This paper will tell the reader about all aspects of the numerous problems that are presented in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. It will deal with all of the numerous problems that were experienced in the rough time that the book was written in. Also, it will deal with how these problems are still involved in today's society. While many of the problems will never go away, some have already, and some will go away in hopefully the near future.
             There were many problems and issues that Zora Neale Hurston brought up in this novel, and she did this mostly through the recollection of the main character, Janie Crawford. While this story deals mainly with Janie's life from age sixteen to approximately the age of forty, the novel also deals with the problems that society faced even before Janie's birth. The major problem issue that is involved before Janie's birth is the fact that the town schoolteacher raped her mother, Leafy Crawford. When this novel was set, approximately twenty years after the Civil War, rape was still an important issue in their society. While rape was probably more common back in those days, less was done about it, and it was basically just "accepted." (Baker 134) This is especially true if it is a white man with a black woman. If it would be a black man with a white woman, a lot more problems would arise. This is a type of double standard, because it is not just to allow a horrible action for a certain set of people and disallow it for another group of people based solely on the color of their skin.
             The schoolteacher, a white man, who raped Janie's mother, a black woman, created another type of problem that went far beyond the obvious. As a result of the rape by a white man, Janie had a coffee and cream complexion, and this was considered a skin tone of great beauty (www.novelguides.com). This became a problem with the other girls all through Janie's ...