By using the title "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston automatically focuses on God. It lets the reader know immediately that there will be religious tones in the book. This way, the reader is looking out for Biblical/God allusions throughout the book, without really realizing it. The reader becomes sort of hyper-aware of those things. By choosing a quote from arguably the most intense moment of the book, it gives the reader a sudden "Aha" moment when they get to that part. It makes that part of the book feel more climactic. The title also ties in the motif of eyes that can be found in the book.
Instead of referencing God in the title, Hurston could have referenced another important figure in the novel, like Death. The title could have been something more like "Death Lives In the West" or something, which would have put more of an emphasis on Death the whole time and all the allusions to directions that can be found throughout the novel. More importantly, it would have automatically given the novel a darker mood, because the reader would feel like it was all about Death.
I decided to change my title to "She Turned Away." I chose this because that phrase comes up twice, applying to both of the two characters in the story. It creates a bit of ambiguity by using "She" just like Hurston uses "Their." It also makes the idea of turning away more symbolic than the literal way it appears to be in the story. And, like TEWWG, the phrase appears during a climactic part. I feel like it was the most similar to TEWWG while also applying well to my pastiche.
Instead of referencing God in the title, Hurston could have referenced another important figure in the novel, like Death. The title could have been something more like "Death Lives In the West" or something, which would have put more of an emphasis on Death the whole time and all the allusions to directions that can be found throughout the novel. More importantly, it would have automatically given the novel a darker mood, because the reader would feel like it was all about Death.
I decided to change my title to "She Turned Away." I chose this because that phrase comes up twice, applying to both of the two characters in the story. It creates a bit of ambiguity by using "She" just like Hurston uses "Their." It also makes the idea of turning away more symbolic than the literal way it appears to be in the story. And, like TEWWG, the phrase appears during a climactic part. I feel like it was the most similar to TEWWG while also applying well to my pastiche.
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