Zora Neale Hurston: Summary

Zora Neale Hurston sets her novel in Florida during the early 1900s. The novel begins in West Florida where Janie lives with her grandmother and a white family. As the novel progresses, Janie makes her way to other parts of Florida. She moves to the all-black town of Eatonville with Jody Starks and becomes a part of his sophisticated life. After Jody's death, Janie then joins a simpler community in the Everglades with Tea Cake. When Janie's time with Tea Cake comes to an end, she returns to Eatonville. The novel explores the racial views of the people during the time period of the early 20th century.
Plot:
The novel starts off with Janie walking down the middle of the road as she returns to her previous home there. All of the townspeople gossip about her. However, Janie's friend Pheoby does not gossip and instead goes to see her friend and find out what

Just as Janie did not completely fit in where she lived, Hurston did not either. Janie reflects Hurston's desire for freedom and to be her own independent

The character Janie is telling her story to her friend Pheoby. Hurston creates an beautifully written novel about racism in the south during the 1900s. Even though Janie had a white father and grandfather, she was still seen as black. White people did not see her as one of them, but at the same time, Janie did not quite fit in with black people. In the all black town of Eatonville, the citizens disliked the white people who saw themselves as above white people. The citizens believed that blacks should stick up for each other. However, when stood on trial, it was the white men who stood up for Janie, not the black people. When faced with the hurricane, “their eyes were watching God.” Both the black and the white people were simply humans when confronted with nature and