Zora Neale Hurston believes that all struggles to realize personal goals are futile due to the unknowable forces that control reality. She believes that these unknowable forces are controlled by God and that He has an omnipotent presence in the lives of human beings. Therefore, all events are ultimately dictated by the arbitrary whims of God. This metaphysical view of reality is manifested in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Implicit and explicit forms of her philosophy are not only present throughout the novel, but they are essential to the novel's development as well.

The explicit form of her philosophy is stated in the following passage: "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...