Symbolism prevails in everyday life: a dove of peace, the black color of death, a red rose, a love story and a smile of friendship. But the symbols fail to remain broad; they also look unique to each individual. Janie, the protagonist, reveals various symbols throughout her growing journey to find a voice for herself. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, symbolism emanates from Janie's life reflecting her development. Throughout Janie's journey she constantly struggles between freedom and control. Janie grows up well protected and controlled by her nanny, but the gate represents a new beginning. When the nanny sees "Janie letting Johnny Taylor kiss her through the gate," she immediately forces Janie to marry Logan Killicks (Hurston 10). Janie fantasizes about love; she believes that love will come with marriage, so she agrees to marry Logan Killicks. Once married, Janie's journey begins when she realizes that her "first dream was dead, so she became a woman" (Hurston 24). Janie's life changes with Logan Killicks: she is forced to do hard manual labor. One day he meets a strange man named Joe Starks. He convinces her to run away with him, so she “hurried out of the front gate and turned south” (Hurston 31). Janie then meets Joe and begins another new beginning. The gate symbol reflects Janie's growth as she moves from a controlling environment to a capricious but free environment. The gate also represents the beginning of Janie's decision-making process. Although he now makes his own decisions, he struggles to find the right moments to express them. While married to Jody, she becomes voiceless and is forced to do hard labor. A citizen named Matt Bonner owns an emaciated mule that the others ridicule and causes... middle of paper... all possibilities for Janie. Jody "[speaks] for distant horizon[,]" and this trait intrigues her; he wants to discover the unknown, and he does (Hurston 28). All her experiences collectively bring her to the horizon; she “has gone to the horizon and back now” and they develop her faith (Hurston 182). Janie looks to the horizon for hope, peace and improvement. At the end of her journey, she “[pulls] her horizon like a great fishing net. He took it out of the life of the world and put it on his shoulders” with all his experiences in the shirts (Hurston 184). The horizon provides Janie with her experiences that develop her identity. Each symbol shows Janie's development as she faces freedom, rebellion, authority, destruction and individuality. These symbols sculpt Janie's journey to success and shape her into the woman she becomes.