Finding Hope in Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God recognizes that there are problems to the human condition, such as the need to possess, the fear of the unknown and resulting stagnation. But Hurston does not leave us with the hopelessness of Fitzgerald or Hemingway, rather, she extends a recognition and understanding of humanity's need to escape emptiness. "Dem meatskins is got tuh rattle tuh make out they's alive (183)" Her solution is simple: "Yuh got tuh go there tuh know there." Janie, like characters in earlier novels, sets out on a quest to make sense of her inner questionings--a void she knew she possessed from the moment she sat under the pear tree. "She found an answer seeking her, but where?...where were the shining bees for her (11)?" Though tragedy invades her life, it does not cripple her, but strengthens her. Alone at novel's end, having loved and lost, Janie sits in her home, banished of the "feeling of absence and nothingness (183)." Her road to discover led to herself, and she gains a better understanding of the world she lives in and how small a thing happiness is comprised of: "If you kin see de light at daybreak, you don't keer if you die at dusk. It's so many people never seen de light at all. (151)" Instead of Hurston portraying racial unwholeness, she portrays the African American as being racially healthy. She was discarded by the black writing movement of the 30's and 40's for picturing the African-American as whole instead of downtrodden, oppressed people. Hurston was no militant, out to prove no theory. Capturing the essence of Black womanhood was more important to her than social criticism.
Comparison of Hurston's life and work is ironic. Though Janie, having...
... middle of paper ...
...ttp: 11 www. ñ hsc. usc.edu/ ~ gallaher/ hurston/ hurston. html>.
Johnson, Barbara. "Metaphor, Metonymy and Voice in Their Eyes Were Watching God." Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. " ‘Tuh de Horizon and Back': The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Pondrom, Cyrena N. "The Role of Myth in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202.
Wright, Richard. "Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God." Zora Neale Hurston - Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993
In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author takes you on the journey of a woman, Janie, and her search for love, independence, and the pursuit of happiness. This pursuit seems to constantly be disregarded, yet Janie continues to hold on to the potential of grasping all that she desires. In, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Hurston illustrates the ambiguity of Janie’s voice; the submissiveness of her silence and the independence she reclaims when regaining her voice. The reclaiming of Janie's independence, in the novel, correlates with the development and maturation Janie undergoes during her self discovery.
Print. Miller, J. Dove. " Movie vs Book: Their Eyes Were Watching God." jdove-miller.hubpages. hubpages, 17 May 2010.
Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.
---. "Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God." Zora Neale Hurston - Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993
Hurd, Myles Raymond. "What Goes Around Comes Around: Characterization, Climax, and Closure in Hurston's 'Sweat'." Gale Artemis Literary Sources (1993).
In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston there were many contrasting places that were used to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of this work.
Hurston, Zora N. "Sweat." Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardener, Beverly Lawn, Jack Ridl, and Peter Schakel. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin, 2013. 176-79. Print.
As Pierpont recognizes that Their Eyes were Watching God seems to be a translation of Hurston’s beliefs into a story, the novel gains a new foundation of meaning. Thus, Their Eyes Were Watching God does not primarily advocate against the racial divide between black and white. Rather, the story stands as evidence for the fight for women's
One of the main reasons why schools are switching to block scheduling is because students receive higher test scores on standardized tests. Having only forty-five to fifty minutes of class is difficult to take a test meant for one hour and thirty minutes. With the new scheduling, students are able to take their time on tests and not rush through them. Many students have a problem focusing during tests, and with the extra time students don’t have to worry about not finishing in time. Chance W. Lewis and R. Brian Cobb, a part of the School of Education at Colorado State University, along with two others, have conducted an investigation on how block scheduling effects high school scores on the ACT. The results indicate that students with block scheduling actually have the higher scores on the ACT in mathematics and reading than students with regular schedules. This proves that students concentrate more on their academic subjects, become more producti...
Walker, Kristen. "Feminism Present in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." 7 February 2007. Yahoo Voices. 27 January 2014 .
Through her use of southern black language Zora Neale Hurston illustrates how to live and learn from life’s experiences. Janie, the main character in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a woman who defies what people expect of her and lives her life searching to become a better person. Not easily satisfied with material gain, Janie quickly jumps into a search to find true happiness and love in life. She finally achieves what she has searched for with her third marriage.
This excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were watching God, is an example of her amazing writing. She makes us feel as if we are actually in her book, through her use of the Southern Black vernacular and admirable description. Her characters are realistic and she places special, well thought out sentences to keep us interested. Zora Neale Hurston’s art enables her to write this engaging story about a Southern black woman’s life.
2 “Their Eyes Were Watching God Reader’s Guide - Introduction.” The Big Read. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their eyes were watching God: a novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1937. Print.
———. Their Eyes Were Watching God. 2006. Reprint, New York: Harper Perennial: Modern Classics, 1937.