Christine Schwartz Poetry Device Artwork

 head rag:  Janie's head rag symbolizes Joe Starks.  He makes Janie keep her hair in the head rag, just like he makes her keep her real self hidden.  She would like to talk to people in the store, but Joe does not allow her to.  When he dies, Janie takes off the head rag.  She is free of it.  She is also free of Joe, so she can finally be herself.  

pear tree:  The pear tree is a metaphor for Janie's vision of true love.  She wants it to be beautiful and fruitful, like the pear tree.  It appears several times in the book.  In her first two marriages, the pear tree vision is not fulfilled, but when she marries Tea Cake, the dream comes true. 

vultures:  A good example of imagery is the mule's funeral on pages 57-58.  The most interesting part is the vultures.  Hurston writes about them, "The flock had to wait the white-headed leader, but it was hard.  They jostled each other and pecked at heads in hungry irritation. . . . The Parson sat motionless in a dead pine tree about two miles off.  He had scented the matter as quickly as any of the rest, but decorum demanded that he sit oblivious until he was notified" (Hurston, p 58).  She makes the vultures seem human in a very vivid way.