1. Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston

2. Hurston: Confident, talented
Rejected by father
Grew up in all African American town of Eatonville
Attended Howard and Barnard Universities

3. Joined the Harlem Renaissance
1925
Was criticized by male peers,
considered eccentric

4. Between the characters: Reparté- The oral tradition of verbal dueling, showing skill with language

5. Feminists criticized the book
Claimed Janie loses her voice—especially when she does not speak up
Hurston asserted that it is inner growth that is valuable, not words

6. Set in late 1800s -1930s Covers Janie’s life from age 16 to 40+
Mostly takes place in all African American town, Eatonville (South)
Some in the Everglades in Florida

7. It’s a Bildungsroman
genre of the novel which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood
Follows Janie’s first love, then marriages and self-discovery

8. It is a “frame” story
Starts as Janie returns home; then she flashes back to the start of her story, framed by telling Phoebe why she has returned home alone

9. Symbolism
About the town “Mule”. . .

10. Janie’s Hair
How does what we do with our hair reveal our inner selves?

11. Motifs (repeated images/ symbols)
Plants, trees, flowers, buds, bees