In a passage from Seraph on the Swanee, Hurston illustrates impoverished town in west Florida and how the people that live there conduct simple lives by depending and feeding off the swamp. By giving the passage historical context, Hurston clearly shows how rare the town of Sawley is in today’s fast pace lifestyle. Through describing the town Sawley and its people, Hurston displays an appreciation for the simple lifestyle the people of Sawley lead. Hurston highlights the beauty of Sawley and how the lifestyle of the people there may be different, but the town stands as little slice heaven for those who call it home. Through an allegory of the bliss that Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden.
Hurston tells the story of Janie, a black woman who because of her grandmother experiences and beliefs was forced to marry into a loveless marriage with Logan Killicks, a hard-working farmer who had 60 acres of land and could provide for Janie. This marriage ended when Janie ran away with Joe Stark, a man that she fell in love with and thought could give her the love absent between her and Logan. But Janie soon realized that her second marriage wouldn’t turn out better than her first. Joe was just as controlling and degrading as Logan. He hardly expressed his love for Janie and spoke to her like an incompetent child.
Ligon perfectly embodies Hurston’s intended message through his portrayal of her words on canvas. Hurston’s point of feeling contrasted and that her voice cannot be heard is depicted perfectly through Ligon’s portrayal of this piece. This work of art contains so much depth and meaning, and it is able to perfectly capture an extremely common and powerful feeling that many black people still have today. The main idea that Ligon wants the viewer to walk away with is that everyone needs to embrace the importance of black people being able to speak their minds, which is exactly what Zora Neale Hurston did so many years
In the excerpt of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel “Seraph on the Suwannee,” the author describes this town as unique compared to the ones that exist today with the numerous amounts of literary devices such as diction, vivid imagery, and parallelism. Moreover, Hurston goes into detail about the distinct features this town attains with a detached tone that shifts in the third paragraph to a characterizing one when referring to the past and the civilians that reside at the particular location. Ultimately, the author gives life to the community through words to represent who they are due to their demeanor towards Sawley rather than their individuality. The excerpt begins with a geographic description of Sawley and its surroundings. Hurston utilizes literary devices such as descriptive diction and imagery to aid the reader in visualizing the environment she is referring
Born on January 15, 1891, the location where she has been born has been the object of great debate due to the fact that in her memoir, “Dust Tracks on the Road” she writes that she was born in Eatonville Florida but in reality she was born in Notasulga, Alabama (Lillios). “I was born in a Negro Town. I do not mean by that the black side of an average town. Eatonville, Florida, is and was at the time of my birth, a pure negro town charter, mayor, council, town marshall and all” (Hurston, 1). Hurston was never really introduced to the concept of inferiority when the town she lived in was a completely black township, and not to the racism that thrived in the rest of the country (Boyd).
Zora Neal Hurston’s life had many ups and downs, and some is still a mystery to us (Telgan, 301). Born in Eatonville, Florida, an all African American community, Hurston grew up not feeling the full force of the nations racial problem (Telgan, 301). At the ripe age of 14, she left the nest and started working for white families (Telgan, 301). One of which sent her to Morgan Academy, which led her to study at Barnard College under anthropologist Franz Boas (Telgan, 301). Afterwards, Hurston went to colleges such as Howard University and Columbia University, where she studied to receive a Ph.D. in anthropology (Telgan, 301).
The novel begins showing Janie as a young girl. Hurston explains Janie 's family history by recounting how her black mother was raped by a white school teacher, leading to her biracial nature. The story instills in the reader a reason to be against white men. The novel is centered around the main motif of hair and most specifically Janie 's hair. Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie 's hair represents her strength as a woman, and by showing how a woman 's strength collides with both masculine ideals as well as white power, Hurston shows ingrained problems of acceptance within the world.
Throughout the text, Hurston infers that she's optimistic about being colored. “How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company”(67)? Hurston writes that she feels discriminated against but also feels how could anyone not want to be in her presence therefor She feels optimistic about the future. Hurston recalls that “Slavery is sixty years in the past” (65).
The horizon, the place where the sky meets the earth, where the sun emerges with soft light and retreats to rest, the first one who let us know that the earth was round and what looks to be the destination of migrating birds. The horizon has been our farthest and yet closest neighbor, teacher, and home and in Hurston’s captivating novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, she uses this powerful symbol to represent in its great expanse, a yearning that keeps restless spirits in flight. No one can see over the horizon and so it remains an ambiguous destination characterized only by the feeling of satisfaction. Though few take up in its pursuit, everyone has their own unique horizon; Janie’s is to find love but not just any love as she comes to learn
Hurston had grown up sheltered from the rest of the world. Her parents feared that she was unprepared for the harsh reality of the world. She writes about this in the last paragraph when she stated that her "Papa always flew hot when Mama said that. I do not know whether he feared for my future, with the tendency I had to stand and give battle... He predicted dire things for me.
After Hurston heard the court ruling that schools will be desegregated , Hurston wrote that she has “no sympathy nor respect for the “tragedy of color” school of thought among us”. She felt there was no need for schools to desegregate. By saying this, it shows us Hurston was against desegregation. Therefore her goal was never for total equality for blacks and whites. She let’s this belief of hers show through in Their Eyes Were Watching God by illustrating abuse among the black community to each other.
Historical criticism strives to cognize a literary work by examining the social, cultural, and intellectual context that essentially includes the artist’s biography and milieu. Historical critics are more concerned with guiding readers through the use of identical connotation rather than analyzing the work’s literary significance. (Brizee and Tompkins). The journey of a historical reading begins with the assessment of how the meaning of a text has altered over time. In many cases, when the historical context of a text is not fully comprehended, the work literature cannot be accurately interpreted.
During this time period, Whites did not see African Americans intellectually equal. Hurston demonstrates this by stating how blacks lack confidence, until night time when their master is gone, they be themselves. In the book it states, “The sun
Name: Lakisha Minnis Instructor: Mr. Compton English 2202-001 Date: April. 24, 2017 Sweat 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.
In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “The Gilded Six-Bits”, many different aspects can be justified and analyzed. One of the things I found most interesting was that Zora Neale Hurston attempted to objectify many of the characters. Objectifying means to treat someone, a physical being, as an object rather than a human. Zora Neale’s short story “The Gilded Six-Bits” is a great example of displaying female subjectivity in African American women’s narratives. Otis D. Slemmons, is one of the main characters who plays a very crucial role in the development on this story.
