In the world today, there are many forms of societal differences that hold people back from their dreams and desires. The two novels, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton and Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, both accurately portray those exact societal problems. In society, people are oppressed in many ways, such as blacks not being able to vote back in the 60’s, or women not having as many rights as men. In this essay, I will attempt to convey the struggles that each respecting character had, and relate them to today’s world. The thematic bond that I chose to do this essay on was