...Personally, in the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, I think there is a reflection of the Harlem Renaissance more than a departure. Janie, the main character, has to go through many troubles. A lot of these troubles involve the way they are dealt during this point of time of the Harlem Renaissance. Their Eyes Were Watching God, in many ways is a novel reflecting the Harlem Renaissance, some being sexuality, power, and gender; all of which involve strict rules during this era. In many ways, the novel tells about Janie’s sexual awakening. Because the novel was written in the time period where sex was a very taboo subject to talk about, most of the references are disguised as metaphors. For example, in the novel, Janie finds a man and thinks “He could be a bee to a blossom” (Hurston 126). Janie being the blossom. Something like “the birds and the bees,” of today as explained to curious children. Unlike Nanny, Janie doesn’t see sexuality as a frightening and damaging thing to do to oneself. So when Janie lets “Johnny Taylor kiss her over the gate post,” and Nanny sees it she becomes upset and wants Janie to marry right away...
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...In 1937, Richard Wright, author of Native Son, wrote a review on Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, stating it, “Had no theme, no thought, no message” (“Wright Reviews Hurston”). In the novel, Janie Crawford is often seen by the men as a weaker person than she really is. This shows that women are the weaker sex throughout the novel, and that in order to gain power a women must marry a wealthy, powerful man. It shows that women must marry a man to help her in life and that they depend on them as well. In the marriage when women show their leadership side, they are often shut down by the men as they dominate in the relationship. to begin with, Nanny has shown that being married is important for a women. "Don’t tell me you done got knocked up already, less see – dis Saturday it’s two month and two weeks." "No’m, Ah don’t think so anyhow." Janie blushed a little. "You ain’t got nothin’ to be shamed of, honey, youse uh married ‘oman. You got yo’ lawful husband same as Mis’ Washburn or anybody else!" (Hurston page). This says how women should feel pride with the husband and their kids. Also that unmarried women that are pregnant should be ashamed. With women...
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...“Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone.” (8) This powerful quote and many others are found in Zora Neale Hurston’s African American Literature Novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston writes of a young, light skinned, African American female named Janie who journeys through life trying to find the “perfect” relationship. As Janie goes through her life, she, along with her search, has taken turns for the worse and for the better. Janie has endured many conflicts through her relationships with Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and Tea Cake. Throughout Janie’s relationships with men, she discovered that she did not want to live a marriage life full of fear, unhappiness, and sorrow. Her ability to dream and to act on her instincts allowed her to truly find her happiness within her last relationship. As stated above, the...
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...Born in Alabama in 1891, the prestigious Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the greatest writers of twentieth- century African American literature. As a leader in the Harlem Renaissance Hurston was credited for protecting the rights of African Americans through her folk writing style. However, one of the books I read by her quickly changed my perspective of her and I soon realized that she was not only a proud supporter of African American rights, but women`s rights as well. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses character Janie Crawford to speak out against the unjust treatment of women in their marriages. Zora Neale Hurston is an inspiring figure to me because she taught me the importance of self-reliance and how to...
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...people’s thoughts and opinions do not scare them. In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the main character, Janie Mae Crawford, experiences herself go through different phases of being inferior to being bold and resolute in disparate situations over the span of her three marriages. Logan Killicks is Janie’s first husband. They did not marry because they were in love but because of Janie’s grandmother, Nanny. Nanny realizes that she “ ‘ain’t gittin’ ole’ ”(Hurston 15), but that she is “ ‘done ole’ ”(Hurston 15) with not a lot of time left on her hands. She conveys her thoughts by telling Janie that “ ‘One mornin’ soon, now, de angel wid de sword is gointuh stop by’ ”(Hurston 15), and she will no longer be by her side to take care of her. Nanny’s main worry was leaving Janie behind, all alone. Therefore, she decides to marry her off to a financially secure and wealthy farmer. Logan pampers Janie and treats her very...
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...loves you and encourages your future,”perfectly blends with the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, as it describes the ideal man that the main character is searching for her whole entire life. Janie, the protagonist has several relationships with men to find her “blossoming bee” but, never did she know the true meaning of love. Through the relationships that she had, she comes to discover her true identity. The two relationships that impacted her life immensely are the two characters, Joe Starks and Tea Cake. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie goes through multiple relationships that changes her beliefs, ultimately demonstrating that experiencing trails of love will eventually lead them to self-realization. Janie's relationship with Joe Starks constrains Janie from experiencing the outside life and shapes her into an emotionless person. Joe Starks is a working man who always wanted to have a big voice in the society. He meets Janie when she was working in Logan’s farm and grabs her attention. Soon after their encounter, they get married and move to Eatonville where Joe Starks becomes mayor. After Joe gives a speech, Janie is asked to say something. However, Joe responds, “Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don't know nothin’ bout no speech-making. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (Hurston 43). Joe didn’t marry Janie...
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...The book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, has many literary terms within the story. No story, book, essay, or short story can be written without literary terms. This book uses irony, tone, symbolism, and theme. Each one is explained differently and put in so that the readers could have different perspectives. This allows readers to understand a certain book better. Theme, tone, irony, and symbolism all have different meanings to the each reader. Theme is a central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. It provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of work. Zora Neale Hurston writes the theme in many different ways. The one that stands out to me...
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...of the world’s most prized artists; Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. Though they were both men of the same race and products of similar backgrounds, Monet and Degas developed contrasting artistic styles. While it is unlikely that they ever publicly reviewed each other’s work, the prospect of Edgar Degas, a devout realist, commenting on Claude Monet’s works of impressionism likely evokes phrases such as ‘stylistic misunderstanding’ and ‘representational disdain.’ Both Claude Monet and Edgar Degas actively sought to achieve some level of worldly representation through their works. They achieved this representation through vastly different methods and fundamentally different brushstrokes. As brushstrokes are to the canvas of the painter, diction is to the pages of an author’s work. The stark and frequently unadulterated realism that Richard Wright, one of the major novelists to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance, is known for, is often contrasted to his contemporary and rival, Zora Neale Hurston’s, more socially appealing racial and human sensuality. Much like Monet and Degas, who aimed to achieve some level of inspiration through their art, Hurston and Wright both actively sought to expand the minds of their audience through socially provoking writing. While no record of contemporary criticism is in existence between Monet and Degas, the same cannot be said for Hurston and Wright. Both authors were passionate about their own methods and styles and rarely shied away from an opportunity...
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...Danielle mordon Zora Neale Hurston's love of African-American folklore and her work as an anthropologist are reflected in her novels and short stories--where she employed the rich indigenous dialects of her native rural Florida and the Caribbean. In her foreword to Hurston's autiobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, Maya Angelou wrote, "Her books and folktales vibrate with tragedy, humor and the real music of Black American speech." A published short story writer by the time she came to New York in 1925, Hurston studied anthropology at Barnard, where she was the college's first African-American student. After graduation, Hurston pursued graduate work at Columbia with renowned anthropologist Franz Boas. She left New York to conduct research in Florida and in Haiti and Jamaica, and her field work resulted in the folklore collections Mules and Men (1935) and Tell My Horse (1938). Her classic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God was published in 1937. Still, Hurston never received the financial rewards she deserved. (The largest royalty she ever earned from any of her books was $943.75.) So when she died on Jan. 28, 1960--at age 69, after suffering a stroke. Her neighbors in Fort Pierce, Florida, had to take up a collection for her February 7 funeral. The collection didn't yield enough to pay for a headstone, however, so Hurston was buried in a grave that remained unmarked until 1973. In 1975, Ms. Magazine published Alice Walker's essay, "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston" reviving interest...
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...The title of Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, can come off as confusing to some readers, or it may trigger a certain thought process on trying to figure out what the title means. The title, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was only mention verbatim once throughout the entire novel. The title derives from a quote in the novel, “They seems to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God” (Hurston 187). The title, as well as the quote holds a significant meaning to the entire book. One thing to take from the title, is that even though the book is mainly about Janie, is does not say “her” but it says “their” eyes making it known that we as humans (all humans) are susceptible to God and His will. The title symbolizes the fact that we do not have absolute control over our lives and that we look to God for direction and answers. It is easy for us to forget how similar we all are in our vulnerability until we face a situation that is out of our control. Janie’s eyes were watching God because she knows that their lives are in His hands. Only He knows...
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...Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows many examples of nature. Nature is used in many ways in this novel such as explaining character features or moods.As Zora “says you know , honey, us colored folks is branches without roots and that makes things come round in queer ways” (Hurston,15). Zora Neale Hurston is explaining in this quote by explaining how black people really have no origin or background being in a new place so how they walk, talk, and act won’t be the same to how others go about their daily lives as she says in the quote above. Zora in this quote explains the African-Americans have no real by saying they are like branches without roots.Mistis a character a young man married to a slave created by Zora Neale Hurston this quote explains the way mistis looks and feels in the quote“Look lak she been livin’ through uh hundred years in January without one day of spring.” (Hurston, 16)....
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...Their Eyes Were Watching God tells a story about a young woman going through life and finding her voice, the movie made by Oprah Winfrey flips the story and its characters making the main character and everyone in the story different. Oprah does a wonderful job at completely destroying the morals of the time period, and the symbols shown in the book. The movie changes relationships making the main character stronger and more independent. The beautiful love story shown by Oprah became a ridiculous rendition of Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel missing key elements from the book. Oprah Winfrey completely disregards the moral fiber of the time period. In the movie some scenes got extremely graphic with the kissing and love making. These scenes...
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...“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” Janie always wondered if she could ever find the man of her dreams. As time passed, Janie's perspective of love changed as she experienced what she never wanted in a relationship. Zora Neale Hurston wrote this book during the Harlem Renaissance, in this period of time woman got married at an early age, woman were also prohibited from a lot of rights unlike men. Furthermore, women as well were not part of society like they desired to be. The novel the eyes were watching god the author Zora Neale Hurston uses figurative language to demonstrate that one's definition of love is not always easy to find. Janie’s perspective of love changes as she experienced her first forced...
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..."Pride... If you haven't got it, you can't show it. If you got it, you can't hide it". That is one of the poems Zora Neale Hurston wrote. Zora Neale Hurston wrote books and was a Civil Rights Activist. One of her books is called "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Zora Neale Hurston was a famous author who had a tough life, had great education and some interesting awards and achievements. Zora Neale Hurston had a tough and complicated life. Her mother died when she was nine years old. Then, her father remarried, so she moved alot and didn't go to school. When she got older, she was convicted with molesting a 10-year-old boy and it was false. That ruined her reputation, but she still kept working on her books. She suffered strokes and...
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...Zora Neale Hurston, was born on January 7, 1891. She was born into the family of John and Lucy Ann Hurston; she was one of their eight children. Hurston and her family were originally from Notasulga, Alabama. However, they moved to Florida, when she was just a toddler and Hurston, had little, if no memory, of Notasulga. Many of her writings, reflect the culture and happenings of Eatonville, Florida. Hurston, was anything but a usual African-American woman. She defied numerous odds against her, to complete college, travel past the borders of her home town, and become something more than a poor housewife. Despite all difficulties, Hurston received her associate degree from Howard University, in the year of 1920. A few years later, she would begin working on her bachelors, at Barnard College, were she studied anthropology....
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