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Zora Neale Hurston Research Paper

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Biography of Zora Neale Hurston African American author, folklorist, anthropologist, and Harlem Renaissance figure, her works and contributions to the world of literature acknowledge her as one of the great writers of our American history. Zora Neale Hurston, born in Notasulga, Alabama on January 7, 1891 to former slaves John and Lucy Potts Hurston, was the fifth child and second girl out of eight children. Her birth records have never been found, so the singular year of her birth has long been a dispute (Bloom 7). In the family bible, according to Hurston’s biographers, her name is recorded as Zora Neal Lee Hurston; at some point an “e” was added to Neal and “Lee” was dropped (King 1). In 1893, Lucy, along with Hurston and her siblings, moved to an …show more content…

From her sheltered beginnings in Eatonville, Florida it seemed that her obstacle was being free to be who she was unapologetically. The woman who had appeared on the cover of the Saturday Review and who during her lifetime had been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Rosenwald Foundation Fellowship, two Guggenheims, and Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Morgan State College, an Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award in Race Relations, the Howard University Distinguished Alumni Award, Bethune-Cookman College’s Award for Education and Human Relations, was buried in an unmarked grave at Fort Pierce’s segregated cemetery, the Garden of Heavenly Rest (King 11). Nearly forgotten, Hurston would not be properly honored and revered for her works and contributions until years after her death. Although, at the time of her death in 1960, Hurston has published more books than any other black woman in America (History.com). Leading a full life, her pain and struggles never filtered into her works. Despite every trial, Zora Neale Hurston became an author, anthropologist, folklorist, Harlem Renaissance figure, and a true symbol of greatness in

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Born on January 15, 1891, the location where she has been born has been the object of great debate due to the fact that in her memoir, “Dust Tracks on the Road” she writes that she was born in Eatonville Florida but in reality she was born in Notasulga, Alabama (Lillios). “I was born in a Negro Town. I do not mean by that the black side of an average town. Eatonville, Florida, is and was at the time of my birth, a pure negro town charter, mayor, council, town marshall and all” (Hurston, 1). Hurston was never really introduced to the concept of inferiority when the town she lived in was a completely black township, and not to the racism that thrived in the rest of the country (Boyd).

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1406 Words | 6 Pages

Anthropologist, and Harlem Renaissance writer and activist Zora Neale Hurston sought to share the “untouched, raw” characters of the South with her readers. Zora masterfully incorporates metaphors, imagery, idioms, and personification into her narratives as she shares her biography, folk tales, voodoo customs, and the social context of black life. Similar to Dust Tracks on a Road Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography, she uses metaphors and imagery to rise from her childhood poverty in the rural South to a leader taking over a captivating movement of her time, the Harlem Renaissance. In Mules and Men, a black America’s folklore who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed an oral history of the South since the time of slavery. Figurative language in Hurston’s work is used in order to convey its themes and messages and make the language richer and deeper.

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314 Words | 2 Pages

Zora Neal Hurston Rhetorical Analysis In American novelist, Zora Neal Hurston’s, How It Feels to Be Colored Me, Hurston’s purpose is that African- Americans should celebrate their individual identity and look towards the future. In order to impress this on her readers, especially all of race-conscious America, Hurston utilizes satire and metaphors in the interest of conveying deeper meaning and implementing her own personality, thus, further developing the effectiveness of her text. Firstly, Hurston incorporates satire into her text, in which she uses humor to expose and criticize people's vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics. Authors take advantage of many aspects of this device, (strong use of irony,

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704 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the text, Hurston infers that she's optimistic about being colored. “How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company”(67)? Hurston writes that she feels discriminated against but also feels how could anyone not want to be in her presence therefor She feels optimistic about the future. Hurston recalls that “Slavery is sixty years in the past” (65).

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270 Words | 2 Pages

Zora Hurston uses vivid imagery, natural diction, and several literary tools in her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”. Hurston’s use of imagery, diction, and literary tools in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” contributes to, and also compliments, the essay’s theme which is her view on life as a “colored” person. Throughout “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” Hurston carefully incorporates aspects of her African American culture in an effort to recapture her ancestral past. Hurston’s use of imagery, diction, and use of literary tools shape her essay into a piece of Harlem Renaissance work. Imagery in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” is quite abundant.

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953 Words | 4 Pages

Hurston reflects the struggle of black women in the early 1900s America. However this author's purpose was to describe how in these times anger and societies denial were the recipe for strength and revival. Hurston uses religious allusions, swaying psychological perspectives, and crude gender roles to relocate the readers from our modern day lives to inside Janie’s consciousness and how a black woman overcame and shattered societal expectations. Soon after Janie was forced into a planned marriage, she realized it got in the way of her self quest to find love.

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851 Words | 4 Pages

Hurston had grown up sheltered from the rest of the world. Her parents feared that she was unprepared for the harsh reality of the world. She writes about this in the last paragraph when she stated that her "Papa always flew hot when Mama said that. I do not know whether he feared for my future, with the tendency I had to stand and give battle... He predicted dire things for me.

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155 Words | 1 Pages

After college, she married a jazz musician named Herbert Steven in 1927. When their marriage ended 4 years later in 1931, Hurston married Albert Price. Her second marriage only lasted 7 months. Throughout her lifetime she was a novelist, folklorist, and influential anthropologist who traveled extensively in the Caribbean and southern portions of the U.S. to engage

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184 Words | 1 Pages

After moving to the Harlem neighborhood, Zora Neale Hurston became friends with the famous African-American writer, Langston Hughes, and she also made relationships with Countee Cullen. After to moving to this neighborhood her apartment became and was a popular spot for gatherings among friends. While living in this area, she acquired various literary successes. She was also able to go to and acquire a scholarship to Barnard College, where she pursued the subject of anthropology, which is the study of humanity, and she also studied Franz Boas, who was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of anthropology. Furthermore, she returned to Florida in order to collect African-American folk tales that will, later on, would be published as

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454 Words | 2 Pages

During the early stages of Zora Neale Hurston’s life she lived as a daughter without a caring mom. Since the age of nine her and her mom had a special connection but after her mom died, “Zora wasn’t interested in life at home and at the age of fourteen, packed her bags and traveled with a theatrical group for a whole year in the south”(Parini) . “In 1917, after leaving the troupe in Baltimore, Hurston attended Morgan Academy, now Morgan State University” (Parini). After this she

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842 Words | 4 Pages

When thinking of a historical figure, many imagine a president, king, or general that lead a country to greatness, but never realized some could be the ones who influence the minds of society. Although not thought of as anything, writers and poets hold the key to shaping the society’s mindset without even knowing it. Being a civil rights activist, social activist, and role model for women makes Maya Angelou a historical figure who has made a huge impact in American society and in American history. Born poor and black, she was a childhood victim of rape, shamed into silence. She was a young single mother who had to work at strip clubs for a living.

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691 Words | 3 Pages

When Hurston died, she died in an unmarked grave(biography.com). A decade later, her work was revived by Alice Walker and her essay “ In Search of Zora Neale Hurston”( biography.com). Now, generations of readers are interested in her work(biography.com). This is yet another example of how she contributed to American

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450 Words | 2 Pages

To support this central point, Miss Tushabe used a variety of different types of details. One of the most memorable was the use of facts. She shared with us some facts about Hurston's life, such as that she was born in 1891 in a small town in Florida, and that she grew up in a community of Black people who

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159 Words | 1 Pages

During the 1920s something extraordinary accord, an artistic movement that flourished the African American society and that would impact the world we live in today. Some know this movement to be called The New Negro Movement others The New Negro Movement. We often hear about the men like Alain Locke or Langston Hughes that had a major role in the movement, but what about the women? I will explore legendary women like Maya Angelou, Naomi Sims, Aida Overton Walker, Angelina Grimke, and Zora Neale Hurston. These women had contributed to The Harlem Renaissance, but are not often recognized for them.

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437 Words | 2 Pages

Her father taught her and their family friends: Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker, studied with her. “In 1847, at age fifteen, Louisa had begun working to help support the family, doing any job available, often as a domestic servant or as a teacher” (Sattelmeyer n.pag.) When Alcott first started writing she did not use her real name. In fact, she used the pseudonyms, Flora Fairfield and A.M. Barnard. She used those names because she was not sure if she wanted to pursue writing, seriously.

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