Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neal Hurston - 930 Words

Zora Neal Hurston’s ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, was published in 1937 and is often celebrated for it’s realistic use of language and dialect of the black American south. However, as Wright pinpoints, there is a sense of Hurston catering to the white audience in her use of language, and prompts the question of whether ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ should be considered a ‘community text’ or comparable to minstrelsy. This essay will explore the ways in which Hurston creates a community text through her use of vernacular, as well as addressing some of the other points Wright made in regards to the lack of a clear theme or message in the novel. The definition of a community text is a text created (to represent?) as a part of a community of people. In this case, ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’, would be classed as one within the black community. The ways in which the text could be considered a community text is through Hurston’s use of vernacular and dialect. This is shown through the conversation Janie and Phoebe have near the beginning of the book, Phoebe says, â€Å"Youse just was crazy as you ever was,† to which Janie replies, â€Å"Hand me dat wash-rag on dat chair by you, honey.†[1] The vernacular creates a sense of ease and camaraderie as they’re both speaking in the same way, there’s no sense of a hierarchical divide which is important in presenting a group of people as a cohesive community. On a similar note, the characters using the Southern black dialect allows readers fromShow MoreRelatedTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neal Hurston1176 Words   |  5 Pages In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston, Janie Starks is a girl who has a hard time finding love through out the novel. Janie marries three very different men in her life. Their names are Logan Killicks, Jody Starks and Tea Cake. Each marriage is very different from the other. Janie learns different lessons from each of her three marriages. 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Zora had an unusual life; she was a child that was forced to grow up to fast. But despite Zora Neale Hurstons unsettled life, she managed to surmount every obstacle to become one of the most profound authorsRead More Symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay example1117 Words   |  5 PagesIn Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, she utilizes an array of symbolism such as color, the store, and her husbands to solidify the overall theme of independence and individuality. Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered by many a classic American Feminist piece that emphasizes how life was for African Americans post slave era in the early 1900s. One source summarizes the story as, 1 † a womans quest for fulfillment and liberation in a society where women are objects toRead MoreMarxism And Feminism In Sweat By Zora Neal Hurston949 Words   |  4 Pagesnineteenth century on. 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She wrote a number of books but â€Å"Their Eyes Were watching God† was by far her most successful book that she has written. â€Å"Their Eyes Were watching God’† was published in 1937 had fifty-two editions and had a rating of 109,737. This was not only the most successful book that she had written but it was also one of theRead MoreAnalysis Of Zora Neale Hurston s The Eyes Were Watching God Essay1690 Words   |  7 PagesIntersectionality is the study of identity that looks at how different aspects of identity intersect with each other to form specific and differing experiences of oppression. Zora Neale Hurston deals with the intersection of race and gender through the story of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. However, rather than seeing the way in which Hurston deals with this intersection, the author Richard Wright claims, â€Å"The sen sory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. In the main, her novel

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