comparison paper.

Now a days you can see that women have a lot of power in the home, the work place, and even in politics. Women had to triumph over many struggles such as men believing that they were the "inferior" sex to get where are. Some men never thought to think of the men who started wars because they were so powerful. Wuthering Heights and Their Eyes Were Watching God are both stories that show how powerful certain women can be and what it took to gain their current power. Both authors use devices such as theme, narration, and character analysis to illustrate how powerful women can be.

In both stories there is a controversy with society and nature. Both Janie and Catherine both chose which one they were going to rival. Catherine knew who she loved but decided to go against nature and marry for money. In the end this was her downfall but if she hadn't made this mistake the second generation wouldn't have had Cathy who chose to go against society and be with the one she loved.Nature always prevails and Catherine's mistake had a greater purpose and made a stronger woman to stand up to society eventually change what is "right and wrong" in the eyes of society.

Janie first listened to what society said was good for her but then she decided that nature knew better and she continued to follow her heart. The first move she made on her own wasn't a very good judgement but like Catherine her mistake made her future strong and gave her knowledge to understand more. When she entered into her last relationship it was the smartest decision yet but it ended badly. Even though this happened she had power that was unthinkable at the time and she went through a lot to get it.

Hurston illustrates how far Janie came by allowing her to tell her own story from her first kiss to the day she came home in nothing but overalls. The way she told her story and left no details out showed how strong she was after she endeared all of this. She went through death, trust issues, heart-ache, abuse, and verbal restraint. All of which eventually made her a better person in the end. Her natural beauty made her powerful but her head-strong manner added to this power she harbored. When her husband died she was not only free but rich, which made her even more desirable to the men of the town.

Bronte took a different approach when it came to the narration of Catherine. Instead of letting Catherine tell her won tale she put it in the hands of a maid and friend Nelly. Nelly's narration was told inside of Lockwood's narration which made it a bit sketchy forcing the reader to make up the story in their own mind. You have to figure out what you do and don't believe, and what could possibly be exaggerated. Because Nelly was the non-objective insider she could have added things to the real story to make it sound more pleasing to her ear. Lockwood was a bit more practical seeing as though he was a man and didn't know anything except for what Nelly told him while they were talking. When it came to the story of Wuthering Heights and Thruscross Grange we had to trust the words of Nelly. Lockwood only had his own narration for the present. (his encounter with Catherine's ghost, Heathcliff, and the beautiful girl in the foyer).

When Bronte created Catherine's character she made her wild, childish, and partly superficial, but she had her own mind. She didn't become superficial until she was put in a different world were money was no object. There she met someone who could give her what she wanted (when it came to material things) and Heathcliff couldn't measure up in that department. He was a simple gypsy boy with no money and no civilized learning. Catherine's visit to Thruscross Grange made her stuck-up but she still had the essence of wild child when it came to her temper and utter amusement.

Before she met the Linton family she didn't care about society, she loved Heathcliff so much that she told Nelly that he was her, literally an essential part of her. They grew up together and if she had just followed her heart she could have saved so much heart-ache, death, and social issues. The destruction that she caused illustrated how powerful this one woman was even long after she died. Her influence on the people lives who she left behind were simply incredible. you can decipher whether that was a good or bad thing.

Hurston took a different route with Janie's unique character. In Their Eyes Were Watching God the people in Janie's life influenced her instead of her influencing them. Each and every significant character shaped Janie's personality and built her strength over the years. Her grandmother showed her how sacred the bond of marriage was at a young age but she didn't understand until she got to her second marriage. Since she was still so young with her first husband she easily left him when she got miserable and had an opportunity to do so. She became one of the women who was the "mule of the world" (as her grandmother once told her) and was controlled by her husband for 20 years. His death led to her freedom and she was back to no BS Janie but was no longer the victim of naive adolescence. After she found herself she finally found true love and acceptance.

Both Hurston and Bronte told stories that made people realize how powerful women really are in two completely different fashions. Both ways were intriguing and affective. No one could miss the point that Catherine and Janie were both very strong females who went through trials and tribulation to get the life they wanted. Every mistake had a purpose in the end and you can almost create a story in your mind if you think "what if this didn't happen?" and have your own alternate ending to both stories. If Catherine had married Heathcliff from the start or if she never had got bitten by the dog what would have happened?. If Janie had finished school like her grandmother originally wanted her to do what kind of person would she have become?