Down Goes Hurston Essays - 1255 Words

Down Goes Hurston The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s is a great time for black artists; it is a rebirth of art, music, books and poetry. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie, the protagonist, is treated kindly for a black women. She does not go through the torment of black culture during that era or the previous eras. Throughout the book Hurston amp;quot;fibsamp;quot; about racial oppression. Janie gets respect by the white people she encounters. Hurston makes the reader imagine that African-American life is easygoing. Richard Write’s critique of Their Eyes Were Watching God is accurate and therefore, the book should not be included in the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston breaks several of the themes of the†¦show more content†¦For the duration of the book Hurston does not write to protest racial oppression. This breaks yet another theme of Harlem Renaissance writing. She discusses black life as if it were the same as white life. She neglects to mention any information to protest racial oppression. Hurston does this by writing a melodious novel; it is very appealing to the reader. ‘amp;quot;What she doin’ coming back here in dem overhalls? Can’t she find no dress to put on? -Where’s dat blue satin dress she left here in?amp;quot;’(2). In this passage Hurston appeals to the reader. She is trying to use pleasant vernacular while getting her point across. No where does Hurston attempt to state any opposition to racial oppression. Again, she is making the book sound like black culture is effortless and simple. ‘amp;quot;Tea Cake, Ah ‘clare Ah don’t know whut tuh make outa you. You’se so crazy. You better lemme fix you some breakfastamp;quot;’(102). This sounds exactly like a normal white person conversation. Most blacks of that era could only dream about the getting breakfast in morning. In tradition most blacks would wake up on cold hard earth and go straight to work, and yet Hurston disregards to state reality. Even though the book is fiction, it must obey the three themes of the Harlem Renaissance. Racial oppression includes lynching and Hurston does not express these racist actions. In the course of the novel JanieShow MoreRelatedBlack And White Cultures : Hurston s Essay About Being Black1244 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferent aspects or phases of her life and how she sees things differently than her friends, family, and colleagues. In the first section Zora states â€Å"white people differed from colored to me only in that they rode through town and never lived there† (Hurston 145). In her preteenager years, she was not subject to the negative aspects of being black in the south in the early twentieth century. This was mostly due to living in an all-black town, and not seeing any interactions between the races. By beingRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston1553 Words   |  7 PagesAn effec tive and personable author resolves to construct a realistic cast of characters, rather than a company filled with pigeonholed characters, each serving a specific purpose. In the fashion of the compelling writer, Zora Neale Hurston refused to put her people down and victimize them, a controversial move at the time when African-American authors seeked to raise awareness to the blatant discrimination against their communities. Instead of simply making her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching GodRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God Critical Analysis1502 Words   |  7 PagesAn analysis of Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God Certain goals or visions are often withheld for the simple fact that what we want sometimes does not look right in the eyes of people we hold dear. In The novel â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† by Zora neale hurston, skillfully uses characterization to vividly portray how gender superiority impacts one’s decisions in life. Janie Crawford the protagonist struggles trying to find who she is through the men she meets in her life becauseRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God1273 Words   |  6 Pages It is a commonly held belief that our childhoods have at least some effect on our adult life. For Zora Neale Hurston, she presents that view in her novel, Their Eyes were Watching God. While Hurston does not give too much insight into Janie’s childhood, one can perceive how her adult life has been affected by what Hurston gives. Janie was raised by her Nanny, used to enduring things that were out of her control in her childhood (specifically started when she was youn g and married off.) It seemsRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God : Gender Differences1584 Words   |  7 PagesDifferences Zora Neale Hurston is considered one of the most unsurpassed writers of twentieth-century African-American literature. Published in 1937, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God depicts the life of Janie Crawford, an African-American woman, who is in search of true love and ultimately her true self. In the novel, Janie shows us that love comes in all shapes and forms, and love is different with each person you choose to love. In the opening of the novel, Hurston uses a metaphor toRead MoreIn Zora Neale Hurston And Janie In Their Eyes Were Watching God1007 Words   |  5 PagesJanie goes through many phases of her life. Hurston does an extraordinary job of putting the reader in the time period of this novel. The book becomes alive and understandable as it progresses. The relationship of Tea Cake and Janie is crucial in the understanding of this story. In Zora Neale Hurstons novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston expresses that Tea Cake does not love Janie when he first started seeing her, but his love and intentions change over time. In the beginning of theirRead MoreThe Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston1595 Words   |  7 PagesJanie the Feminist The novel â€Å"The Eyes Were Watching God† by Zora Neale Hurston takes place in the Harlem Renaissance period where African American culture exploded in the United States. Slavery has been abolished which gives more rights to black men, leaving women to fill the position as a modern slave. This was a period of such suppression of woman that they were treated as if they were brainless property, much like slaves. Janie refuses to succumb to society s standards of how woman shouldRead MoreVarious Types Of Literary Devices1182 Words   |  5 Pagesdictionary, gender roles can be defined as, â€Å"the public image of being male or female that a person presents to others†. Independence can be defined as, â€Å"freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others†. In the early 1900s down in the South, gender roles and their independence was very prominent. Women who were white started to gain more independence, and their low paying jobs gave th em a little more freedom. They started to develop their own identity instead of being identifiedRead More Search for Identity in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston1403 Words   |  6 PagesZora Neale Hurston goes through trials and tribulations as being a twenty-century African American such as slavery and feeling like she belongs. Imagine every time you think you are finally happy with whom you are and it turns out that wasn’t the case. In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie embarks on journey in search for her own identity where each of her three husbands plays an important role in her discovery of who she is. Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891 to the parents of John Hurston and LucyRead More Female Spirituality and Sexuality Explored Through Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Tell My Horse1647 Words   |  7 PagesZora Neale Hurston, while living in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was researching voodoo on the most scholarly level. She was studying with Haiti’s most well known hougans and mambos, or priests and priestesses. At this time she was gathering knowledge about voodoo so she could write the text, Tell My Horse. Also, at this same time Hurston had finished writing, Their Eyes Were Watching God in only seven short weeks. A close reading of this novel provides the reader with a relationship between voodoo and