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Literary analysis paper sweat zora neale hurston
Literary analysis paper sweat zora neale hurston
Racial identity in their eyes they were watching god
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- Zora Neale Hurston, born January 7th, 1891, was an African-American author, widely known for her classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Being raised in Eatonville, Florida, the first black township of the United States, Hurston was indulged in black culture at a very early age. Zora was described to have a fiery, yet bubbly spirit, befriending very influential people, one being American poet, Langston Hughes. With heavy influence from her hometown, along with the achievement of the black women around her, an abundance of motivation came when Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel promotes black power, all while rejecting the stereotypes held against women.
Tea Cake is introduced as a clever, younger man that Janie takes interest in. Janie clearly pays attention to this man because he is handsome and actually wants her to play checkers with him, which Jodie Starks always forbid her to do. She realizes this and explains, “Somebody wanted her to play. Somebody thought it natural for her to play. That was even nice”
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by, Zora Neale Hurston Janie, strives to find her own voice throughout the novel and she succeeds even though it takes her time to do it. Each one of her husband’s has a different effect on her ability to find her voice. Janie had noticed that she did not have a voice when Jody was appointed mayor by the town’s people and she was asked to give a few words on his behalf, but she did not answer, because before she could even say anything Jody had stated “ ‘Thank yuh fuh yo’ compliments, but mah wife don’t know nothin’ ’bout no speech-makin’/Janie made her face laugh after a short pause, but it wasn’t too easy/…the way Joe spoke out without giving her a chance to say anything on way or another that took
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston contains many elements of racism, sexism, and elitism. Janie spends a lifetime of going from one relationship to the next in an effort to find out who she is. Along the way, there are elements of feminism, or the advocacy for gender equality, that touch her journey as she learns to make her own decisions and speak her mind. While Janie would not necessarily be the most typical conception of a strong feminist character, the context of the southern African American society of the 1920´s, Janie has made some decisive actions that would constitute her as a feminist character.
During the early decades of the twentieth century, opportunities for women to speak up and share their voices were extremely limited. A defying woman of the era, Zora Neale Hurston, found an opportunity for her voice to be heard through her writing. At the Literary Awards Dinner in 1925, Hurston made a flamboyant entrance when she walked into a room of crowded people and shouted the title of her famous play: “Coooolor Struckkkk!” Clearly, Hurston proved she was not afraid to speak out and let her voice be heard. In her book Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates many factors can influence a person’s decision to speak up or not by charting Janie’s relationships with those around her.
Some of the most renowned novels include major characters who act on a whim, resulting in actions that contrast with their normal personality. This is character complexity. Zora Neale Hurston in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, employs this device to show how a character exhibits contrasting traits, creating conflict. Tea Cake is loving yet jealous, which causes him to whip Janie. Tea Cake’s ferocity at the end of the novel is measured by his kindness in the earlier stages of his marriage to Janie.
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, one of the main characters, Janie has a level of low class as an African American women. When Janie and Jody got married, everything changed for Janie as a person. The two of them moved to Eatonville and Jody bought tons and tons of land. He would get carried away with his money and power. He then became mayor of the town.
However, the main character, Janie, doesn’t accept this submissiveness and fights back, therefore challenging the roles of gender and breaking them for herself.
“It was the time for sitting on porches besides the road. It was the time to hear things and talk. These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences all day long,”(1) throughout the entire day people on the porch have looked down and judged others for being the way they are. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God the dominant character Janie had a life full of dramatic aspects, with many influences. Her idea of porches and being gifted with the power to sit on them continually shine through the text.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a novel based on a character by the name of Janie Crawford. Janie has many relationships throughout the novel whether it’s her grandma, friend, or even her husband but each relationship teaches her something different on life. Janie grew up with her grandmother who was a slave and Janie’s life is very different from the rest of ours. She was forced to marry at the age of 16 to a much older man. She then ditches that husband for another guy that she has known for around a week.
Their Eyes were watching God, a novel written by African-American female author Zora Neale Hurston in 1937. In the early 20th century in central Florida, The main character is Janie Crawford an African-American woman now in her early forties telling the story of her life to Pheoby Watson on 3 major periods in her life since she last been to Eatonville. Throughout the book, and she is forced into constant movement down roads after being abandoned by her grandmother and her three husbands. This movement allows her the opportunity to explore and form her ideas and voice in solitude. After her experiences, she stops running away from her problems and being silent and notices that her voice can be heard regardless.
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.
She also describes how some women, like Janie, are able to overcome the stereotypical roles. These stereotypical roles should not play a part in society. Women should not just rely on their husband, following the traditional roles of women, being satisfied with her life as the weaker sex. Women should be like Janie, searching for their inner strength to gain their happiness while overcoming these ancient viewpoints about women. So, how will this issue be buried in the years to come?
Through Janie’s struggle for independence and sense of self, she experiences hardships, but in the end, accomplishes her goals. As a woman,
Janie chooses to (like many women today) stand up for herself and makes decisions that benefit her as opposed to those who attempt to control her. It is arguable that the way society functions is all a
