Another book that I recently re-read that stands up well to a second reading. Hurston's novel, unlike many classics, is as impressive and as relevant today as it was when written.

Hurston's story of Janie, a fair-skinned black woman caught in the time period between the end of slavery and the civil rights movement, is the first woman in her family who has the opportunity to be defined as something other than property. Janie is unable to define herself or seek out the independence for which she longs; however, this is not due to the racism or prejudices of white society (in fact, there isn't a prominent white character in the book). Instead, Hurston takes a fascinating look at intraracial racism. Janie's obvious "whiteness" sets her apart from the black community. At first, she's envied for her pretty hand-me-down dresses and hair ribbons that she obtains from the kind white family for which her grandmother works. Coupled with her straight hair (which hangs down to her waist), her exquisite beauty, and her light skin, she defies color categorization and leaves the question of "What is black?" lacking a definite answer. Later, she's an outcast because her second husband's "big voice" and quest for power in the all black community of Eatonville comes to be identified with the white masters of days gone by, and Janie comes to be seen in the role of the Southern plantation "mistress."

In addition, Hurston explores the repression of women in a patriarchal society. Janie's grandmother tells her that the black woman is the "mule of the world," the lowest of the low. Janie finds this to be true in her first two marriages, as she is treated like property by Logan Killicks and is later objectified by Jody Starks. It isn't until she meets Tea Cake, a man half her age, that Janie begins to live life on her own terms and not by the definition her man has set forth for her.

Whether you like the novel or not, it's importance to African-American and feminist literature is undeniable. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1330453...

I found this a fascinating novel. The protagonist, Janie, is a black woman growing up in rural Florida some time around the late nineteenth / early twentieth century; Hurston tells us the story of her childhood, her three marriages, natural disaster, and trial for murder. A lot of the book - the first chapter, which frames the rest of the story which is told as flashback, and Janie's second marriage - is set in Eatonville, the first of the historic black towns which I wasn't really aware of until I read Beverly Jenkins. Hurston was also an anthropologist and has a convincing ear for dialect. (She also integrates it far better into her narrative than, say, Stephen Crane.) Strongly recommended. ( )

Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is a masterpiece. I began this book last evening and finished it this morning. I felt sad when I put it down realizing that this exquisitely gifted author had given us such a small amount of literature. And yet also, when I put it down I sat smiling with joy at the piece I had just read.
"Their Eyes Were Watching God" is basically a love story, but not. It is basically a coming of age story, but not. It is basically a story of black humanity after their liberation from slavery, but not. This book fits into no category that I know of. It is the story of a young black girl, Janie, growing up in free Western Florida and raised by her "Nanny"; her mother having run off shortly after her birth. She was the progeny of her mother and a schoolteacher who had raped her. Her grandmother raised her with a lot of love, devotion and protected her from all that she could.
When the girl came to her middle teens and became interested in the opposite sex, her grandmother arranged a marriage for her in the hopes of keeping her chaste. It was a loveless marriage to a much older man and as time went on he turned from treating her very well to expecting her to chop wood, plow and work right alongside him. When her grandmother died Janie ran off with another man who came through town and promised her the moon.
Joe Starks did indeed give Janie almost everything she could want; everything she could want but himself. He took her to a new town inhabited only by black people where he decided that they needed a mayor to run things, that they needed more property to build rental housing, that they needed a general store and a post office. And he proceeded to work his way into their hearts as he had done Janie's and he accomplished all that plus he built her a big beautiful home. As time went by she became less and less important to Joe Starks and he became more and more important to himself. Janie's heart began to turn and while she still loved him, she began to see him as he truly was.
Stark became ill and Janie nursed him until he realized that she felt contempt for him and he refused to allow her in his sick room. Others from the community came to nurse and feed him, but his illness continued to his death. He left Janie well off and she mourned for a time and then seemed content and turned all comers away. She had no interest in another man.
Then she met "Tea Cake" and the story from here on is almost pure joy. For me, this was what the book had been building up to all along, though I didn't realize it until I got here.
Hurston's words flow poetically from page to page. Her turn of a phrase is so beautiful that I found myself reading entire passages over and over again just to hear the language and phrasing. Her metaphors are wonderfully fitting to the situation in the story and the book is full of them. The book is very easily read and I highly recommend it and any of her writings. ( )

First things first: Apologies are owed to one Richard Derus, aka Mr. Chock-Full, who half-requested (read: expected) some form of commentary on Zora’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, b/c, I'm sorry to say, there just isn't a lot I can offer.

It didn't leave much of an impression.

It’s the second book I’ve had to study this semester for Vic. Smith’s Eng. 3336 course (Ameri. Lit. 1930-pres.) and is the weaker of the two. As the story goes, back in ’37 Hurston received a lot of flak from the Harlem scene w/ respected Afro-American authors like Richard Wright & James Baldwin & Ralph Ellison & Alain Locke (who?) & Sterling Brown (wha?), spume dribbling from mouths, delivering verbal slaughtering left and right to Hurston’s reputation, accusing her of possibly setting back the advancement of civil rights in writing a book that would appeal to a white audience who still comfortably believed in Magic Negroes (I wonder how Wright’d react to this book’s heavy influence today—I mean, obv. they were wrong), and because of this—Hurston’s ‘quaint’ portrayal of early 20th c. Afro-American culture—Their Eyes was quickly left to fall out of print until Alice Walker decided that No, Their Eyes is not theme- & meaningless as Wright & co. had claimed back in the middle-aged daze of new criticism, and saved Hurston’s literary career (read: this book and just this book) from eternal obscurity and folks generally not giving a shit, basically the reputation we all wish Dan Brown still had.

My main complaints sprouted from (a) the general pace of the story, i.e., stress is put upon tiny moments, most of them in the form of long colloquies, and then suddenly a large amount of time will pass in one or two short sentences, and just as suddenly Our Heroine is in another town, or with a new husband, of which she goes through the required # three before finally reaching independence at book’s end w/ the death of the ever-jovial Tea Cake, and (b) (and I’m probably alone on this one) too often it felt like Hurston put the most effort into each chapter’s closing, many of the 20 chaps. ending with like a quotable (i.e., over-the-top melodramatic) and thick-w/-meaning line, so often so that it almost struck me as—God help me—cheesy—but wait! thinking about that now, re-reading that complete sentence, the rightness of this melodrama makes some sort of sense.

The one thing that really interests me about this book which I was way too dumb and ignorant to follow was Hurston’s representations of mythology & folklore thru its characters and the actions of its characters & so on. I didn’t and couldn’t catch any of this—something about quoting Ovid or something—, but from what I understand mythology was Hurston’s largest influence (besides some recent personal problems, i.e., a relationship falling to pieces) in writing Janie’s search for sexual independence (note: Their Eyes is reportedly the first book to express an African-American woman’s sexuality, to lay things w/o holding back [note^2: don’t get me wrong, it’s still tame compared to the stuff coming out these days]), and that’s pretty cool, man, that’s something that really interests me, but I’ll probably never look into it b/c that’s like, work, nawmean?

One classmate curiously suggested that the importance laid upon the image of a “mad dawg,” the mad dog that bit Tea Cake and the mad dog he became (read: rabies), that the importance of this mad dog image was Hurston doing what’s normally considered juvenile word play, creating an anagram, “dam gawd,” and even though most of the class snickered, it almost seems to fit, that maybe she was suggesting this word play. But then, I also got the feeling that a lot of the importance Alice Walker & co. placed upon Their Eyes starting in the early ‘70s ultimately boils down to Intentional Fallacy.

I will say w/ ease that Ayuh, I recommend Hurston’s second novel, that Richard Wright & Friends were most definitely wrong in suggesting this book’s meaninglessness, as Hurston’s impact, tho it certainly took years to build up and show, b/c she was like way ahead of her time and stuff, is certainly noticeable thru strong Afro-American female writers like the aforementioned Walker and the totally boss Toni Morrison, & while it’s not really my cup of tea, just not for me, whatever: I’m happy to have read it.

F.V.: 60%

[6,220] ( )

Had 2 days to read this in order to run a book discussion as part of our county's Big Read program. Very pleasantly surprised. Well written and accessible. Hurston had a great ear for dialect and could really turn out a metaphor. ( )