Annotated bibliography
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Hurston, Zora Neale. “Their Eyes Were Watching God. 1937.” New York: Perennial (1990): 15-16.
The writer in this article begins by explaining the homeland of the main character, Zora. Eatonville is presented in the initial paragraph of the article as the centerpiece of the novel’s setting and homeland of Hurston. The writer of the article seems to narrow down to the sole explanation of the main character’s life leaving out other characters of the entire novel. According to the writer, Zora is a beloved daughter to her mother who brands her the name, mama’s child. She is depicted as an in depended child and this draws the line of distinction between her and other children of her age. Normally it is expected that children of her kind end up being dependent on their parents for everything but Zora proves the fact wrong. This is on account of the achievements that she makes in her lifetime as she grows into a grown woman. The writer brings into light her academic zeal and competence she displays despite the challenges she faces. During her time, whenever the parent refused to pay fee, a girl was expected to get married but she forges on. It is her academic determination that earns her the associate degree in the year 1919.Later in her life in the year 1932, the theme of love is revealed in the character of Zora when she proclaimed her love for Percy. The writer in this article is majorly focused on the milestones achieved by Zora.
Hurston, Zora Neale. “The Eyes Were Watching God.” (1990).
The writer in the first chapter of the article depicts the character of Zora as that of determination and never giving up. The writer claims that Zora had been mocked to death by time but this did not have any impact to the achievement of her dreams as a woman in the then society. She views life in the light of the tree. She believes that in life, one year asks a question and the second year answers the question. She is depicted as that person who could not stop at anything in the pursuit of her goals. This determination sees her to the height she reaches in her life full of bitterly earned success. Among her fascinating achievements is that she managed to write the book, “Their eyes were watching God” in seven weeks. She is proud of herself for the record she set in Haiti, where she wrote the book from.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Infobase Publishing, 2008.
Zora is portrayed as a literary legend of her time through the works of art she did and also the book that she write. The events in her life reveal her ques for power. Power that could not be associated with political power but the feminist power. She could be one of the pioneers of the womens’ movement. Her quest for power was more inclined to the need for equality between the men and the women. It is by this reason that she always thought to have been racist and feminist. The writer goes on to depict the unique character of Zora. She is so confident about herself and even goes on to claim that many people loved being around her due to her unique nature of a woman. In the third chapter of the article, the writer reveals the envious nature of the main character, Zora when they began competing over their prowess. Due to her confidence and a great sense of self-esteem, she believes that Jane came to a point of taking her voice.
Jordan, Jennifer. “Feminist Fantasies: Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 7.1 (1988): 105-117.
The writer of this article portrays Zora as a great artist whose work is an inspiration to the upcoming artists. The writer explains that the works of the late Zora inspired other writers to compose great works of art. The writer explains the intelligence of the feminist Zora. The writer reveals the fact that Zora was black artist and that she always maintained and promoted the African culture even in her strange place. This is what fascinates the other writers due to the fact that Zora doesn’t care but spreads the works of art allover Haiti .However, her works of encouraging the black culture overseas meets critics from other writers that she was facilitating the racism of the time. This, however, could not cause her to stop the African association due to the role she was playing. It was later discovered that she was an activist whose aim was to bring the African race at per with other people especially the whites. She should therefore be recognized as a heroin who began the fight against racism Like the USA.
Pondrom, Cyrena N. “The Role of Myth in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.” American Literature 58.2 (1986): 181-202.
This article gives the previews of the book, “Their eyes were watching the Gods. The book has been displayed to have some sense of black love while criticizing the action of the white people and this is the reason why the book has received some bad reviews from the public. Some people think of the book to be encouraging the vice of racism. It is portrayed as a book meant to nurture the black love with its sex roles. However, the book received credit for being one of the clearest feminist books. As much as the book has been praised by the readers for demonstrating the genius nature of the black folklore, it receives critics on account that it presents the Negro as a folkloric stereotype. The most important aspect that the book arouses is the aspect of self –fulfilment from the character of Zora. The book is an old book but is still used even in the contemporary world as an encouragement especially to the girls who are more vulnerable to damage than the boys in the society. The book should, therefore be used as a motivation to the girls who feel insufficient.
