Significance of the Porch in Hurston’s Novels, Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God
“She took to inviting other women friends to drop in and they all expressed envy of her porch. It built Avray up and made her feel more inside of things. It was a kind of throne room, and out there, Avray felt that she could measure arms and cope. Just looking around gave her courage. Out there, Avray had the courage to visit the graveyard of years and dig up dates and examine them cheerfully.” (Seraph on the Suwanee 234)
“It was the time for sitting on porches beside the road. It was the time to hear things and talk. These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences all day long. Mules and other brutes had occupied their skins. But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. The became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgment.” (Their Eyes Were Watching God 1)
In Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God, the physical structure of the porch serves to both literally and figuratively elevate its sitters, and becomes an arena for exploring the theme of inside versus outside spaces.
Avray’s porch in Seraph on the Suwanee is associated with a higher standard of living and is the envy of her visitors. At first, Avray is unsure about this new, “outside show of ownership.” (234) Avray is uncertain about her right to belong to this class of folk and as a result feels inner turmoil about whether or not she deserves such privilege. Her initial conflift with the porch mimics her desire to “[brace] herself to glory in her folks” despite her disgust with their old junk, cracked dishes, and shabby house. Over time, Avray found it easier to rejoice in the comforts of her new life. As she reclined further back into the chaise lounges and cushions of her class, her porch became a place of pride and courage. The use of the metaphor that describes the porch as a throne (and hence the porch-sitters as royalty) reinforces the idea of an elevated social status and its implied protection.
Similar to Avray’s porch, Phoeby’s porch in Their Eyes Were Watching God is a social place. Those who sit out on the porch feel free reign to pass judgment on those who walk by.
Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most influential people in the early 20th century. His leadership style, his reforms, and his personality shaped an America that was rapidly becoming a world power. Theodore Roosevelt is admirably remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his leadership of the Progressive Movement, his model of masculinity and his “cowboy” image (). He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Progressive Party of 1912 (). Before becoming President, he held offices at the municipal, state, and federal level of government (). Roosevelt’s achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician. His legacy lives on as one of greatest leaders in American history.
Pondrom, Cyrena N. "The Role of Myth in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s romantic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, two settings are contrasted to reinforce the author’s theme of a search for true love. The setting of Eatonville, Florida, where main character Janie experiences life as the mayor’s wife, is contrasted with the Florida Everglades, where Janie lives with Tea Cake in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
Ha, Quan. “Utopian and Dystopian Elements in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Rpt. in Themes of Conflict in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Literature of the American South. Ed. Ben Robertson. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007. 27-41. Print.
Woman’s Search for Identity in Hurston’s Seraph on the Suwanee and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
It is strange that two of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance could ever disagree as much as or be as different as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Despite the fact that they are the same color and lived during the same time period, they do not have much else in common. On the one hand is Hurston, a female writer who indulges in black art and culture and creates subtle messages throughout her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand is Wright, who is a male writer who demonstrates that whites do not like black people, nor will they ever except for when they are in the condition “…America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.” Hurston was also a less political writer than Wright. When she did write politically, she was very subtle about stating her beliefs.
"Miller Center." American President: Theodore Roosevelt: Life Before the Presidency. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel illustrating the life of an African American woman that finds her voice through many trials and tribulations. At the heart of the story, Hurston portrays a protagonist who moves from a passive state to independence, from passive woman with no voice who is dominated by her husband to a woman who can think and act for herself. Hurston achieves the greater theme of Their Eyes Were Watching God, of self-expression and independence through her use of three basic southern literary elements: narrative structure, ¬¬¬¬¬allegory, and symbolism. A brief inspection of these three basic elements will reveal how Their Eyes Were Watching God achieves its inspiring effect.
I found both books, Seraph on the Suwannee and Their Eyes Were Watching God to be very well written, yet I found it very ironic and almost funny to compare the two. Although it may not have been intentional, Hurston uses, what can be called, race reversals to describe Janie and Arvay. Janie is a not-so-typical black woman who is confident and while she is somewhat submissive to her husbands, she has more integrity than her white counterpart, Arvay.
"SparkNotes: Their Eyes Were Watching God: Themes, Motifs & Symbols." SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC, 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. .
Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, in the city of New Yord, on the 30th of January 1882. He was son to Sara Delano Roosevelt and James Rooosevelt. Like other American children from rich families, the young Roosevelt was tutored by private tutors and went tot he private schools. After receiving his earlier education this way, in his home city of hyde park, the 14 year old Roosevelt left his home for Boston, Massachusetts where he started attending Groton School. Following his graduation from Groton School, Roosevelt enrolled in Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachuseets. This was in 1900. After graduating from Harvard University, Roosevelt joined Columbia Univeristy, New York for his two year degree in law. In addition to his academic qualifications, Roosevelt served in a number of positions before ascending to presidency in 1933. For instance, Roosevelt worked as a state senator, for New Yor, as well as, as a lawyer. Franklin Roosevelt married Anna Elanor in 1905, at a wedding attending by President Theordor Roose...
In the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston there were many contrasting places that were used to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of this work.
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.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
In any organization, sometimes, monetary schemes doesnot get people involve to pursue work in a certain way, rather it demoralize and threatens the self-esteem of employees. According to Meyer (1975), “the basis for most of the problems with merit pay plans is that most people think their own performance is above average”. The amount may ...