Literary Analysis 2: Hurston’s Influence on Walker Alice Walker’s love of Zora Neale Hurston is well known. She was the only one who went looking for Hurston’s grave. She describes her journey to get to the unmarked grave in her book, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens. During that journey, Walker started to feel as if Hurston is family to her, an aunt. “By this time, I am, of course, completely into being Zora’s niece… Besides, as far as I’m concerned, she is my aunt – and that of all black people as well” (Ong). Walker’s book, The Color Purple, was influenced by Hurston and her works. Walker was greatly influenced by Hurston and her book The Color Purple has similarities to Hurston’s book Their Eyes Were Watching God. Walker has openly admitted …show more content…
Their themes were the same, their main characters were similar, and their inclusion of how white people had the power was also similar. It is very easy to see that Walker was influenced by Hurston and her work. Through all of their similarities, The Color Purple and Their Eyes Were Watching God really show the connection between Hurston and Walker. Works Cited Ong, Geo. “A Headstone for an Aunt: How Alice Walker Found Zora Neale Hurston.” The Urchin Movement, The Urchin Movement, 5 Feb. 2013, www.urchinmovement.com/2013/02/05/a-headstone-for-an-aunt-how-alice-walker-found-zora-neale-hurston/. Stanley, Julian. “A Look at American Literature.” Their Eyes Are Watching God: A Comparison, 22 Apr. 2010, jas08m.blogspot.com/2010/04/their-eyes-are-watching-god-comparison.html. Lindsey. “Links Between Hurston and Walker.” Lindsey's American Literature Blog, 25 Oct. 2009, rinneelovescupcakes.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/links-between-hurston-and-walker/. “ENG4U Literary Essay: The Color Purple and Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Imtiredofthisblackandblue, 13 June 2011, imtiredofthisblackandblue.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/eng4u-literary-essay-the-color-purple-and-their-eyes-were-watching-god/. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. Harcourt Books, 1992. Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Perennial Classics,
What I feel is truly remarkable about this author is that despite all the scrutiny and anguish that she faces like most of her race at the time she does not take a negative attitude towards white people and she actually chooses to ignore the general racial segregation. Her charming wit and sense of humor despite all the hardship is what attracts the reader. Hurston does not let her social disadvantages stop her from trying to achieve her aspirations and dreams. She does not see being colored as a disadvantage, but accepts it as a challenge to excel and be unique.
Walker and Marshall write about an identity that they have found with African-American women of the past. They both refer to great writers such as Zora Neale Hurston or Phillis Wheatley. But more importantly, they connect themselves to their ancestors. The see that their writings can be identified with what the unknown African-American women of the past longed to say but they did not have the freedom to do so. They both admire many literary greats such as Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, and Jane Austen, but they appreciate these authors' works more than they can identify with them.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Wagvtching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print
?The Third Life of Grange Copeland?, the debut novel of Alice Walker, was published during a pivotal time in literature. Along with Walker, women writers such as Toni Morrison, Germaine Greer, and Kate Millet, were offering their unfiltered views on femininity to a literary world that had long held narrow-minded standards in regard to women discussing subjects such as gender, race, and sexuality; Alice Walker?s aforementioned 1970 novel touched on all of these topics. Walker, like writers such as Richard Wright and James Baldwin, wrote of the struggles African Americans experienced as the endured
African American women were identified as the 'Mule of the world because they have been handed burden everyone else refused to carry and never had any intention of giving up. Men saw black women as a weak soul,a housewife who are there to bear children. Black women had no moment to sit down to feed her creative spirit because she was busy been a mother, a provider and a slave in the face of the society. It was the time in America where black people were forbidden to write; many untold stories and talents was never revealed due to the fear engraves in the heart of the African American women. Alice was born in this time and she saw the emptiness and enduring faces of the women who had a lot to share in the society but they were overshadowed by the slavery of
Zora Neale Hurston kept busy sharpening her oyster knife not to prepare for any violent confrontations with white society but quite the opposite, to extract the raw materials from her own culture and cultivate them into priceless treasures. To Hurston the Negro was always in vogue (Hughes). She didn't wait for the white culture to place its stamp of approval on the subject matter she knew and loved so well. In her well-known essay, "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," Hurston makes reference to society's view of her a the granddaughter of slaves: "It is quite exciting to hold the center of the national stage, with the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to weep." Hurston must have felt that way about her writing also; she threw it out there and let the audience do with it what they willed. Sometimes we laugh; sometimes we cry. But humor always hovers nearby in all of her writing and serves as the emotional salvation needed to compensate for the often heavy subject matter (Fauset, 166).
4. Hurston, Zora Neal. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Collins, 1937. Print.
Cofer, Jordan. "The "All-Demanding Eyes": Following The Old Testament And New Testament Allusions In Flannery O'connor's "Parker's Back." Flannery O'connor Review 6.(2008): 30-39. Literary Reference Center. Web. 19 Feb. 2012.
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.
———. Their Eyes Were Watching God. 2006. Reprint, New York: Harper Perennial: Modern Classics, 1937.
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.
There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and family, she is able to overcome her obstacles and grow into a stronger, more self-assured individual. While there are numerous themes transpiring throughout the course of the novel, the symbolism is one of the strongest prospects for instigating the plot.
The Color Purple depicts the struggle within the life of the female protagonist, Celie. Celie, a clear victim of abuse, narrates the story through a collection of writings that starts with her confession of “Dear God.” Celie’s story encompasses around her life and the characters that breaks the common gender depiction. The story heavily addresses the subject of social and behavioral standards for either men and women. It raises an issues on traditional marital subjects, family patriarchy, and social topics. In a traditional take of the family structure, the man often exhibits the dominant male figure head with the final say. The father provides the money and security for the wife and children as well as claim authority over the family. He becomes very work oriented and cares for the children only in times of need. On the other hand, the woman acts to be passive and pleases her husband. She plays a major role in raising and educating the children in every way possible. Often times, the woman takes a small part in maintaining a profession; although, she holds responsibility for all house work. The societal perspective of the patriarchal family system relies so heavily on gender roles that it becomes an expectation and the regulated norm. The Color Purple disrupts this gender norm by introducing characters that faces marital issues due to being the opposite of the typical gender role. Because they embody the opposite gender’s likely attributes, it becomes a questioning issue that leads to striving to live up to social norms or dealing with society disapproval. Within the progression of the novel, the women possess a sense of empowerment while as the men accept how things are in the world. The introducti...
Education is an important part of any societies success. The better educated a society is the longer it survives. Americans have always made education a priority and designed a public educations system that is free to its citizens. This free educations is imperative to ensure that the future of America is secure. A well educated society is stronger, well established and citizens live longer happier lives. Teachers in America have a very difficult task, as it is their responsibility to guarantee that students receive a quality education. Parents can make the work of teachers difficult and challenging especially when controversial books are evolved. Alice Walker's book The Color Purple is one of the many books that are considered
Characterization: Celie is the protagonist as well as the narrator. She writes letters to God which is how the story is told. The story is told in first person, “ I am fourteen years old” which is referring to Celie herself as she tells the story (Pg.8). The antagonist is her father, Alphonso. He rapes Celie and forces her to do things she does not want too such as, “you better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy” threatening Celie to not say he rapes her or else he will kill his mom (Pg 8). This is the main reason why Celie writes to God. Nettie is Celie’s sister who attributes to the story a lot. Nettie is the only person Celie has. Mr.__ is the man who Celie later on marries and keeps in secret all the letters from Nettie to Celie. Shug is Mr.__ mistress, but she soon falls in love with Celie and Celie does too.