ipl-logo

Of Mule And Men Summary

423 Words2 Pages

The ethnographies of Zora Neale Hurstson's Of Mules and Men and that of the Clifford Geertz's Balinese Cockfight contrast significantly in their writings. They contrast in that they differ in their ethnographic approach, what or who they are observing and their judgements placed on those they are observing. The narrative voice remains the same between the two Anthropologist's writing but seems to be the only thing. Hurstons's Of Mules and Men made great contributions to African American culture as we know if today. She focusses her ethnography on African American folklore of the time in the 1930s. Hurston and Geertz have very different ethnographic approaches when it comes to their writings. Hurston approach to her ethnography is participant observation and some elements of her writings are autobiographical. It …show more content…

Geertz approaches his writings in different way in that he uses symbolic anthropology, with the use of the cock flights being symbolic of that of the Balinese culture and social structures. Hurston is able to integrate herself into the culture she is observing and she was brought up in the area she is observing and knows a few of the locals from her childhood. Where it takes Geertz longer to try be integrated and get a conclusive observation as he himself his an outsider. They both have some difficulties being able to fully immerse themselves at some points but Hurston has a better background to do it. In chapter four of Hurstons writing she is excluded when people believe she must be a detective and she has nice clothes and a car. This is not a good thing for her as many people in those parts are fugitives or have done jail time but she is able to rectify this problem when she has a conversation with a person named Mr Pitt. After this conversation people the people around her allowed he to become fully integrated in their doings, which allowed her in turn that she was able to collect many

Show More
Related

  • Creating African Americans Chapter 1 Summary

    485 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Great Migration Of Blacks In The 20th Century To The West Or North

    858 Words  | 4 Pages

    The book focuses on the Great Migration of Blacks in the 20th century to the West or North. Similar to other migrations, there was a catalyst. For this period of history from 1915 to 1975, it was deep racism. The South, while maybe not individually, had a penchant for expressing its belief in the inferiority of Blacks. It ascribed a level of worth that was even lower than that of animals to Blacks.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Zora Hurston's How It Feels To Be Colored Me

    270 Words  | 2 Pages

    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. Imagery in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” is quite abundant.

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston Biography

    773 Words  | 4 Pages

    This all occurred during the twenties and that was the era that rose her to fame. All throughout the twenties Hurston spent her time studying. She took part in the Harlem Renaissance. Her stories and legacy fit right in because it was a period of discover for many African Americans. According to manythings.org, “Hurston became the first black student to attend Barnard College in New York.

    Read More

  • Leah Price In The Poisonwood Bible

    2112 Words  | 9 Pages

    The burden of the black man is the time in the lives of the Africans where they have to defend themselves from the colonizers, or to them, the white westerners. In the poem The Black Man’s Burden, by H.T. Johnson in 1899 as a reply to The White Man’s Burden, Johnson says “Pile on the Black Man’s Burden/ His wail with laughter drown/You’ve sealed the Red Man’s problem/And will take up the Brown.” (Johnson 9-12) This excerpt shows readers exactly what the Africans were forced to go through.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Voice Analysis

    711 Words  | 3 Pages

    Her Story, Her Voice The unique story that is Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story of voices collected together to create one big voice. Hurston uses many characters’ voices to help Janie find her own, actual voice and tell her story by the end of the novel. The story by Zora Neale Hurston is a frame story which is a story within a story. Hurston, like many other authors, uses the frame narrative to help the story come full circle and create a sense that the reader is part of the story.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Harlem Renaissance

    713 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.” (Chief Joseph) The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, artistic, and social movement of the African American people. Blacks united and grew as one, formed new arts and developed their own culture. Their eyes were watching god is a novel about a young black woman who struggles to find her individuality.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Sweat By Zora Neale Hurston

    1187 Words  | 5 Pages

    During this rough time period, segregation was common and prohibition was recently introduced. Along with this, many other social and political issues played a role in Hurston's "Sweat." Consequently, a historical background of the early twentieth century would be ideal in order for the reader to better comprehend and appreciate the work thoroughly. In this story, Hurston writes about Delia and Syke's work lives. In the early 1900's, approximately sixty percent of African American woman and about twenty percent of men were employed (Mclaughlin).During this time period, men felt that they were vastly superior over women.

    Read More

  • Dust Tracks On A Road Analysis

    484 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hurston’s autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road marks the popularity of her career as a writer in the Harlem Renaissance. It is an autobiography intertwined with reality, mystery, imagination, creation, humor and wisdom, celebrating Hurston’s struggle from an isolated southern child to a recognized black female writer. It is an autobiography contains a controversial work evoking both recognition and discrete criticism. Starting with the history of Eatonville, the founding of the pure Negro town, Hurston in Dust Tracks locates herself as a carefree black girl in a harmless place immune from threats of the racial segregation, then delineates her life as a wander after her mother’s death. Aside from her journey in life, the alienation of the narrator

    Read More

  • Mr. T-By Terrance Hayes Analysis

    586 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Terrance Hayes’s poem “Mr. T-,” the speaker presents the actor Laurence Tureaud, also known as Mr. T, as a sellout and an unfavorable role model for the African American youth for constantly playing negative, stereotypical roles for a black man in order to achieve success in Hollywood.   The speaker also characterizes Mr. T as enormous and simple-minded with a demeanor similar to an animal’s to further his mockery of Mr. T’s career. The speaker begins his commentary on the actor’s career by suggesting that The A-Team, the show Mr. T stars in, is racist by mentioning how he is “Sometimes drugged / & duffled (by white men) in a cockpit,” which seems to draw illusions to white men capturing and transporting slaves to new territories during the time of the slave trade (4-5).

    Read More

  • Zora Neale Hurston Journey's End Summary

    1287 Words  | 6 Pages

    Analysis of Zora Neale Hurston Despite their meticulous uniqueness, spiderwebs are commonplace. The dense connections made between each contingent strand occur in various environments all over the world and at all times. Imagining these threads illuminated alternately by moon and sunlight, however, their contexts only seem to glow more brightly.

    Read More

  • Zora Hurston Sweat Analysis

    676 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before I began reading, I tried guessing what the story was about. Only knowing that the title was “Sweat”, I thought the story might be about sports or hard labor. Then I opened up the story and the first thing I noticed was that the author’s name was Zora Hurston. I only found out that the author was female once I saw “her” in the section below describing her life and writing career. I found out other important things such as she lived in Florida, she wrote during the Harlem Renaissance (1920s), she died impoverished, and her work was eventually found by the women’s movement.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Gilded Six-Bits By Zora Neale Hurstons

    1374 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Way To Rainy Mountain Analysis

    1186 Words  | 5 Pages

    N. Scott Momaday is a Kiowa novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He devotes his life to protect and inherit the national culture heritage, and has published a large number of Indian literature with fresh content, unique style and light homesickness. Among his numerous literary works, the early published work The Way to Rainy Mountain belongs to a prose with beautiful style of writing and sincere affection. The way to Rainy Mountain is a Momaday’s journey to seek his root. He skillfully combines the life of his grandmother and the history of the people together, with a unique perspective, rich poetic language, delicate emotions to show readers the origin, development and decline of the culture of Indian 's Kiowa people.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Gilded Six-Bits By Zora Neale Hurston

    565 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Of Mule And Men Summary

Open Document