In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, a person learns the trials and tribulations in the life of a girl named Janie Crawford. Throughout the book, Janie goes from a small, little girl to a beautiful woman. Janie learns more and more during each day of her life. The author, Zora Hurston, expresses Janie's maturity through poetic imagery. In the book, Janie is compared to the blooming of a blossoming pear tree. Janie describes …showed first 75 words of 567 total…

…showed last 75 words of 567 total…fully. Self-realization is a personal journey that can only be made through gaining life experience. Therefore, Janie acknowledges the flaws inherent in retelling her life, but she does not necessarily undercut the importance of having found her voice and independence. Neither does she undercut the benefit of sharing her story with others. She doesn't believe that her story should be the single, authoritative guidebook to self-realization. It can, however, inspire others to reexamine their lives.