The Harlem Renaissance Movement By Zora Neale Hurston

The Harlem Renaissance was “variously known as the New Negro movement, the New Negro Renaissance, and the Negro Renaissance, the movement emerged toward the end of World War I in 1918, blossomed in the mid- to late 1920s, and then withered in the mid-1930s. The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time mainstream publishers, critics took African American literature seriously, and that African American literature and arts attracted significant attention from the nation as a whole (1).”

When Langston Hughes was writing his poems, he wanted the reader to get a dive into the life of the black Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. In most of his work, Langston writes about the truth and their actual culture such as, both, their love for music and suffering during this time. In Blues

“The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps, for myself, I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almost always on deck.” Here Equiano explains to us the condition and atmosphere that the slaves are in, but fails to tell us what he thought of the white men who had allowed him on the deck. If Equiano had been educated like most of the Harlem Renaissance writers he could have written a magnificent narrative. Unlike the slave narratives the Harlem writers like Langston Hughes wrote stories and poems which were full of artistic creativity and were complex unlike the slave narratives. In the poem "The Weary Blues” Hughes informs the readers (black or white ) about the Blues which was a style of music invented by African-Americans around the end of the nineteenth century, typically expressed sorrow and was influenced by the struggles of the previous generations of African Americans. “Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night by the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway, he did a lazy sway.” From the two examples you can see that Hughes’ poem is much more sophisticated and that it has a lot more

The Harlem Renaissance, was part of the larger "New Negro" cultural and intelligent movement of the 1920s, remains one of the most studied and popular periods of American and African American literary and cultural history. It was also was a period between World War I and the Great Depression when black artists and writers flourished in the United States. Critics and historians have assigned varying dates to the movement 's beginning and end, but most tend to agree that by 1917 there were signs of increased cultural activity among black artists in the Harlem area of New York City and that by the mid-1930s the movement had lost much of its original vigor.

Both Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes were great writers but their attitudes towards their personal experience as an African American differed in many ways. These differences can be attributed to various reasons that range from gender to life experience but even though they had different perceptions regarding the African American experience, they both shared one common goal, racial equality through art. To accurately delve into the minds of the writers’ one must first consider authors background such as their childhood experience, education, as well their early adulthood to truly understand how it affected their writing in terms the similarities and

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.

This paper examines the drastic differences in literary themes and styles of Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, two African--American writers from the early 1900's. The portrayals of African-American women by each author are contrasted based on specific examples from their two most prominent novels, Native Son by Wright, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston. With the intent to explain this divergence, the autobiographies of both authors (Black Boy and Dust Tracks on a Road) are also analyzed. Particular examples from the lives of each author are cited to demonstrate the contrasting lifestyles and experiences that created these disparities, drawing parallels between the authors’ lives and creative endeavors. It becomes

Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. Her parents were both slaves but became a Baptist preacher and schoolteacher after being free. As a toddler, she relocated with her family to Eatonville, Florida, which was one of the first incorporated black municipalities. Her main hometown of Eatonville later on became a focal point and setting in her works as she stated that African-Americans could follow their own roots rather than be washed away in a white society. When her mother passed away in 1904, father John Hurston remarried. She had been sent off to a boarding school where her tuition had not been paid off by them, and eventually got expelled.

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of modernism from 1914-1945 that enabled the African-American culture to thrive. In particular: author’s writings, jazz music and artists, incorporated their culture through their expressive art forms. This was a period that gave blacks more freedom to display their abilities. Also, many African-Americans came from the South in hopes of contributing. It encouraged many interracial activities like dancing and singing (Bayme, Levine, 2013). It wasn’t just a literary movement; it was a period that assisted in our integration and racial rights today. Many of the leaders that supported this era, ended up being heroes of which we now read about in school. So not

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of “Rebirth” of the African heritage. In a quest for racial identity and equality. This made way for various African American musicians, artists and writers to emerge. A few of those became central figures of the Harlem Renaissance. One of those central figures was Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston was a writer, folklorist and anthropologist. Hurston made use of African American dialect to create some of the strongest female characters in the earliest twentieth century fiction. Langston Hughes was another central figure. He was a musician, journalist and a novelist. He became a rare poets that included powerful phrases. Gwendolyn Brooks was a central figure. Brooks was a writer. She was the first African-American

This article goes into the great detail of the reactions Hurston has received. It portrays the struggles she went through as an African American female writer in a white man's world. The article also describes how Hurston stood strong on her views and opinions even when those views were unpopular and how that frequently negatively impacted her career. This source provides useful information. The goal of it is to inform the reader of the social climate around Hurston and how Hurston challenged the norm.

Langston Hughes is a famous poet known mostly for his contribution to the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote many inspirational poems that are still read and used for educational purposes. Many of his poems were inspired by his life and his story. One of his many poems entitled “Theme for English B” talks about how his teacher instructed him to write a page about himself and it will be true. In a “Theme for English B”, Hughes uses tone, and characterization to display a relationship between race and writing.

By making sure the use of vernacular in his poetry, Hughes bolstered his cultural identity embedded in his verses. He commented: “Every artist is bestowed with a special sense of beauty, particularly for sound and color, which characterizes his race” (35). Hence, his poetry emphasized the use of “cultural material” to create the distinct art form. The Black folk music contained much primitive poetry and the folklore provided ample support to forge his “New Negro Identity” (Ponce 3). It suggests that these common people are capable to give to the world its truly great poet; the one who is not afraid of “being himself.”

Zora Neale Hurston is an African American female, who was born on January 7, 1891. She was born into a family of sharecroppers in Nostagula, Alabama, but she was raised in Eatonville, Florida. Eatonville was the first black incorporated community in the United States. Hurston never finished grade school, but she attended two colleges, Howard University and Barnard College. She is best known as an American novelist, short story writer, folklorist, and anthropologist.

In Langston Hughes’ poem, “The Weary Blues”, a speaker comes across a depressed African American man who expresses his troubles through the music and song that are constantly running through his mind. Social and cultural context can be seen through a historical criticism of the work and shows what effect it had on the readers during the 1890’s-1930’s. The Blues were developed in the American south with ties to African American culture such as hymns, traditions songs, and spirituals. These songs were the embodiment of all the frustrations, violence, and oppression that this community had faced. Overall, the theme of this poem is that one has to reach a personal catharsis to be free of oppression and confinement rather than looking to their society