their eyes were watching god

Their Eyes Were Watching God

By Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston

Grew up in Eatonville, Florida

Travelled broadly/ Other novels record her experiences in Haiti

Part of the Harlem Renaissance and “Great Migration” to Harlem

Originally criticized for stereotyping the “folk-style”—book out of print for a while

Alice Walker reclaimed the novel in the 80s

Bibliography

Color Struck (1925) in Opportunity Magazine, play"Sweat" (1926), short story"How It Feels to Be Colored Me" (1928), essay"Hoodoo in America" (1931) in The Journal of American Folklore"The Gilded Six-Bits" (1933), short storyJonah's Gourd Vine (1934), novelMules and Men (1935), non-fictionTheir Eyes Were Watching God (1937), novelTell My Horse (1938), non-fictionMoses, Man of the Mountain (1939), novelDust Tracks on a Road (1942), autobiographySeraph on the Suwanee (1948), novel"What White Publishers Won't Print" (1950) in Negro DigestThe Sanctified Church (1981)Spunk: Selected Stories (1985)Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life (play, with Langston Hughes; edited with introductions by George Houston Bass and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.) (1991)

What is the significance of the pear tree? Why

would Janie begin the story with this image?

How does Janie discover her sexuality?

How do other women view sexuality in the novel? Think about Janie’s grandmother.

What is considered “sexy” in this novel? How do you come to this conclusion?

Sexuality

Janie is married to three different men

throughout the novel. Describe her relationship to each man. With your group discuss the positives and negatives of each relationship. Is it a healthy relationship? Why or why not?:

Tea-Cake Joe Logan

Marriage

Many critics feel that the most important part of the

novel is Janie’s ability to voice her feelings to Pheoby. Do you agree? Why or why not?

In what ways has Janie’s voice been stifled by others throughout the book? Who tries to silence Janie and why?

What is the significance of choosing to divulge her story to Pheoby? What motivates Janie to tell her friend about her life? How does audience change what we are willing to reveal?

Finding Her Voice

Why is Eatonville so important to Joe? What

does he want to do there?

In what ways does it seem to be perpetuating the old social order?

How does Joe transform both in social standing and in behavior while in Eatonville.

Community

What does this look like?

For a majority of the novel, Janie lives in

Eatonville. How does the community impact Janie?

How does the community view Janie? Does their opinion change overtime?

Describe Janie’s interactions with the community. Where is her “place?”

Community cont.

Janie is often admired for her “light” skin and

hair, suggesting her mixed race. How does she react to others’ opinions on her appearance? Think about her life on the muck.

Why would these traits be desirable? Why or how is this problematic?

Is this still a problem today? Why or why not? A Girl Like Me

Racial Tension

You read about Hurston’s experiences with Jim

Crowe. How does Jim Crowe affect Teacake and Janie in the novel?

How does your knowledge of Jim Crowe impact your reading of other parts of the novel?

Jim Crowe and its implications

The Movie Version

Further Research