In Zora Neal Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie struggles to find what she desires out of her life. With the help of her sexual awakening, three key relationships teach Janie about what she wants from a relationship in order for her to not only be satisfied, but truly content with herself and her partner. Through twists and turns in her relationships Janie is challenged to remember this desire and prioritize herself by focusing on her own future rather than the future of her relationships. By looking at Hurston’s use of the symbolism of the horizon and its coupling with the road throughout the text, we can see Hurston is drawing attention to the struggle to find fulfilment and happiness in life. This is significant because by tracing Janie’s development throughout her relationships, we can see that the horizon and road represent what she desires in her future and what she feels she needs from a man to be happy. 

The symbolic meaning of the horizon is first seen when introducing the idea of symbolizing the future. Hurston draws to attention the symbolism of the horizon by using a metaphor of dreams being carried on ships and never reaching their destination. Hurston states “For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing…” (top pg.1). Hurston uses the word “others”, which means that Janie is not like them and she instead reaches her ideal future by the end of her journey, making this an example of foreshadowing. In addition, because this is after Janie has come home, it is possible at this point in time in the story Janie has already accomplished her dream and reached her desired horizon. This is significant because the horizon symbolizes future desires so by saying that she has reached hers, Hurston is implying that Janie has reached total fulfillment in life and is happy with where she now stands. Hurston has chosen to focus on the horizon because by tracing where it is talked about in the book, the reader can follow Janie’s journey and determine if she is actually happy in the end. Since this is the opening paragraph, the reader can assume that Hurston is trying to set a tone with what is written in it. By saying that dreams sail forever on the horizon, the reader gets a sense that they are often unreachable although as the next line states, they are close enough to believe they are still obtainable. This may be suggesting that in order to actually achieve your dream it is necessary to chase after it, and is not enough to watch it sail in the distance and hope for the best.

Through the use of Janie’s sexual awakening, Hurston introduces the reader to what Janie’s dream for her future actually is.  After observing the process of pollination, Janie realizes she wants the same passion and desire in a marriage that she sees the bees give the pear tree. She decides that this passion represents what love and happiness truly are, and this determines what her horizon is. Shortly after this realization, the symbol of the road comes into play, when Johnny Taylor walks down the road and kisses her. This parallels Jody’s walk down the road to her later in the story. The road symbolizes the opportunity to head in the direction of her dreams and to walk down a different path in life. When Nanny catches her, Hurston narrates that Janie “extended herself outside her dream and went inside of the house. That was the end of her childhood” (bottom pg. 14). Her sexual awakening and interaction with Johnny opens up a whole new world for Janie where she is treated as an adult instead of a child and presented with the opportunity to follow her dream. By saying that Janie “extended herself outside her dream” Hurston is showing that because Janie has now entered into “adulthood” she is now able to enter into a relationship. Although she has now come to understand what she feels a relationship represents and what she needs to be given in a relationship to be happy, she does not have a choice in the matter of her romantic life. In order to make Nanny happy, she will be married off to someone Nanny approves of, Logan Killicks since Nanny feels that Logan offers Janie who is a mixed race child, a better and more successful life. 

Over the course of her relationship with Logan, Janie realizes that she is not happy and has not achieved her horizon. Their relationship becomes dull, passionless, and Logan even begins to treat her like property by expecting her to work. In this relationship Janie is not treated as an equal and feels small and helpless. Although she is not happy in the relationship it has taught her more about her horizon and what she desires in a relationship. Through the way that Logan treats her she comes to understand that to be happy she needs a partner who allows her to be independent and successful on her own. It isn’t until the symbolism of the road appears again that Janie is able to once again hold out hope for her dream. Joe Sparks comes whistling down the road one day and captures Janie’s attention. “He did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon. He spoke for change and chance” (top pg. 35). Within this passage, Hurston narrates Janie’s belief that Joe represents what she now knows her dream is along with a potential new future and opportunity to escape the relationship she is currently in. Because he is walking down the road, Jody parallels the symbolism of the road and provides her the opportunity to leave her unhappy marriage to follow a new path with him. By saying that he does not represent sun-up and pollen, Hurston means that Jody represents the adult version of Janie’s desires instead of her childhood idea of a relationship. Janie’s ideal relationship used to simply be passion in her marriage but she has now come to understand that it is much more than that and she desires respect from her husband. Because Jody appears so proper and talks of marrying her and his business plans, Janie believes he has it all together. She thinks that leaving with him will allow her a chance at her newly molded horizon and that she will finally be happy. 

Throughout the course of her relationship with Jody she comes to realize that he is not the person she thought he was and cannot help her achieve her horizon. By the end of their relationship, which is brought on by his death, she has been silenced, beaten, and restricted. Joe does not allow her to flourish to her potential and she certainly does not find her horizon with him. After his death when she is alone in the house she contemplates what this journey to find happiness has led her to. Here, Hurston narrates “She had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people…But she had been whipped like a cur dog, and run off down a back road after things.” (bottom pg. 106). This passage is very powerful for several reasons. Janie is finally free to make her own decisions that are not dictated by Jody and in this passage she is contemplating on her past decisions. She realizes that instead of being in a relationship with someone who represented her horizon, she has been sacrificing what she desired to please Jody. This is why Hurston italicizes the words people and things, because the things represent the men and sacrifices in her past relationships, and people represents her idea of a husband who fulfills her dream and her horizon. This foreshadows that Janie may meet the husband that represents her horizon and allows her to prioritize herself.  Hurston says that she “has run off down a back road” meaning that instead of confidently heading toward her dream and being in a relationship that satisfied what she came to understand as her horizon, Janie has silenced and hidden her dream. The road is supposed to represent opportunity but instead in this relationship has represented the oppression of her horizon. She understands at this point that she needs to further challenge herself, and put her dream at her focal point, forcing herself to finally find her happiness. In addition, she has come to realize that her ideal relationship now also includes a husband who helps her facilitate her journey to her horizon and empowers her instead of silencing her. 

It is in Janie’s final relationship with Tea Cake that she actually achieves her horizon. In this relationship, she is empowered, sexually passionate, and finally happy. Tea Cake allows her to grow and develop on her own and spend the time realizing what makes her happy. She even works by her own choice unlike when Logan tried to force her to. She comes to understand how to prioritize herself and her own well-being seen in the fact that she shoots Tea-Cake so that he cannot further harm himself or her. Although after the tragic experience of the hurricane and Tea Cake’s death she is left alone, she feels completed. She returns to Eatonville, and is no longer searching for happiness. The reader knows that at this point in time Janie has accomplished her dream and reached her horizon. Janie solidifies this understanding by saying to Pheoby “Ah done been tuh de horizon and back now” (bottom pg. 225). Here Janie is telling Pheoby that her relationship with Tea Cake facilitated her journey to her horizon and that she is now content with her life. She references her horizon being accomplished once more when saying  “Here was peace. She pulled her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder” (bottom pg. 227). In this passage Janie wraps her horizon around her similar to a blanket, symbolizing that she is being comforted by the idea that she reached her horizon and is satisfied with her life. This is reinforced by the opening line of this quote saying that she has reached peace meaning that she has found her happiness and is able to hold onto it even though she is no longer in a relationship. Because Tea Cake respected and empowered her, Janie feels as though she does not need a man to make her happy and that she has accomplished all she needs to in order to satisfy her horizon. 

By using the metaphors of the horizon and road, Hurston has allowed the reader to trace Janie’s journey towards happiness. Because these symbols are reoccurring, it is easy to compare how Janie feels about her dream at different stages in her life and trace the development of her dream. By looking at when the horizon is first mentioned, the reader can clearly tell that it is meant to symbolize dreams. Combining that passage with the knowledge that Janie acquires through her sexual awakening one can understand that she desires a relationship and marriage that provides her with passion. Although this journey to find it is not an easy one, she does end up finding her happiness and accomplishing her horizon with Tea Cake. During this relationship Janie becomes empowered by being treated as an equal and is confidently able to tell Pheoby that she is satisfied with her life and no longer feels the need to search for someone to complete her. She has felt her passion, love, and respect that she desired to a point in which she is satisfied with herself and is now truly happy. 
