The Styles and Tones of Their Eyes Were Watching God Explained"The distant ships have every man's desires on board." (pg.1, par.1) and so begins Janie Crawford's powerful story, along with the author's menagerie of diverse styles and tones. These tones and styles lay the foundation for Zora Neale Hurston's major themes, all of which are strongly introduced and defended throughout the novel. Hurston's themes range from sexism, dialogue, and religion; which during his time were extremely prudent issues for the United States and also for some other countries. However, his approach to these issues, while strong, is very different from that of similar novelists of the time. His unusual way of representing the problems in this book gives his writing a sense of mysterious intellect; so much so that you won't fully understand it until you've finished the entire novel. This opening paragraph, for example, “The long-distance ships have every man's desires on board. For some they come with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon... Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget... Then they act and do things accordingly." (pg.1 par .1) Two important writings come into play in this first paragraph; the largest is most likely Hurston's first use of the word "horizon" which occurs again and again as the novel persists Hurston's opinion on sexism; which of course is nothing like the usual "equality" opinion vaunted by his time. He starts from the beginning by describing the crucial differences between men and women had by Janie, that men and women who need to... middle of paper... receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshiped... Half-gods are worshiped in the wine and flowers. The true gods require blood” (page 145, par. 1), portray extremely sinister images of the Lord our God. However, these difficulties that “God” made them suffer only strengthen Janie's character even more; this comes through the deep love between her and Tea Cake. Even if they struggle to overcome difficulties; the sense of self that Janie receives afterward stays with her and helps her sustain her inner peace with nature. This inner peace is what Janie means when she says she has been, “to the horizon and back” (p.191, par.4) as she finishes her story in Pheoby. So he feels that he has achieved fulfillment in his life; peace with God, Nature, all the people around her and, above all, herself.