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Essay about excerpt from zora neale hurston’s novel their eyes were watching god (1937)
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One’s first interpretation of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is that this novel is a tale of a woman’s struggle to find herself in a very harsh and trying time for African American women in the United States. Janie, the main character goes through several trials – and several husbands – on her way to find her voice. It is a simple story, with very relatable topics. However, according to Richard Wright, author of Black Boy, among other works, her story is not one with a strong message, and it does not hold the right message according to him. “It is difficult to evaluate…Their Eyes Were Watching God. This is not because there is an esoteric meaning hidden or implied in either of the two novels; but rather because neither of the two novels has a basic idea or theme that lends itself to significant interpretation” (Wright). Wrights political motives handicaps him and blinded him to Hurston’s anthropological approach of writing. One can draw two separate conclusions from Wright’s evaluation of the novel: that Hurston was not portraying African Americans in the right light, which can lend the reader to draw other than positive conclusions about blacks at this time; or that Hurston was simply following her teachings in anthropology and was just trying to tell a story, and let the reader draw his or her own conclusions from the novel. The problem that Wright sees with the novel could be that in a time of such struggle for African Americans, Hurston did not write for the cause, she did not write like Wright, and she did not try to add to Wright’s social commentary. Overall, Richard Wright’s review of Hurston’s novel was not appropriate and it was extremely biased.
The first problem that Wright states in his review o...
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...to spread this truth to the whites that were uneducated of southern black culture at this time. This book congratulates the culture and does not demean it. Hurston’s anthropological approach at writing is some of the most unbiased writing to come out of this period, and reflected the truth like almost no other authors were able to do at this time.
Works Cited
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Heard, Matthew. "Dancing is Dancing No Matter Who is Doing It." College Literature 34 (2007): 129-57.
McKnight, Maureen. "Discerning Nostalgia in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." Southern Quarterly (2007).
Wright, Richard. "Between Laughter and Tears." New Masses (1937): 22-23.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics: Reissue Edition 2013
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.
Zora Neale was an early 20th century American novelist, short story writer, folklorist, and anthropologist. In her best known novel Their eyes were watching God, Hurston integrated her own first-hand knowledge of African American oral culture into her characters dialogue and the novels descriptive passages. By combing folklore, folk language and traditional literary techniques; Hurston created a truly unique literary voice and viewpoint. Zora Neale Hurston's underlying theme of self-expression and search for one’s independence was truly revolutionary for its time. She explored marginal issues ahead of her time using the oral tradition to explore contentious debates. In this essay I will explore Hurston narrative in her depiction of biblical imagery, oppression of African women and her use of colloquial dialect.
Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about a young woman that is lost in her own world. She longs to be a part of something and to have “a great journey to the horizons in search of people” (85). Janie Crawford’s journey to the horizon is told as a story to her best friend Phoebe. She experiences three marriages and three communities that “represent increasingly wide circles of experience and opportunities for expression of personal choice” (Crabtree). Their Eyes Were Watching God is an important fiction piece that explores relations throughout black communities and families. It also examines different issues such as, gender and class and these issues bring forth the theme of voice. In Janie’s attempt to find herself, she grows into a stronger woman through three marriages.
Narrator, this was a third person account, thus leaving much to the imagination. The conversation’s language was left as if truly taken from an African American speaker in the south in such a time. The way Hurston made the scenery appear before me was like a white sheet gets stained with red wine, unable to wash out of my mind. The narration was very brut in a grammatical manner, giving a wash bucket effect of never being settled.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.
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.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the character of Janie Crawford experiences severe ideological conflicts with her grandmother, and the effects of these conflicts are far-reaching indeed. Hurston’s novel of manners, noted for its exploration of the black female experience, fully shows how a conflict with one’s elders can alter one’s self image. In the case of Janie and Nanny, it is Janie’s perception of men that is altered, as well as her perception of self. The conflict between the two women is largely generational in nature, and appears heart-breakingly inevitable.
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
Racine, Maria J. "African American Review." Voice and Interiority in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God 28.2 (1994): 283-92. Jstor. Black's Women Culture Issue, Summer 1994. Web. Dec. 2013.
In today’s society women are viewed as equals with men, but in the time period in which Their Eyes Were Watching God takes place, it was believed that a woman needed a man. In this novel, Hurston portrays Janie as an independent woman, but throughout the book she is almost always with a man because of her placement in society. She does to show that women are capable of independence but are not the given the opportunity to be independent. In this essay I will examine the independent elements of Janie’s personality as well as the dependent elements of Janie’s character.
4. Hurston, Zora Neal. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Collins, 1937. Print.
Both Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes were great writers but their attitudes towards their personal experience as an African American differed in many ways. These differences can be attributed to various reasons that range from gender to life experience but even though they had different perceptions regarding the African American experience, they both shared one common goal, racial equality through art. To accurately delve into the minds of the writers’ one must first consider authors background such as their childhood experience, education, as well their early adulthood to truly understand how it affected their writing in terms the similarities and differences of the voice and themes used with the works “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Hurston and Hughes’ “The Negro Mother”. The importance of these factors directly correlate to how each author came to find their literary inspiration and voice that attributed to their works.
In conclusion, Hurston was a modernist writer who dealt with societal themes of racism, and social and racial identity. She steps away from the folk-oriented style of writing other African American authors, such as Langston Hughes, and she addresses modern topics and issues that relate to her people. She embraces pride in her color and who she is. She does not hate the label of “colored” that has been placed upon her. She embraces who she is and by example, she teaches others to love themselves and the color of their skin. She is very modern. She is everybody’s Zora.