"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men." The beginning of Their Eyes Were Watching God definitely confused me. What does the ship metaphor have to do with the rest of this story? Hurston rapidly transitions between omniscient narration to following Janie's life from her perspective, which can be disorienting for readers. However, I would argue that the ship metaphor serves to ground Janie's story by explaining the background to how Janie's world works. First of all, starting with ships connects people's hopes and dreams to Florida's costal landscape. Ships represent everyone's aspirations that often go unfufilled. Aspirations can come in with the tide (fail) or sail forever on the horizon (go unrealiz...