Whartons The Age Of Innocence And Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching Essay

Whartons The Age Of Innocence And Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God. The Idea Of Society - Essay Example This is to say that society is made up of people and so any theme that addresses the needs of people addresses the needs of society. Consequently, when authors use their works to address specific and identifiable issues in society, what they are actually saying is that ‘society is giving a message to the people who live in it’. This is in this direction that society could be touted as being used as a character in a given novel or work of literature. In Wharton’s â€Å"The Age of Innocence† and Huston’s â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God†, we read of how the authors bring out specific aspects and issues of the America society at the time at which the stories were set. Based on the issues that the authors about the American society, it can be said that society was used as a character to speak out on matters that affects it negatively and how it wants these issues addressed by other characters around it. How each book conceive of the idea of soci ety In both books, the authors conceive the idea of society as a make up of different people, each of whom is aspiring to have their own versions of satisfaction by pursuing what their hearts desire most. In doing this, light is shed on the fact that even though each person may come into this world as an individual, the collective interactions that exist between each of each forms the concept of society. Each book thus conceives society as a make up different people with different ambitions that bring about variety and diversity. In essence, society is seen as a variety of individual beings, having a social interaction together. In â€Å"Their eyes were watching God† for instance, we read of how Janie and Jody, each having different ambitions for life. Whereas Janie was looking for her independence to be herself as a Black female, Jody was seeking ways of exhibit power and fame (Hurston, p. 16 and p. 43). The author of â€Å"The Age of Innocence† adds a new dimension t o society as a very powerful tool for determining the way that people ought to act. For instance even though Newland had fallen in love with Ellen and had planned on living his wife for her, the mere fact that he heard that his wife was pregnant made him resend his decision. What this means is that societal structures and systems such as the family system has so much power on the actions and deeds of the people within the society. It is not for nothing that even though it was said that â€Å"He had known the love that is fed on caresses and feeds them; but this passion that was closer than his bones was not to be superficially satisfied† (Wharton, p. 157), Newland could still not go ahead to take what he wanted because of the societal system. Who are included or excluded from each author’s society Hurston presents an American society that is made up of a White population, dominating a Black population. It was also made up of a Male population, dominating a Female popul ation. To this end, Janie, who happened to be both a female and a Black was supposed to experience a major exclusion from the author’s society. But interestingly, Janie could single handedly fight for a place in the society of the author even to the end of the book. This is because she defiled the gossips that were going on around her to ensure that she attained what she wanted in life, which was the independence of her identity. So at the concluding part of the story, it was stated that â€Å"It was not death she feared. It was misunderstanding† (Hurston, p. 188). This means that the major fight that Janie was involved in was a fight to give her a place in the s