Many young girls in poor and developing countries are forced to marry so their families are able to eat (Doki). “More than one-third of all girls are married in 42 countries, according to the U.N. Population Fund, referring to females under the age of 18” (Doki). Many young women are abused and murdered because of the lack of protection (McDonald). How can such an appalling problem take place in our world today, and how can we stop it? Thanks to authors such as Hurston, problems like these can be brought to light, but is it enough? An organization called “Girls Not Brides” tries to help solve these problems by educating the people of rights and making sure laws and policies are put in place. Another organization called “Equality Now” also
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 's intention in this novel is to bring out Arvay 's urge for self-identity and motherhood. At the beginning of the novel, Arvay desires to devote her life to religion but it is not taken seriously by many of the young men in Sawley. However, they continue to pursue her, despite her “fits and spasms” like the ones which her mother had in her youth: “No one thought too much about the seizures. Fits were things that happened to some young girls, but they grew out of them sooner or later. It was usually taken as a sign of a girl being “high-strung”.
Hurston used the stylistic techniques of figurative language and point of view to strengthen the tone of wanting more out of a lonely life. A major factor Hurston used to enhance the tone was figurative language. For example, when she included the fact that Janie, the main character, had a starched ironed face and set in the funeral behind her veil there wasn’t really a veil it was just her face but, it was portrayed in such a way so that one would notice it was just a cover up.
Hurston’s use of symbolism creates a dynamic piece of literature that can be looked at through multiple lenses. The symbolism in Sweat is somewhat overt, making it difficult to not be noticed. There is a heavy use of religious metaphor, tying the story back to the story of Adam and Eve from the Christian bible. This gives the piece a personal touch, showing us that Hurston has a strong spiritual connection. It also helps to add a whole other layer, creating a depth to the story that would not otherwise be accessible.
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, we follow our protagonist, Janie, through a journey of self-discovery. We watch Janie from when she was a child to her adulthood, slowly watching her ideals change while other dreams of hers unfortunately die. This is shown when Jane first formulates her idea of love, marriage, and intimacy by comparing it to a pear tree; erotic, beautiful, and full of life. After Janie gets married to her first spouse, Logan Killicks, she doesn’t see her love fantasy happening, but she waits because her Nanny tells her that love comes after marriage. Janie, thinking that Nanny is wise beyond her years, decides to wait.
"Snakes vs Delia” Hurston 's Delia Jones in "Sweat" is a woman who is trapped in her marriage with an abusive man. In the end Delia finally gets peace from the snake. She has been with Sykes for 15 years. The snake represents evil, fear, and is a symbol for Sykes himself.
To further explain, in the Girl Rising documentary, viewers are taken through the life of a young girl, Suma, in Nepal. She was only six-years-old when her parents exchanged her obedient working hand for money. She was then sent to a home where she would do chores such as washing the dishes, cut firewood and maintain the farm. At her next working home, Suma’s employer’s forced her to eat their scraps, and called her “unlucky girl”. At this home, she was sexually abused, but she did not let that define her.
While married Janie had to conform to what her husband wanted her to be like, look like, and act like. Janie’s hair is another powerful symbol in the novel. It symbolizes her power and freedom within society. It is what most of the men characters noticed about her right away. Her hair was so beautiful that while being married to Joe Starks, he made her wear it in a hair rag.
In "Sweat," the main character, Delia Jones, is portrayed as a strong-willed, hard-working washwoman who would wash clothes for white people. She worked tireless to provide for her family. Delia was married to Sykes, who would berate, beat and mentally abuse Delia, incessantly. For example, Sykes would walk into the room where Delia just folded clothing for the white people and find the whitest pile of clothes, stomp all over them and then kick them across the room, leaving her to clean up and restack them. Sykes was also openly living in infidelity with another woman, named Bertha.
Zora Neale Hurston once said that “No matter how far away a person can go the horizon is till way beyond you”, and in her fictional novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston takes the audience through Janie Crawford’s journey to her horizon. The novel, published in 1937 follows Janie through her three marriages to Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods. Each of Janie’s relationships move her closer and closer to her dreams symbolized as her horizon. Through her relationships with Logan, Joe, and Tea Cake, Janie gains a sense of perspective, freedom, and opportunity.
This article is a curtain raiser of a self, ofan African American voice which lays bare the multiple voices buried deep into the conscience. The study of Dust Tracks on a Road – an autobiography of Zora Neale Hurston, affords an insight into the life of black women of the twenty first century. Zora Neale Hurston’s autobiography has been denounced as shallow and dishonest. However, a close reading of the text in terms of its narrative strategies and persona links the work to the African American continuum. It argues that a distinct woman’s voice must be heard in order to understand how the female experience may be different from the dominant male tradition, but, equally authentic.
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.
The issue of women’s rights and how different societies and cultures deal with it had been on the table for many centuries. In the United States of America during the 1800s, women began to move toward and demand getting equal rights as men, they decided to speak up and fight for their stolen rights. In the 1960s, continued working toward their goal, women broadened their activities through the women’s rights movement which aimed to help them in gaining their right to receive education, occupy the same jobs that were once titled only for men, and get an access to leadership positions. The women’s rights movement has a great impact on women today, although it started a long time ago, but it did not stop and women are reaping their fruit today,
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.
In our advanced 21st century, it is hard to imagine our society as anything short of perfect. After all, we have come a long way from our seafaring ancestors. However, the reality is that despite how we may sometimes avoid seeing it, our society is anything but perfect. A very prevalent issue today is that despite laws being set in place to enforce the equal treatment of men and women, women all over the world today still face poor treatment and discrimination. Because of how deep and long this problem has run, revising discriminatory laws may not abolish discrimination and legislating laws that endorse gender equality may not necessarily create equality.