- 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.
“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” Jane Austen. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston depicted the travels of Janie Crawford and her understanding of womanhood and freedom through her several marriages. Throughout the book, Hurston portrays the growth of Janie and her ideals, her hair being a major recurring symbol.
In the novel “Their eyes were watching god” the author, Zora Hurston does a good job of showing how Janie was able to learn how to balance a relationship and keeping her independence as well and everything that led up to that. Janie basically went on a “love” search but was looking in all the wrong areas. As an infant Janie was abandoned by her mother who was raped and got pregnant so she was brought up by her grandmother who was also raped. Her Nanny only wanted the best for her. She wanted Janie to have a life of purpose.
Characteristics that are out of your control are often times the ones that cause the most trouble. Janie Crawford in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, realizes this at a very early age. Throughout the novel, Janie fights desperately to be independent, but she is constantly held back by those factors outside of her control.
Maria Leonard AP English Literature & Composition Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay March 13, 2023 A Journey Through Janie’s Eyes The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is a self-realization psychological-fiction book about a young woman named Janie Crawford and her lessons through life and love. Throughout the novel, Zora Neale Hurston employs various literary devices to guide the reader through Janie's journey of self-discovery. Hurston uses literary devices such as dramatic irony, symbolism, imagery, and syntax to depict the downfall of Janie's inner damage, marriage to Joe Starks, and discovery of different types of romantic relationships.
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Janie’s use of language is limited by the men in her life, but as we go through the story, we see that she begins to express herself more openly through the use of language. Maria J. Racine’s criticism points out that Janie’s voice grows stronger with her relationships. The languages used by the women and men and Janie have big differences in how they see life, power, and their own identities. Furthermore, Racine’s criticism of the book tells us how the men in Janie’s life have controlled her through the use of voice or language.
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.
The casual ignorance of history: The writing of Zora Neale Hurston A growing divide in society makes social commentary easily very impactful, with Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston failed this easy task. When Zora Neale Hurston published Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1936, there were major tensions growing in the United States, especially those between the African-American and White communities. In this book Hurston tries to make social commentary on this growing divide, she fails at this because she ignores racial relationships at the time and severely oversimplifies African-Americans.
Many authors utilize the events that have occurred throughout their lifetime as an inspiration for not only their novels’ plots, but also their novels’ themes. The author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, is one of the many authors who have utilized their life’s experiences as inspiration for her novels’ themes. Throughout her major novels, she has utilized events in her life, such as her early life, her relationships, and the fact that she grew up in an all-black town, in order to inspire several themes in her novels, and several of her beliefs that she conveys in her novels. Themes, and beliefs, such as African-Americans are not all good nor are they all bad, experiences contribute to finding one’s true self, there is no
Their Eyes Were Watching God: Prompt 10 In Zora Neale Hurston’s famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, main character Janie Crawford struggles through many of life’s trials, including poverty, discrimination, and three consecutive marriages that each come with their own challenges for Janie. While many tribulations of the era are discussed during the novel, the featured conflict revolves around Janie, and what it means for her and her dreams of being independent to be alive during a time when she is discriminated against for both her race and gender. Hurston’s novel explores how deeply generations of oppression and poverty can affect a person, and how Janie slowly but surely overcomes the obstacles of ignorance and prejudice barring her
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a widely known novel written by Zora Neale Hurston, one of America’s most fascinating authors. Their Eyes Were Watching God was published in 1937 and was quickly forgotten but has recently received a renewal of interest by many scholars. The novel has been praised as a unique contribution to African-American literature and admired by various people such as African Americanists for its commemoration of the black culture and dialect and by feminists for its portrayal of a woman’s path toward becoming self-aware and fulfilling her life. Although there are those that criticize the book in one way or another, there is, without a doubt, that the novel has many impressive uses metaphor, dialect, and folklore of southern
Their Eyes Were Watching God portrays the struggle and hardship of colored people as they fought for equality. Roger Rosenblatt reviewed and analyzed Hurston’s novel. While Roger Rosenblatt’s opinions on Janie’s struggle are accurate, his view of her relationship with Tea Cake does not agree with Zora Neale
Setting Analysis Their Eyes Were Watching God is a romantic novel written by Zora Neal Hurston. This book is set in the early 1900s in West Florida. During this time period, racism and segregation are prominent parts of daily life. The slave culture of the southern United States had a profound effect on the book.
"It's a funny thing, the less people have to live for, the less nerve they have to risk losing nothing", said Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston means by this is that the fewer motives you have, the more reckless you are. Zora Neale Hurston is the most popular female writer during the Harlem Renaissance. One of the many things she is known for is her portrayal of racial struggles in the south. Although she is best known for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) is now considered to be the first black, feminist novel. Still widely read today, the book brings to life an image of a powerful, self-sufficient black woman, uninhibited by social disadvantage (Porter, 80). In the framework of the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston is remembered as a tremendous force, contributing much to the life and energy of the period. As her close friend Langston Hughes put it “ Only to reach a wider audience, need she ever write books-because she is a perfect book of entertainment in herself. She could make you laugh one minute and cry the
