Zora Neale Hurston was a remarkable woman and writer of the early 20th century. Her works were thought provoking and radical for a woman of color in the early 20th century. Her works evoked a sense of control for women of color. Hurston’s work did not go without ridicule; some of the ridicule came from her fellow African-American counterparts, such as Alain Locke and Richard Wright. These two ridiculed the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and her place in the literary canon. Over the course of the years, many professionals have argued the need to include Hurston and her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. However, many people have argued what part of the canon she belongs in and what novel can teach students. Genevieve West, Gay Wilentz, Carla Cappetti, and John Lowe argue their cases of why Hurston is relevant to teaching students in Approaches to Teaching Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Other Works. One also has a theory as to why the novel should be taught.
Genevieve West argued the importance of teaching Hurston in the classroom in her essay, “Teaching Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Process of Canon Formation.” She discussed the manner in which she approached Hurston’s work and she allowed the students to read reviews of Hurston’s other works, such as Jonah’s Gourd Vine and Mules and Men. The students discovered various aspects of Hurston’s work. They discovered “Hurston’s work is opportunistic ” (22) and the students went on to further discover Hurston’s work “exploiting black culture for white readers”(23). Once the students have discovered what others have stated about the author, West issued the chance to read reviews of Their Eyes, in which they discovered positive and negative reviews of the novel. ...
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...re Watching God.”
Approaches to Teaching Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Other Works. Ed.
John Lowe. New York: The MLA of America, 2009. 54-66. Print.
West, Genevieve. “Teaching Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Process of Canon
Formation.” Approaches to Teaching Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and
Other Works. Ed. John Lowe. New York: The MLA of America, 2009. 20-26. Print.
Wilentz, Gay. “False Gods and “Caucasian Characteristics for All”: Hurston’s Radical Vision in
Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Approaches to Teaching Hurston’s Their Eyes Were
Watching God and Other Works. Ed. John Lowe. New York: The MLA of America,
2009. 27-36. Print.
Wright, Richard. “Between Laughter and Tears.” Rev. of Their Eyes Were Watching God, by
Zora Neale Hurston. New Masses. 5 Oct. 1937: 22+. Rpt. In Cronin 75-76. Rpt. Gates and Appiah 16-17.
Harris, Trudier. "Celebrating Bigamy and Other Outlaw Behaviors: Hurston, Reputation, and the Problems Inherent in Labeling Janie a Feminist." Approaches to Teaching Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Other Works. Ed. John Lowe. New York: MLA, 2009. 67-80. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 285. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie Crawford, the protagonist, constantly faces the inner conflicts she has against herself. Throughout a lot of her life, Janie is controlled, whether it be by her Nanny or by her husbands, Logan Killicks and Joe Starks. Her outspoken attitude is quickly silenced and soon she becomes nothing more than a trophy, only meant to help her second husband, Joe Starks, achieve power. With time, she no longer attempts to stand up to Joe and make her own decisions. Janie changes a lot from the young girl laying underneath a cotton tree at the beginning of her story. Not only is she not herself, she finds herself aging and unhappy with her life. Joe’s death become the turning point it takes to lead to the resolution of her story which illustrates that others cannot determine who you are, it takes finding your own voice and gaining independence to become yourself and find those who accept you.
the novel, the pear tree symbolizes Janie's idealized vision of love and marriage. The mule, on the other hand, represents the oppression and mistreatment of African Americans during the time period in which the novel is set. The storm symbolizes chaos and upheaval, both in nature and in Janie's personal life. Finally, Janie's journey itself is a symbol of self-discovery and empowerment. As she navigates through different relationships and experiences, she learns more about herself and what she wants out of life.
Appiah, K.A. and Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. eds. Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad Press, Inc., 1993.
"Janie's Learning Experiences in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston :: Their Eyes Watching God Hurston." 123 Help Me. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
Janie sets out on a quest to make sense of inner questions. She does not sit back and
Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.
Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1937. Print.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Company, 1937. Print.
From the beginning of society, men and women have always been looked at as having different positions in life. Even in the modern advanced world we live in today, there are still many people who believe men and women should be looked at differently. In the work field, on average women are paid amounts lower than men who may be doing the exact same thing. Throughout the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston brings about controversy on a mans roles. Janie Crawford relationships with Logan, Joe and Tea Cake each bring out the mens feelings on masculine roles in marital life.
Gender inequality has been a major issue for many centuries now. Societies insist in assigning males and females to different roles in life. The traditional stereotypes and norms for how a male and female should present themselves to the world have not changed much over time. But individuals are more than just their gender and should have the right to act and be treated the way they want. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a distressing tale of human struggle as it relates to women. The story commences with a hardworking black washwoman named Delia contently and peacefully folds laundry in her quiet home. Her placidity doesn’t last long when her abusive husband, Sykes, emerges just in time to put her back in her ill-treated place. Delia has been taken by this abuse for some fifteen years. She has lived with relentless beatings, adultery, even six-foot long venomous snakes put in places she requires to get to. Her husband’s vindictive acts of torment and the way he has selfishly utilized her can only be defined as malignant. In the end of this leaves the hardworking woman no choice but to make the most arduous decision of her life. That is, to either stand up for herself and let her husband expire or to continue to serve as a victim. "Sweat,” reflects the plight of women during the 1920s through 30s, as the African American culture was undergoing a shift in domestic dynamics. In times of slavery, women generally led African American families and assumed the role as the adherent of the family, taking up domestic responsibilities. On the other hand, the males, slaves at the time, were emasculated by their obligations and treatment by white masters. Emancipation and Reconstruction brought change to these dynamics as African American men commenced working at paying jobs and women were abandoned at home. African American women were assimilated only on the most superficial of calibers into a subcategory of human existence defined by gender-predicated discrimination. (Chambliss) In accordance to this story, Delia was the bread victor fortifying herself and Sykes. Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 “Sweat” demonstrates the vigor as wel...
It’s no wonder that “[t]he hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a famous one and [that] other writers have used it in an effort to signify on Hurston” (Mills, “Hurston”). The final, climactic portion of this scene acts as the central metaphor of the novel and illustrates the pivotal interactions that Janie, the protagonist, has with her Nanny and each of her three husbands. In each relationship, Janie tries to “’go tuh God, and…find out about livin’ fuh [herself]’” (192). She does this by approaching each surrogate parental figure as one would go to God, the Father; she offers her faith and obedience to them and receives their definitions of love and protection in return. When they threaten to annihilate and hush her with these definitions, however, she uses her voice and fights to save her dream and her life. Hurston shows how Janie’s parental figures transform into metaphorical hurricanes, how a literal hurricane transforms into a metaphorical representation of Janie’s parental figures, and how Janie survives all five hurricanes.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics: Reissue Edition 2013
Zora Neale Hurston’s writing embodies the modernism themes of alienation and the reaffirmation of racial and social identity. She has a subjective style of writing in which comes from the inside of the character’s mind and heart, rather than from an external point of view. Hurston addresses the themes of race relations, discrimination, and racial and social identity. At a time when it is not considered beneficial to be “colored,” Hurston steps out of the norm and embraces her racial identity.