God's will vs. Human WillThe will of God and the will of humans are two themes in Zora Neale Hurston's extraordinary work of art, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Both themes not only play an essential role in the tone of the novel, but also play in all the other main themes of the book. Among these themes are: self-discovery, love, independence, and the power of nature in one's life. Both Janie's personal will and God's will in this story are used to show the strengths and weaknesses of Janie and the other characters. God's will is seen often throughout the novel to test Janie and her will. God's will is also seen in the guidance of other major and minor characters in the book. The wills of God and Janie are the driving forces within the novel and conflict with each other throughout the story to create the backbone of this tale. With Janie, there is an overwhelming conflict between her will and God's will. On one side of her reasoning, she feels the need to find and experience true love, but on the other side, it is God who pulls the strings of her life. Janie's nanny pushes her in the direction of marriage, even though there is no love between her and the man she marries. Janie desperately wants love, but isn't yet confident in her young womanhood if all it takes is a simple marriage to a man who will take care of her. This can be seen when Janie asks, "Has marriage ended the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Has marriage forced love like the sun on the day?" (p. 21) Janie quickly realizes that self-care is not the same as true love. Marriage is not what Janie wants. She wants love and her desire to get out of the marriage is clearly seen in all the references to animals. "She feels like a mule while she's with Logan. She knows she has the spirit of a stallion inside her but she's literally surrounded by a gate and can only stare at her impossible dreams of love down the road" (pp. 25-27 ). Logan puts Janie under a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress with his demands and the verbal and physical abuse often seen throughout their marriage. Still in shock and confused about the entire process, Janie gathers her courage and decides to run away with a man she barely knows, Joe Starks..