Underlying Symbolic Structure
The strongest symbol in Their Eyes Were Watching God is the pear tree. The pear blossom is a representation of Janie, as she is a young girl blooming into a woman during a spring afternoon. Hurston explains this symbolism at the first of the chapter, describing Janie as a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Watching the bees pollinate the flowers also represents her appreciation of procreation and the love that is involved. Throughout the entire novel, Janie refers to the blossoming pear tree as a symbol of her ideal relationship, and compares her husbands to the harmony she witnessed between the bees and the blossoms of the pear tree.