Comparing Zora Neale Hurston And Jacob Lawrence

The Harlem Renaissance was a period where African American writers had the opportunity to show their own style of literature. In the novel Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about a story based on Janie’s life and how her feelings and attitude change throughout the story. The novel adheres and departs from the Harlem Renaissance. The novel adheres from the Harlem Renaissance on culture,racism,and language. It departs from the Harlem Renaissance by attitude on pride and individuality in Janie's character.

The Dynamic Evolution of Janie in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" intricately weaves a tale of personal growth, self-discovery, and empowerment through the character of Janie Crawford. As the protagonist navigates her journey, she undergoes a profound transformation from a woman bound by societal expectations to a self-actualized individual forging her own path in search of love, identity, and fulfillment. Janie's evolution is most evident in her reflections on her first marriage to Logan Killicks. Hurston, through the voice of Janie, captures the essence of her growth, providing a firsthand account of her changing perceptions. In one poignant moment, Janie confesses, “So new thoughts had to

Zora Neale Hurston was an influential African-American novelist who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. (Tow 1) During the Harlem Renaissance Hurston’s novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God, was written in southern dialect so that the African American audience can relate, mainly because Hurston could only write about what she knew. “In the case of Hurston, dialect, as a regional vernacular, can and does contain subject, experience emotion and revelation.” (Jones 4) when Hurston's novel first was released many people didn't not accept the writing for what it really was. “When Their Eyes Were Watching God first appeared in 1937, it was well-received by white critics as an intimate portrait of southern blacks, but African-American reviewers rejected the novel. (Telgen, Hile 1) In this modern day the novel is well accepted and has been called "a classic of black literature, one of the best novels of the period" (Howard 7) In "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Janie takes on a journey in search of her own identity where each of her three husbands plays an important role in her discovery of who she is.

Janie’s voice had silenced itself when she was with joe but now that she has been spending time with tea cake she was becoming more conscious of her own necessities. Zora Neale Hurston uses an array of rhetorical devices in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God to convey the positive outlook that is happening in Janie’s life since joe’s death and meeting tea cake. As the chapter begins, Hurston uses visual imagery and an anaphora for the reader to see the style she was now adopting with her blooming relationship.

In Janie's world, readers enter into Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" with a rich and expressive language that tugs at the heart and mind. The way Hurston deploys diction and the word choice plays a key role in the shaping of a reader's perspective with respect to Janie's experiences and decisions. For instance, through vivid imagery, Hurston's language helps the reader have a sentimental connection to Janie early on, when she is reminiscing on her life under the pear tree. Indeed, Janie remembers the sun as a "new gold coin, just minted from the mint of heaven. " This metaphor expresses not just the beauty of the natural world, but the longing that Janie feels for fullness and happiness.

It is strange that two of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance could ever disagree as much as or be as different as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Despite the fact that they are the same color and lived during the same time period, they do not have much else in common. On the one hand is Hurston, a female writer who indulges in black art and culture and creates subtle messages throughout her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand is Wright, who is a male writer who demonstrates that whites do not like black people, nor will they ever except for when they are in the condition “…America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.” Hurston was also a less political writer than

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses Janie to show that one must have a voice in order to have a sense of who one is and have control over oneself. Janie is a dynamic character and other characters in the novel contributes to her attributes because each of them control specks of her life. To develop as a character, Janie undergoes quests to find her identity and retain it. It is arguable that Janie hangs onto pieces of who she is as she discovers more about herself and gain control over those aspects because Hurston sets the novel up as a frame story. With a frame story, there are reflections happening, so in turn, she must have learned from what she experienced between the beginning and the end of the novel. In addition

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie is depicted as a seeker searching for a sexual and spiritual awakening, which suggests seekers must discover, in nature, their emerging thoughts of sexuality. Janie’s first encounter with nature occurs immediately after she kisses Johnny Taylor. Her initial experience concerning love is provoked by Janie’s budding thoughts of sexuality while she “was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree”, indicating nature is the only place to discover endearment. Prior to Janie’s new thoughts of sexuality, she was under the strict care of Nanny; living under stringent rules constantly prevented Janie from being exposed to love. Janie broke the overbearing ties of her Nanny and came to

Very rarely do we take time out of our busy lives to look at the world around us. However, when we do look in depth, it is astonishing what you can see. Every little part of nature is constantly at work; bees are busy pollinating, leaves are rustling in the wind, rain melts into the soil. Nature is made up of many different features which all come together to create the beautiful scenery around us. Our lives are much like nature, made of many different aspects such as people and experiences, which come together to create your being. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses examples of nature such as the hurricane, the pear tree, and the horizon to symbolize important aspects of Janie’s life.

      Human beings love inertia. It is human nature to fear the unknown and to desire stability in life. This need for stability leads to the concept of possessing things, because possession is a measurable and definite idea that all society has agreed upon. Of course, when people begin to rely on what they know to be true, they stop moving forward and simply stand still. Zora Neal Hurston addresses these general human problems in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston, however, does not present the reader with the nihilistic hopelessness of Fitzgerald or Hemingway, but rather offers an understanding of the basic human aspect that causes us to fear emptiness. Janie, the

Zora Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God fits in the Harlem Renaissance era while still giving a view into the Slavery era. The book does not carry any political significance and it doesn’t carry any one particular overwhelming message. The true beauty of the novel is that it’s relatable and can be read in a number of different ways. Although published in a different era, Their Eyes Were Watching God is most often associated with the Harlem Renaissance due to Ms. Hurston’s association to the era.

Zora Neale Hurston, known as one of the most symbolic African American women during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930’s. Hurston was known as a non fiction writer, anthropologist and folklorist. Hurston’s literature has served as a big eye opener during the Harlem Renaissance, celebrating black dialect and their traditions. Most of her published stories “depict relationships among black residents in her native southern Florida, was largely unconcerned with racial injustices” (Bomarito 89). Hurston was unique when it came to her racial point of views, promoting white racism instead of black racism. Even though her works had been forgotten by the time of her death, now her literature has left a bigger impact to future literature

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement in the 1920s that led to the evolution of African-American culture, expression through art, music, and literary works, and the establishment of African roots in America. Zora Neale Hurston contributed to the Harlem Renaissance with her original and enticing stories. However, Hurston’s works are notorious (specifically How it Feels to Be Colored Me and Their Eyes Were Watching God) because they illustrate the author’s view of black women and demonstrate the differences between their views and from earlier literary works.

The the Novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, by Zora Neale Hurston, departure and reflection the idea of the harlem Renaissance using black community uniting, new beginnings- the great migration from south to north, embracing black/african culture and heritage, and lastly she uses self expression through art to bring forth the more important ideas.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston emphasizes that respect empowers. When Janie’s respect for Killicks dwindles, so does Killicks’ power over Janie. Killicks’ lack of power in his and Janie’s relationship is evident in Janie’s fearless refusal to be Killicks’ workhorse. Killicks’ desperate desire to control Janie’s love for him (or lack of love) manifests into verbal abuse, through which he tries to cut down Janie’s sense of security in herself by telling her that there aren’t “no mo’ fools” who would be willing to work and feed Janie, especially after her attractive body loses its youthfulness (30).