In life, we all search for contentment. We spend years looking for what we believe will make us happy, and sometimes when we find it, it makes life more miserable than it was in the first place. This is because we spend time searching for the wrong answers. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston addresses finding a voice in life and achieving true contentment. One cannot find contentment in life through others. It must be found within one's self. Contentment cannot be found unless the one searching is their own person, unless they have found their identity and their own voice. No one can give a person their voice; they must push the sound from deep inside and speak. To know ones' self, one must achieve these things. This is called personal autonomy. Hurston portrays these ideas through the growth of her protagonist, Janie. .
Even in childhood, Janie does not have a grasp on her identity. She is not raised by her mother or father and has very little knowledge of her family history. She lives at a house that her grandmother works at. The other children there are white. Janie is not aware that she is any different from them. She is six years old when she sees a picture of herself and realizes for the first time that she is black. This is the first time Janie loses her identity. Her image of herself is destroyed. Another factor of Janie's lack of identity is her lack of a name. They called her "alphabet" because she was given so many names.
Though Janie's age grew, her voice did not. As Janie grew, her grandmother, Nanny, began to plan her life. Nanny wanted Janie to find a man with power and possessions. She thought that was important and would make the best life for Janie. Nanny told Janie that "nothin' Ah been through ain't too much if you just take a stand on high ground lak Ah dreamed." Janie was given the impression that she could only become someone important through someone else, a man.