Author - Hurston was a black writer living in America in the 1890s-1960's. She was writing in a time called the Harlem Renaissance, which was a community of black artists who created and collected black literature. The movement expressed a new pride in black racial identity and Hurston was one of these writers. Her success came after her death, with the novel Their eyes were Watching God.
Summary - The novel follows sixteen year old Janie through her life and her marriages to three men, the first for protection on her grandmothers insistence (Logan), the second with promises of a new life (Joe) and the third for love (Tea Cake), and the problems and struggles she faces with finding herself and the circumstances she ends up in.
Struggles for identity
- Gender - In her relationship with Joe, she is expected to act exactly as a wife and do exactly as he says; 'you getting too moufy Janie,' shows that she is not allowed to express an opinion, and is oppressed by Joe, even though his intentions are good.
- Racial - black people such as Tea Cake are considered inferior by many; 'its de colour and de features.' Even spoken by Miss Turner, who is a coloured herself, considers herself above Tea Cake, just because her skin is paler than his.
- Jim Crowe laws
- Segregation
- Great Depression
- Individual
Language
The novel is written in the dialect of the characters, and in doing this, Hurston allows the reader to fully immerse themselves in the culture of the novel. The characters language is a strong part of their identity.
Examples: -'I' > 'ah'
-'the' > 'de'
- 'hasn't' > 'ain't'
- 'gone' > 'done'
No comments:
Post a Comment