Metaphors and other such literary devices have been used for centuries by authors to create multiple meanings and hidden significance. Sometimes, an author will work with one image throughout a novel, and other times multiple images will be used to illustrate the many messages of a story. Still, few authors have achieved the kind of metaphorical beauty Zora Hurston realizes with in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston's most famous metaphor is the likening of Janie to a pear tree, but perhaps the most important symbolism can be found in the very first paragraph of the novel: "Ships at a distance have every man's