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Narrative essay about the hurstons their eyes were watching god
Their eyes were watching god essay zora neal hurston
Narrative essay about the hurstons their eyes were watching god
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Oprah Winfrey implants many differences in the movie adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, which alters the viewer’s perception of the book. She demonstrated relationships between characters unparalleled to those in the prose. Also, her understanding of the plot and symbolism remained inaccurate, as well as, the nature of the main character. Oprah’s interpretation did not match the idea that Hurston had created and therefore, losing the masterful concept of this piece.
At the start of the movie, Oprah takes the relationship between Janie and Pheoby, a lasting friendship that never depicts altercations, and ruins it. “Janie values Pheoby for her open ear and nonjudgmental attitude. She is exactly the conduit Janie needs to vent her feelings about Joe Starks, marriage, and Tea Cake. Pheoby, unlike much of Eatonville, defends Janie’s actions and takes a very modern standpoint- that Janie is her own woman and has a good reason behind all her actions. As a friend, Pheoby’s faith is inspiring and probably influences us as readers to see Janie in a positive light” (Shmoop). Janie and Pheoby confided in each other and could do so without fear of judgment. The book portrays a true friendship that nothing could alter, regardless of the actions the other has committed, or the everyday struggles that every relationship must endure. In the movie, Janie and Pheoby begin a disagreement due to this judgment. When Oprah inserts this confrontation, she destroys the only pure relationship that Hurston created. The two individuals should not have disagreed, but Oprah’s new take on this story caused a negative demonstration of this bond.
Janie and Joe Starks’s relationship included many differences in the movie t...
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Hurston, Zora N. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013. Print.
Kikaya, Feza, and Zahra Gordon. "Silver Chips Online: Oprah Winfrey's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" receives mixed reviews." silverchips.mbhs. Silverchips, 9 Mar. 2005. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
Miller, JDove. "Movie vs Book: Their Eyes Were Watching God." jdove-miller.hubpages. HubPages, 17 May 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Pheoby Watson in Their Eyes Were Watching God." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Their Eyes Were Watching God. Dir. Darnell Martin. Perf. Halle Berry. Harpo Films, 2005. DVD.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics: Reissue Edition 2013
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story centered on the idea of life cycles. The experiences that Janie faces and struggles through in her life represent the many cycles that she has been present for. Each cycle seem to take place with the start of each new relation ship that she faces. Each relationship that Janie is involved in not just marriages, blooms and withers away like the symbol of Janie's life the pear tree from her childhood.
Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Pondrom, Cyrena N. "
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about a young woman that is lost in her own world. She longs to be a part of something and to have “a great journey to the horizons in search of people” (85). Janie Crawford’s journey to the horizon is told as a story to her best friend Phoebe. She experiences three marriages and three communities that “represent increasingly wide circles of experience and opportunities for expression of personal choice” (Crabtree). Their Eyes Were Watching God is an important fiction piece that explores relations throughout black communities and families. It also examines different issues such as, gender and class and these issues bring forth the theme of voice. In Janie’s attempt to find herself, she grows into a stronger woman through three marriages.
Their Eyes Are Watching God is written by Zora Neal Hurston. The novel is written during the period known as the Harlem Renaissance. During the Harlem Renaissance African American culture began the flourish. People were beginning to recognize and support African American; however, there were still laws against African Americans and people were still prejudice towards them. Their Eyes Are Watching God is a story about a woman, Janie Crawford, who was divorced two times before she fell madly in love with her third husband, Tea Cake. The story showcases her trials and tribulations to finding true love. When she married her second husband, Joe Starks, he makes her put up her long and beautiful hair in a head wrap so other men will not be attracted to her. Janie puts down her hair for the first time in twenty years when Joe dies, taking off the head rags symbolized the constraints imposed for women by powerful men.
Zora Neale Hurston uses narrative structure to convey the theme and meaning of the Their Eyes Were Watching God novel. Throughout the novel, she utilizes an interesting narrative structure, splitting the presentation of the story between high literary narration and idiomatic discourse. The long passages of discourse celebrate the culturally rich voices of Janie’s world. These characters speak as do few others in American literature, and their distinctive grammar, vocabulary, and tone mark their individuality. Zora Hurston’s use of language parallels Janie’s quest to find her “voice.” Henry Louis Gates Jr. makes a remark about the novel, that it is primarily concerned “with the project of finding a voice, with language as an instrument of injury and salvation, of selfhood and empowerment” (Harper). This is demonstrated in the novel when Jody stifles Janie’s speech, when he prevents her from talking after he is named mayor. Her hatred of him stems from this conquest of her individuality (Hurston). On the other ...
Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford confronts social and emotional hardships that shape who she is from the beginning to the end of the novel. Living in Florida during the 1900s, it was very common for an African American woman to face discrimination on a daily basis. Janie faces gender inequality, racial discrimination, and social class prejudice that she is able to overcome and use to help her develop as a person.
The characters are put into situations that compromise their beliefs towards love, and in addition, they engage in socially unacceptable relationships. The unpredictable nature of love can also be observed as one character resists the urge to be swept into the arms of love whereas the other is vigorously searching for it. Zora Hurston's character, Janie, already has two husbands. After being widowed by Joe, her second husband, Janie is content to be alone and says, “This freedom feeling is fine. These men didn't represent something she wanted to know about.
Walker, Kristen. "Feminism Present in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." 7 February 2007. Yahoo Voices. 27 January 2014 .
Their Eyes were Watching God is set during a time period in the American history where African Americans were still segregated and suppressed by the white supremacist government. Janie Mae Crawford is shown to be born in a family with no male presence, and the women in her family are not married due to their past experiences with men. Her mother and grandmother have suffered and nursed many grievances caused by the men in their lives, such as the rape of the grandmother and Janie's mother. Thus, in order to prevent and eliminate this seemingly consecutive and bad generational history with men, and to ease her own worry about her granddaughter's future, the grand mother decides to marry Janie off despite her objections. This is shown with this quote:
Their Eyes Were Watching God a story about how Janie reaches a strong sense of self and comes to recognize her independence. But her path toward understanding is not tackle alone. The gender differences that Hurston uses require that males and females provide each other with things that they require but don’t have. Janie sees that fulfilling relationships are shared and based on mutual respect, Hurston demonstrates in Janie’s relat...
"SparkNotes: Their Eyes Were Watching God: Plot Overview." sparknotes. SparkNotes, Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .
Hurston uses the power of language and different narrative techniques to show Janie's transition throughout the novel. It is important to notice that in Janie's journey from object to subject, the narration of the novel shifts from third person to a mixture of first and third person; thus, the shift shows the awareness of self within Janie. Language becomes an instrument of injury and salvation and of selfhood and empowerment. The use of powerful language is exemplified well in the text when Janie is asked to say a few words as the new Mrs. Mayor. Joe, her second husband, quickly cuts in and says, "Thank yuh fuh yo' compliments, but mah wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for not...
This excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were watching God, is an example of her amazing writing. She makes us feel as if we are actually in her book, through her use of the Southern Black vernacular and admirable description. Her characters are realistic and she places special, well thought out sentences to keep us interested. Zora Neale Hurston’s art enables her to write this engaging story about a Southern black woman’s life.