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Junot Díaz’s ‘Drown’ and Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ illustrate various ways minorities are despised, condemned, and oppressed by society. Yunior, the main character in ‘Drown’, and Janie, the main character in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, struggle to agree with the way society perpetuates class distinctions, and force themselves to look through the limiting lens of class. In both ‘Drawn’ and ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, there is a theme of social pressure that is associated with poverty, racial oppression, and social gender roles. The view of poverty in both ‘Drown’ and ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ is pejorative, and this negative view of poverty pressures individuals to develop a social hierarchy and classist hegemony, which then creates systematic oppression against people that are in unfortunate positions.
In both ‘Drown’ and ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, the main characters are aware of the status attached to poverty because of the views of individuals around them. Yunior’s perception of class comes from his classmates. He realizes that the children will not look at him and will try to hold their breath when he gets close. The children’s reaction illustrates the overall influence of class distinction in every generation. It represents society’s rejection of poverty and what society does not want to accept – the poor. The odor of poverty refers to the part of a person that is unacceptable by society. Yunior, with his bad smell, does not live by the social criteria of acceptability. The odor isolates Yunior, no matter how hard he tries in school, because society does not tolerate the odor of poverty. The bad smell is a sign of Yunior’s harsh exclusion. Moreover, the children at Yunior’s school do not interact with Yunior because he could not afford a school uniform or a proper mascot. The children’s action corresponds to the way American society perceives people in poverty. The ignorance of the children illustrates that society is condescending towards impoverished people by forcing individuals to only communicate with others who are in the same social class and share common interests and values.
Similar to Yunior, Janie’s conception of class comes from her grandma, Nanny. Nanny begs Janie to marry Logan after she discovers that Johnny Taylor has kissed Janie. When Janie refuses to accept her request, Nanny violently slaps Janie for her insolence. Nanny’s action discloses her assertion of social classes – individuals are essentially locked into the class they were born into because they are being judged by a highly class-sensitive society. Modern society implies that a woman should find a rich man to marry to gain financial security. This is evident when Nanny laughs at Janie for her idea of love, saying that being a fool does not kill anyone, but it can make that person sweat. Nanny tells Janie that she should marry to get rich instead of working hard like all other black women in the town. The way she expects Janie to get money fits what society wants a woman to do. Nanny represents a society that enforces the idea that a woman will never be able to enter the higher tier of society unless she can marry into it. Nanny’s definition of a successful relationship and marriage is categorized as pragmatism. This is evident when Nanny berates Janie for not appreciating Logan’s wealth and status. She doesn’t care about the standard of emotional fulfillment or romantic desires. As a former slave, her version of love is someone who is well-off and could offer physical security. Nanny believes that Janie’s race and gender will not protect her against harm, but money and land will. This is evident when Nanny tells Janie that she should love Logan because she will get a house and sixty acres of land, which is the best a black woman could ever imagine; she says that these material items qualify as love. Nanny wants Janie to gain respect from the townspeople so that she can communicate and share her ideas freely. Nanny wants to ensure that Janie has all the tools and resources she needs to survive in a white-dominated world. Although slavery has ended, Janie still suffers from the impact of slavery, racism, and the mentality that white people are superior.
In both ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ and ‘Drown’, poverty is viewed condescendingly, as a trait that must be hidden. Although Yunior and Janie both are suffering from the effects of poverty, their ways of escaping poverty vary. Yunior attempts to hide his low economic status by cleaning the house and hiding the government cheese. From his childhood experience, Yunior notices that poor people have to appear rich to not be completely dismissed and isolated from activities and events. He knows that when someone is poor, people tend to refuse to associate with them because they see that person as someone who needs help. In Yunior’s view, if poor people want to avoid judgment, they have to be careful about their appearance, attitude, and behavior. They have to keep themselves and their homes clean and neat. His action of taking down embarrassing photos shows how he does not want to get humiliated because of his low socioeconomic status. This shows how he sees superiority in affluent individuals and wants to pretend to be one of them. People in poverty are forced to follow these guidelines to improve their living conditions and what others think about them. They are forced to work on their presentation when the wealthy and the rich do not have to do so. Yunior feels embarrassed and vulnerable by his economic status, so he pretended to be wealthy because he wishes to build his status and gain respect from his community. Yunior chooses to clean his house, hide his cheese, and mask his identity to avoid the stigma of poverty. He decides to approach the systematic oppression associated with poverty by concealing his true identity. His action establishes the impression of how classism and hierarchy force destitute individuals to be judgmental towards their lives.
Janie approaches the issue of poverty in a different way than Yunior. Nanny and Janie try to hide their low-income status by having Janie marry the wealthy. Janie ultimately decides to marry Logan to escape poverty. She acknowledges Nanny’s idea that the more money she has, the more respect she will get. She accepts Nanny’s arrangement of her marriage to Logan due to financial security. Janie escapes poverty through marriage because it provides her with food, shelter, and health. Janie’s marriage for money also changes her status in society. She decides to take what she considered the fastest way to escape poverty and be independent because she now values comfort more than love. She knows that money will secure her future. Janie wants to create a better future despite the existence of social pressure on her financial status.
Yunior and Janie’s cultures get ignored despite having a culturally rich heritage forged by colonialism, slavery, and immigration. Yunior experiences racism and stereotypes pertaining to his background as a Dominican immigrant. Yunior struggles with the definitions of femininity and masculinity. Yunior tries to fit in by adopting characteristics that he thinks are superior. This is evident when he tries to flirt with girls like white boys. Yunior’s change reflects how society is struggling to accept its cultural differences. Yunior tries to deny his characteristics that are contradictory to his masculinity through his attempt to flirt with the opposite sex. His attempt to resolve the social stigma about what it means to be masculine reveals his feeble personality. Instead of changing the people around him, Yunior chooses to change himself, allowing the system of oppression to reign supreme over his life and choices. The gender stigma makes the assumption that women are submissive and acquiescent.
Logan demands Janie to perform labor and says she is spoiled when she refuses to chop the wood. In Logan’s view, a woman should always satisfy her husband’s demands. Janie’s second husband, Joe, is very masculine and represents aggression and power through his purchase of land, control over Janie, and dominance over the townspeople. He displays social superiority and masculinity. This is evident when the townspeople see him as a version of the white slaveholder. Through this example, it is clear that money and ambition give power. Joe does not want others to change his authority and tries to change Janie into the type of woman he wants. He tries to prevent Janie to give a speech and hides her hair. Janie’s hair is an essential aspect of her identity. The distinction between activities appropriate for men and those appropriate for women is shown in ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’. Janie is prohibited from speaking her mind, playing checkers, and attending mule funerals. Janie struggles to follow a woman’s role. She feels inferior to men and feels obligated to follow her husband’s command. Janie wants to talk back to Joe, but she remains quiet. Janie’s internal conflict represents how she wants to challenge other peoples’ ideologies. Her hesitation to change represents the difficulty of changing the way society perceives women and their roles.
In both ‘Drown’ and ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, people judge other people’s intelligence based on gender and skin color. It forms the idea that they will not fit into their peculiar molds despite how hard they try. This is due to the way humans are drawn to the person that resembles them the most. Yunior and Janie’s similarities are important because someone seldom fits a particular stereotype. Yunior and Janie struggle with the gender roles that are set by society. They both face oppression and classism, although they respond differently to the oppressive environment. Janie and Yunior are adopting other peoples’ views on poverty and feeling the urge to improve their economic status because they are sensitive to how other people perceive them. Janie accepts Nanny and Joe’s ideologies. There are several issues that are related to poverty, gender, and race in society. When people are given fewer opportunities due to their gender and race, it exacerbates poverty. Poverty limits educational opportunities which could help individuals escape poverty, as shown in Yunior’s case. People accept that class distinction is normal. Social pressure comes in the form of comments and criticisms. Society is forcing people into categories that do not fit them and refusing to give people the opportunities that are best for their interests. Individuals are harshly criticized if they do not fit into their roles that are put by society.
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