In life, changes in character can come from the exposure of vulnerability and humility. Richard Peck and Ben Mikaelsen both wrote quality pieces on the work of realization in weakness which evolved or inferred an evolution in personality of the character. Mr. Peck’s “Priscilla And The Wimps” follows the story of a school bully who faces indignity when a fellow student stands up to him. Mr. Mikaelsen’s “Touching Spirit Bear” revolves around the experiences of an aggressive young man who is sent to an island to learn how to release his anger and eventually heal. While these two stories follow different plots, they come together with their ability to demonstrate the changes in personality from facing shame.
Many authors utilize the events that have occurred throughout their lifetime as an inspiration for not only their novels’ plots, but also their novels’ themes. The author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, is one of the many authors who have utilized their life’s experiences as inspiration for her novels’ themes. Throughout her major novels, she has utilized events in her life, such as her early life, her relationships, and the fact that she grew up in an all-black town, in order to inspire several themes in her novels, and several of her beliefs that she conveys in her novels. Themes, and beliefs, such as African-Americans are not all good nor are they all bad, experiences contribute to finding one’s true self, there is no
From a young age, many people are told that they have free will to do what they want and that their actions are what define them as a person; however, what people are told isn’t always the complete truth. In the realms of reality, individuals are always influenced by the people they spend the most time around to such an extent that it can change who they are as a person. Zora Neale Hurston 's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, epitomizes such truth through the development of Janie, a women who grows from not knowing her own race or what love even means to someone that has gained and lost countless relationships with people. Initially, she marries a wealthy man named Logan Killicks for financial security, but then runs away with a man named
All people grow and develop at different rates, with factors such as heredity and environment strongly influencing one's development. The age-old debate of nature-vs-nurture is at the forefront, as always. The people one meets, and the experiences one goes through play vital roles in forming that person. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford grows as a woman with the men she was married to. Through the tides of life and relationships she realizes how a person is truly supposed to live their life. Janie's three marriages play crucial roles as elements in her development as a person and as a woman. Countless allusions and symbols crafted by Zora Neale Hurston flow fluidly throughout the novel and allow for the reader to understand Janie Crawford’s journey and extensive development. These recurrent patterns serve to better illustrate abstract concepts in the novel. Hurston's powerful use of symbols and allusions work to describe Janie’s relationships along with clarifying and intensifying the telling of Janie's story and growth.
Fitting in is what society is all about, it seems that following what others tell you is more valuable than being your true self. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel “ Their Eyes Were Watching God” shows that living as who you are brings more joy to yourself. With the main character Janie, we know how living in a society of judgement affected her. From living in Eatonville and being married three times, Janie goes from living in unhappiness to fulfilling herself with what brings joy into her life. In this book, Hurston uses symbolism to illustrate that contentment is more meaningful than fitting into society.
People come into our lives for different reasons. Some leave a positive impact, while others bring negativity. Readers and critics alike have treasured Zora Neale Hurston’s 20th century novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, for generations particularly for its complex portrayal of the different main characters. The people a person meet and the experiences that person many go through in their lifetime can alter a person significantly. Through the tyrannical words of Joe Starks and the inconsiderate actions of Nanny, Janie in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is negatively influenced as her actions and thoughts alter her life. The author Zora Neale Hurston conveys the message that people closest to a person’s heart can often hide their true
Throughout the history of mankind, there has always been a battle between good and evil in one form or another. Whether it be light and dark, God and Devil, virtue and vice, peace and war, love love hate, the two sides are always be at odds. Zora Neale Hurston was no stranger to this age-old conflict. Growing up as a black woman in the south in the early 1900’s, and the daughter of a preacher, she was familiar with both the hate and wickedness or unfailing righteousness that a person could possess (Boyd). In her short story, “Sweat,” Zora Neale Hurston explores the theme of good versus evil, the relationship the two forces share, and the inevitable defeat of wickedness through her main characters, point of view, and symbolism.
Character development is literary device used in every piece of writing. It can be large or small. The characters change in one way or another. Character development can be clearly stated or hinted by the author. Authors explain character developments via dialogue, actions, conflicts, and many other things. Being aware of character development in a text can assist one in analyzing that text. It helps the reader to know more about why some events take place in books. Character development drives the plot because if the characters don’t move the story doesn’t move. The character has to develop in order for the novel to progress. One example of a piece of literature with a very distinct character development is classic novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Character development in The Great Gatsby is essential to even understand the plot as well as driving the plot. Character development is most distinctively shown by Jay Gatsby in his mysteriousness,
Social change in our society can be good and bad at the same time; it can fix things that are not operating well, but it can also badly affect what could be currently working. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford proves her independence by making decisions that change her life both positively and negatively. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Janie switches from allowing her grandma to create her life to taking charge and dictating her own path.
Zora Neale Hurston was a well-known anthropologist and novelist in the 1920s, whose works of literature became popular throughout the Harlem Renaissance. One of her most famous works was Their Eyes Were Watching God, which she wrote while traveling in Haiti. It follows the life of Janie Crawford, a mixed-race girl looking for true love in post-slavery Florida. An important aspect of this novel is Janie’s three marriages, none of which worked out the way she wanted them to. Another one of Hurston’s works was a short story entitled “Sweat”, which is also about a black woman named Delia who has issues with her husband. Despite both of these pieces being different in length, they do share some similarities. More specifically, they share similarities
Zora Neale Hurston is a prolific writer famed for numerous award winning plays, novels and short stories. In this paper, I will be elaborating on a character from the novel Sweat. Her novel Sweat was first published in 1926. Sweat is a novel that tells a story about the good, evil, and domestic abusive husband. This essay will critically evaluate the fictional character named Sykes. It will analyze Sykes Jones individual qualities with a focus on at least more than three traits. The traits I will speak on is, abuse, laziness, and disrespect.
Racism and feminism were two specific examples of said controversial ideas, which Zora Neale Hurston exemplified with Janie through the disparities between two races and institutionalized sexism. Hurston’s technique in showing these two theories displays how the novel focuses on how they coincide with one another in a society where some members may choose to be racist over being a
Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” depicts the plight of Delia Jones, a Southern black woman married to the abusive, adulterous Sykes. After many years of physical and emotional abuse, Delia refuses to subject herself to her husband’s malevolence anymore. Hurston illustrates the theme of good vs. evil through Delia and Sykes. Delia and Sykes Jones are two people on opposite ends of the moral spectrum. Delia represents good and virtue; Sykes, evil and vice. Hurston achieves the theme good vs. evil through her use of plot, dialogue, and symbolic imagery.
Zora Hurston uses vivid imagery, natural diction, and several literary tools in her essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”. Hurston’s use of imagery, diction, and literary tools in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” contributes to, and also compliments, the essay’s theme which is her view on life as a “colored” person. Throughout “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” Hurston carefully incorporates aspects of her African American culture in an effort to recapture her ancestral past. Hurston’s use of imagery, diction, and use of literary tools shape her essay into a piece of Harlem Renaissance work.
Zora Neale Hurston’s book, “The Gilded Six-Bits” is an important piece of literature due to its impact on the world during the Harlem Renaissance era. It is considered a brilliant piece of modernist literature due to Hurston staying true to her background and roots as a black woman from the south, in which segregation was still a huge issue. The reason why it is considered a piece of modernist literature is because she wasn’t afraid to write in the black vernacular which was considered uneducated as blacks were progressing in arts, literature, and the music was alive. The story is filled with many different themes and issues that people can relate to such as money, deceit, and for people who have a big heart forgiveness and reconciliation.