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Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Ryan Lipncik Mr.Spears/Mrs.Crocker English 3 May 1 2023 Their Eyes Were Watching God Analysis Essay Change is one of the most difficult things in life. Many people have conflicting options on change and it has been a staple of history even being a huge part of the value of rebirth in the Harlem renaissance. Author Zora Neale Hurston offers a very insightful analysis of this value and other values in the Harlem renaissance. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, she shows that she shares the Harlem Renaissance value(s) of rebirth and self expression, however she departs from the value of prosperity. A prominent value supported both in the Harlem renaissance and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston was the …show more content…

In the Harlem Renaissance Jazz music erupted through the streets and history.com provides excellent commentary on this occurrence. The most popular “music that percolated in and then boomed out of Harlem in the 1920s was jazz, often played at speakeasies”(Smith 2). Music is one of the most recognizable forms of self expression. Smith explains that music was booming out of the streets in Harlem showing self expression was everywhere. Many Harlem Renaissance leaders agreed with this and Hurston was one of them, after a successful opening of a store in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates her thoughts on self expression through Janie being deprived of a chance to give a speech. Janie tries to forget the chance to give a speech being taken, “but it wasn’t too easy. She had never thought of making a speech and didn’t know if she cared to make one at all. It must have been the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance”(Hurston 43). Hurston uses Janie’s negative reaction of being deprived a chance to express herself to show her support of the value of self expression. Janie’s feeling sad when not being able to express herself shows she truly values the ideas of self expression. Conclusion sentence: Both the Harlem Renaissance and Zora Neale Hurston share the ideals of self expression and feel it should be an essential aspect of their

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Through figurative and direct language in her writing you can see Hurston’s reflection and a departure from the Harlem Renaissance. An example of departure comes from figurative language in the essay “How it Feels to Be Colored Me”. The essay states “I feel like a brown bag of miscellany,”(line 15). This sentence shows

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In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows a life of a young woman that passes through a lot of difficulties due to her black cultural aspect during this time period. This leads into the idea that in the essay it will be discussed about how Neale Hurston reflects and departs from Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Harlem Renaissance in other similar details. First of alI, I’m going to talk about the similarities, topic ideas from the book and the Renaissance. For example, Jody states, “my wife doesnt know nothing about making a simple speech”(page:43) which shows how the mayor aka jody feels about her not being intelligent enough to make a public speech without his approval. This reflects on the idea of how Jody

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“Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston, Zora Neale” The book “Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston”, was written during the Harlem Renaissance, which was a period of time between the end of World War 1 and the middle of the 1920s where the cultural, social, and artistic explosion took place. Harlem was considered a cultural center for the artist, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars (Jim Crow). This book was the first novel to be written by a black woman in that Era.

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The Harlem Renaissance was such a significant moment for African Americans in particular and also for Americans in general, because it allowed them to express themselves through their own unique culture. For example, the text remarks, “The “New Negro” was a way contemporary writers, critics, social activists, and intellectuals used to define an African American population less concerned with the artistic standards of white and European culture, and more interested in self-expression and a distinctive African American culture” (Paragraph 3). In addition, American culture changed unquestionably as a result of the Harlem Renaissance due to political upheaval, economic transformation, and a huge increase in diversity. One reason for cultural change

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The Harlem Renaissance was a time where the African American community was able to dig deep and self discover what their life journey was for them. Through jazz, art, and many other stems of expression, the Harlem Renaissance served as an outlet for many to express their journey with others. Zora Neale Hurston was a notable writer during this period in history, creating works that included the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and the essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” Hurston's writings both adheres to and departs from Harlem Renaissance values, Because Hurston composed these writings to send a message to our community about self discovery and values of life.

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Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual explosion throughout the 1920s. It was a movement to normalize African American culture. Zora Neale Hurston was a leading writer in this particular movement. Hurston didn’t agree with communism like other artist in the Harlem Renaissance and was rejected during that time but was very popular later on in life. According to Kaplan, D. (2010), “Zora Neale Hurston was the best and most prolific African American woman writer of the 1930’s”

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Hurston tells the story of Janie, a black woman who because of her grandmother experiences and beliefs was forced to marry into a loveless marriage with Logan Killicks, a hard-working farmer who had 60 acres of land and could provide for Janie. This marriage ended when Janie ran away with Joe Stark, a man that she fell in love with and thought could give her the love absent between her and Logan. But Janie soon realized that her second marriage wouldn’t turn out better than her first. Joe was just as controlling and degrading as Logan. He hardly expressed his love for Janie and spoke to her like an incompetent child.

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In this novel, Hurston writes a story about an African-American woman named Janie Crawford whose quest is to find her identity and desire as a human being to be loved and appreciated for who she is. Her quest to fulfill those desires is not easy since she has to overcome so many obstacles and challenges in her life. A superiority that her Nanny posses over her to determine Janie's own life when she was a teenager and being a beautiful accessory to the glory of Joe Starks' are some of the experience that she encounters. She also has to make some sacrifices. And yet, just like any other heroes, at the end, she returns to her home with a victory on her

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These ideas expressed in Hurston's writings both reflect and depart from Harlem Renaissance ideals strategically. The Harlem Renaissance represented

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The Harlem Renaissance was the peak of creativity for African Americans in art, music, and literature. African Americans were discovering self-love and how amazing the Negro actually was. The “New Negro” refused the commonly perceived slave image that many blacks were still viewed as. In Zora Neale Hurston’s essay, "How It Feels to Be Colored Me." , she also explains her life and what is was like to be her in the time during the Harlem Renaissance.

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In her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, she uses the protagonist Janie Crawford, a young African American woman who through her three marriages was able to come to peace with herself and the social norms around her, to separate the traits of the black Americans from their white counterparts. Most notably, Hurston’s ironic explanatory critique of religion and use of local color in Their Eyes Were Watching God not only authentically represented the Black American culture of the 1900s, but also captures its values and styles of today. Religion One of the ways Hurston portrayed the black community as equal while maintaining their cultural values is through religion. When the Africans were captured and enslaved, their interactions with Christian missionaries spread quickly. However, they faced restrictions by their masters who forbade them from attending church.

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During the Harlem Renaissance many blacks were harmed due the the explicit evidence. This let whites to realize that they were harming blacks which led to social change. “Go Harlem” by Chick Webb was an upbeat rhythm that helped other African Americans relate to the society. Webb talked about, “Up and down the avenue, You see faces old and new, With a smile that, welcomes you, 'Cause it's holiday in Harlem” (Webb). The tone of his words are positive and jovial.

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Zora Neale Hurston was an American novelist, anthropologist, folklorist, and short story writer and is closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston grew up in one of America’s first all-black community’s this gave her a sense of independence, freedom and boldness that many African-Americans especially females did not have during this time, this distinguishes her from other writers of her time and it is clearly reflected in her work. In Hurston’s time she wrote a plethora of short stories, plays, essays and 4 published novels. Of all of the works she published and accomplishments she had, she is best known for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. This novel tells the story of Janie Crawford a young African-American girl growing

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New York was one of the most popular places to live during the Harlem Renaissance. African Americans were moving into New York from Washington, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other southern states, to build and inspire African American culture and religion (Britannica). During these short ten years, black artists came together to create music, poems, books, sculptures, paintings, and more to create important characteristics such as self-expression, celebration, humanity, equality, freedom, oppression, and more. Some strong leaders of the Harlem Renaissance were Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and others that helped shape the Harlem Renaissance and the people engaging in it (History). American literacy, music, and art had changed during the early 1900s.

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The empowerment of black women wasn 't present in the Harlem Renaissance and in this novel it shows the empowerment of black women. Zora Neale Hurston’s writing in Their Eyes Were Watching God, departs from the Harlem Renaissance through the common recurrence of black women

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