Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston follows Janie Crawford's journey through three marriages and her search for freedom, independence, and love at through black femininity in the 20th century. Early in the novel, Hurston, in telling Nanny's story, shows how black women in the 19th and 20th centuries attempted to find power and resist adversity. In her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses Nanny's journey to try to protect Leafy and the story of her struggles to describe how, despite these struggles, she can overcome them by finding strength in her vulnerability as a woman black slave. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hurston first describes the idea of ​​power in vulnerability by alluding to the historical and cultural context of the lives of black women, and specifically enslaved black women and their descendants. After Nanny sits Janie down after scolding her for kissing a neighborhood boy, Hurston begins to describe the situation of blacks, saying that they are "branches without roots", particularly Nanny and other women black slaves (Hurston 16). . Hurston's use of imagery with the phrase "branches without roots" expresses on one level that black people have no ground or basis from which to draw strength or power, and on another level, they have no actually no roots in the United States, as almost all black people were forced to leave their home countries and emigrate to America. Black people are rootless branches, connected only by their shared stories of struggle for freedom, independence and humanity, without any foundation from which they can draw strength to achieve their dreams. This shows how black people are born into instability by virtue of being black. This is important to mention because it means that even though they have no basis to draw their strength from behind them, they have these "branches" or their offspring to do so, by continuing to work hard and with hope to offer a better future to their children. them. Hurston shows that despite the lack of stability and strength, Nanny and other blacks could never be "brought down...so low" that they would be "[robbed] of what they would do." (16). Hurston's tone expressed through Nanny in this line is one of resilience, she creates the image of a black person physically beaten "down" but still retaining her dignity and will - she can never be beaten down enough. Towards the end of this paragraph, Hurston's repetitive use of "Ah wouldn't" (16) in four different lines shows how Nanny's will and determination to want a better life for Leafy and herself enabled her to find the strength to, without much support, escape his situation. Later in the chapter, Hurston details how Nanny found power in her vulnerable state and situation. Nanny's mistress visits her bed after the Master leaves for war and is angry at the sight of Nanny lying in the bed with the newborn Leafy. Hurston expresses this anger towards the Mistress by saying that Nanny doesn't realize "who Mistis is", so she starts hitting her, and Nanny felt the "last licks" that the Mistress gave her "burn like fire" , not having felt the first couple because she was taking care of Leafy (Hurston 17 years old). Hurston's use of alliteration with the "last licks" draws attention to Nanny's resilience and strength, with the sound of the rolling "l" contrasting with the simile "burning like fire.".