| Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) is a very important feminist writer in African-American literature. She was a novelist, folklorist, playwright and anthropologist. She is regarded as the mother of black feminist literature. Alice Walker, Toni Morrison and many other black women writers are influenced by her. Her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God embodies the awakening of black women and are considered milestone in black feminist literature. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) is considered one of the best works of Zora Neale Hurston. When published in 1937, it didn't draw much attention as it receives today. Since 1970 Zora Neale Hurston has received much more attention and her works have been reevaluated. There are many researches and studies about Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Most of the studies are from the perspectives of feminism, post-colonialism, cross-culture and folklore. This paper aims to analyze the novel from a different perspective—Jungian Archetypal Theory.This thesis is composed of three parts. The first part introduces the author Zora Neale Hurston and her work Their Eyes Were Watching God and researches at home and abroad, and also the theory of archetype of Jung, that is persona, animus and individuation. The second part is the body of the thesis which includes three chapters. Chapter One introduces the first stage of the process of Janie's individuation, that is confronting persona. Through the analysis, the thesis shows that Janie's dependent on Nanny and her first marriage embody the initial stage of individuation. Chapter Two introduces the further stage of individuation, that is from the restriction of Janie's animus to its struggle and finally its realization. Chapter Three introduces the realization of Janie's individuation. The last part is conclusion. Through the analysis of Janie's dealing with three important archetypes in the process of individuation, a conclusion is reached that Janie realizes her way of individuation through her struggle. |
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