"Full Circle"
             Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn
             and doom was in the branches.
             (Hurston 8)
            
             Zora Neale Hurston writes as if she were composing a symphony. Each character has a clear instrumental voice, and there is immense clarity as to when they enter and exit the story. Her use of dialect defines a culture, and her use of color brings it to life. Through poetic imagery and symbolism, the reader is able to clearly follow Janie's journey, as she searches to define her own voice, and find meaning in her existence.
             Since she was raised in a household of white children, Janie didn't realize that she was different until she saw a photograph of everyone together. "Aw, aw! Ah'm colored." Janie said, when she understood that she was the dark one. This moment captures the naivety Janie possessed early in her childhood, and the importance of visual contrast within the novel. Mis' Washburn, Nanny's boss, dresses Janie in her grandchildren's old clothes, setting her apart from other black children. Janie was acting and living the life of a white child. She grew up surrounded by uncommon privileges. These early impressions influenced her opinions of self worth, and boosted her concept of her own societal status.
             Nature is symbolic of life, growth, and vibrancy, and Janie's adolescence is heavily defined by her environment. At sixteen,"she had glossy leaves and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life" (Hurston 11). "Oh to be a pear tree-any tree in bloom!" Janie exclaimed. Her life, like the blossoming of a tree, was transforming from "barren brown stems, to the snowy virginity of bloom" (10). At this point Janie's life is fecund with promise. Hurston's text breezes through the pages, piling image upon radiant image. Ja...