Hurston Spunk Analysis

In Ron Howards 2005 Cinderella Man, James Braddock is an altruistic gentleman that sacrifices his wellbeing for the good and prosperity of his family. James Braddock works tirelessly to bring money in for his family during the Great Depression. James not only worked as a longshoreman, but he also boxed competitively to earn money. After working two laborious jobs and earning an income for his family, James breaks his hand. This impairment causes James a great deal of pain, but he still continues work through it. The injury was so severe that James was unable to box, and he was starting to lose his matches. The multiple loses of his boxing matches gets him fired. Consequently, the pain also causes James to not use his hand in the shipyard;

The mainstay figure of the short story, "Spunk," whom the story is named after, offers a unique example of the believable, appropriate, and curiously unlikable character. Being a flat character, Spunk thinks of himself as the most dominant man in town which fuels his arrogance, as well as his ego, as shown when he says, "...the dirty sneak shoved me...he didn't dare come to my face"(Hurston). This exemplifies Spunk's firm belief that he is the most powerful man not only between him and Joe Kanty, but between him and the rest of the world. Due to his superiority complex, Spunk exhibits a thirst for control. A perfect example of this complex is when Spunk faces Lena and tells her, "ah'll git the lumber foh owah house to-morrow... when youse inside don't forgit youse mine, an' let no other man git outa his place wid you!"(Hurston). All of these instances shows how belligerent Spunk is and this ties into the universal theme of masculinity and power. Although Spunk has shown his full capacity for being aggressive and intrusive, he transforms throughout the story from a dynamic character with arrogance and bravado into one filled with fear and paranoia. In the

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.

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. For example, three literary works that entail the reader to better understanding the historical context are: “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, “London”

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.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a wonderfully imagined novel that the author, C.S. Lewis, wrote for his goddaughter Lucy. He aspired to incorporate many elements that little girls like Lucy, in particular, would find intriguing, such as the compelling beauty of the wood inside the wardrobe, the magnificence of the characters in it, and the great significance of relationships between family and friends. He even named the young protagonist Lucy. However, by focusing on his intention to enchant her, Lewis also negligently integrates sexist attitudes and stereotypical gender roles into the tale. This invites little girls and little boys to personify the roles that society enforces upon them.

The play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is largely based on stereotypes. The most prevalent one explores the difference between gender roles. Glaspell exerts the repression of women in the 1900s. During that time, women were highly looked down upon by men, and were only seen as the housekeepers and child bearers. This example is displayed throughout the play with the men, however, the women in this play prove that the stereotypes of gender roles held against them are completely wrong, which is shown through the characters, set design, and symbolism.

The Modern age works reveal that love is an artificial, unrealistic desire as seen through money, status, and women.

In reading Joyce Carol Oates, “Hi Howya Doin”, 2007 and Zora Neale Hurston’s, “Spunk”, 1925, we have noticed similarities and differences between the two stories, which we have analyzed for further discussion. Both stories consist of life that is filled with uncertainty; good and evil are ill defined.In the story, “Hi Howya Doin”, by Joyce Carol Oates, she describes a husky male running along a path filled with a variety of different individuals from all walks of life who want only to be left alone, want no social interaction or discourse and prefer to contemplate in solitude with their miserable existence. In “Spunk”, the author paints a verbal picture of life during the early part of the 20th century, in a rural southern community, where social discourse, social contact and social interaction are extremely important for

During the early decades of the twentieth century, opportunities for women to speak up and share their voices were extremely limited. A defying woman of the era, Zora Neale Hurston, found an opportunity for her voice to be heard through her writing. At the Literary Awards Dinner in 1925, Hurston made a flamboyant entrance when she walked into a room of crowded people and shouted the title of her famous play: “Coooolor Struckkkk!” Clearly, Hurston proved she was not afraid to speak out and let her voice be heard. In her book Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston demonstrates many factors can influence a person’s decision to speak up or not by charting Janie’s relationships with those around her.

if Joe wasn’t a weak man, explained by Elijah “If Joe was a passle of wile cats Spunk would tackle the job just the same. He’d go after anything he wanted the same way.”(Terry 259). Spunk was a bully that also liked being in control. Spunk and Joe took on personal missions to try and make Lena happy. Being selfish in their own right, no one was willing to give up the fight, not even

“Hills Like White Elephants” may be a short story about two people just talking in a bar of a station, but behind every word Hemingway uses lies a deeper meaning. It is necessary to point out that omitting further information is something that is typical to Hemingway’s writing style. The reader has to contemplate what the author wants to portray in his story in the first place. Although the author probably had one meaning in mind, the metaphors can be interpreted in many ways. While reading the story, what came up to my mind was whether the author’s personal life had to do something with it or not. What is equally important in this process of thinking is to look at the views the author has on certain aspects, in this case masculinity and womanhood,

Purple Hibiscus is the first novel and Bildungsroman written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The story is set in Enugu, a city in post-colonial Nigeria during the civil war in 1960. The Nigerian households in the 1960s worked in a patrilineal manner where the father is the head of the household and he is obeyed. The wife and children have little say and the wife is only seen has the one who gives the man his children (Qualls, A). The main character and also the narrator, Kambili Achike explains what it is like living under the roof of her patriarchal Father, Eugene Achike. The issue of patriarchy will also be further elaborated on in this essay and how it affects the characters in the novel, not only in the given passage, but in the novel in general.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman captures the lives of women in a society based on societal expectations during the late nineteenth century. She focuses on the issue of gender inequality where women were often discriminated against and expected to fulfill the role of a perfect wife and mother. The narrator is based on on Gilman’s personal experience of suffering from her treatment for postpartum depression due to the social restrictions on women which represents a reflection on women's social status in society. The narrator, who remains anonymous, is depicted as a depressed and isolated prisoner who is oppressed under her husband’s control and struggles to break free. Gilman presents the toxic effect of gender inequality particularly through the relationship between a husband and wife.

Ariel Dorfman’s “Death and the Maiden” is a work of drama that aims to provide a social commentary on the social after effects of a post dictatorial regime. Dealing with gender roles, the ambiguity of the truth, and the role of justice - Dorfman provides an outlet for victims of war crimes to question their own experiences, as well as forcing an entire society to ponder questions that seem unanswerable. Through the use of the motif of light, contrasting scene choice and an important final dialogue, Dorfman creates a moving work that leads the spectator to wonder: viewing Paulina as a victim of a patriarchal society, do her strifes and emotional conviction make us more or less sure of the authenticity of her accusations?