Zora Neale Hurston served an influential role during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of cultural uplifting for African Americans. Hurston’s exhibits the search for identity, love, and cultural freedom through her writing which both reflects and departs from the ideals and goals of the Harlem Renaissance.
Born in Alabama in 1891, Hurston moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida. Eatonville, a rural community outside of Orlando, was the first incorporated black township. Because of this, she was surrounded by evidence of black achievement and was never indoctrinated in inferiority. After the tragic incident of her mother’s death when she was 13, Hurston had to work as a maid to financially support herself. She then moved to New York City’s Harlem neighborhood after earning a degree at Howard University and became a permanent fixture in the city's thriving art scene. She befriended other artists such as Langston
…show more content…
While Nanny is talking to her granddaughter Janie she says, “If you don’t want him you sho oughta. Heah you is wid the onlienest organ in town,amongst colored folks, in yo’ parlor. Got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road and… Lawd have mussy! Dat’s de very prong all us black women gits hung on. Dis love! Dat’s just whut’s got us ah pullin’ and haulin’ and sweatin’ and doin’ from can’t see in de morning till can’t see at night.” (Hurston, page 23). Nanny envies the middle class, white life, She values material objects such as organs, houses, and land which all signify wealth and status. She wants that kind of wealth for Janie and doesn’t want her to work hard from morning to night. The way Nanny thinks is similar to that of blacks during the Harlem Renaissance as they sought to gain wealth and social