had blogged about the prevailing white envy that exists among the black community, and I was intrigued to make such a discovery when Hurston does not include a white character. In the next class after we read chapters 6 and 7, we discussed the prominent themes thus far in the novel, and we went into great detail about racism; however, we identified this racism prominently between blacks and not the traditional black-white racism. Through Mrs. Tyler's character, Hurston returns to the theme of racism within the black community. Mrs. Tyler believes herself to be superior to her black peers and also sees Janie to be part of the upper-class society. She tells Janie that they "oughta class off" because "de black ones is holdin' us back" (Hurston 141). Although she is considered to be black and not white, Mrs. Tyler completely separates herself and does not group herself in the "black ones;" rather, she and Janie are part of their own class. Mrs. Tyler reveals a strong hate towards her community and greatly aspires to be white. She claims that she has "white folks' features" but still she is "lumped in wid all de rest" (Hurston 142). One questions whether the racism that exists in Hurston's novel is largely developed by white people, or whether black-black racism helps to enhance racist thoughts. In the end, Mrs. Tyler cannot belong to either community because she refuses to associate herself with blacks, however, she cannot be considered a white person.