The Life of Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston, known as one of the most symbolic African American women during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930’s. Hurston was known as a non fiction writer, anthropologist and folklorist. Hurston’s literature has served as a big eye opener during the Harlem Renaissance, celebrating black dialect and their traditions. Most of her published stories “depict relationships among black residents in her native southern Florida, was largely unconcerned with racial injustices” (Bomarito 89). Hurston was unique when it came to her racial point of views, promoting white racism instead of black racism. Even though her works had been forgotten by the time of her death, now her literature has left a bigger impact to future literature writers. Hurston’s life was full of an odd mixture between praise and censure, prosperity and poverty, pride and misfortune. This had led her to both positive and negative times in her trajectory.

Her given name is said to be Zora Neale Lee Hurston was born on January 2, 1891, even though there has been some mystery surrounding her real date of birth. Nevertheless, Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama to a baptist preacher named John Hurston, and to a seamstress named Lucy Potts. Hurston was the fifth child in the family. When Hurston was a toddler, her family relocated to Eatonville, Florida which was the first black town in the United States. After moving to Eatonville, Hurston’s father became mayor of the town for three consecutive terms. In 1904 when Hurston was only nine years old, her mother died “Which devastated Hurston” (Bomarito 89). Her father rapidly married a much younger woman, but Hurston did not get along with her. Hurston was sent to a boarding school in Jacksonville, Flor...

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... with a ten-year-old boy” (Telgen 301). Hurston was worried because she is both African American and a women who did not have much voice at the time. Hurston was later absolved from this charge because she was not found guilty, but this damaged her reputation as a writer. She started to not feel part of one of the most important writers during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston became depressed and she dropped out of public view because of this permanent humiliation.

After Hurston was absolved from all charges, Hurston kept writing even though her popularity was not at its highest anymore.

Works Cited

Boyd, Valerie. "Zora Neale Hurston: The Howard University Years." JSTOR. JSTOR, Spring 2003. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. .

Hurston, Zora Neale., and Carla Kaplan. Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters. New York: Anchor, 2003. Print.