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Zora Neale Hurston's Literary Output

Killens and Ward (1992) describe Zora Neale Hurston as one of the ômost important literary figuresö of the Harlem Renaissance and the 1930s (21). King (1998) maintains that Hurston represented a ôpioneer in the attempt to define the totality of Afro-American women in literature and anthropological studiesö (117). The aspect of ônamingö is critical to HurstonÆs literary output, a symbol of the struggle of African-Americans to affirm an individual identity that is free, autonomous, independent and strong. African-American womenÆs oppression at the hands of dominant white society and patriarchal Black male society often suppress Black female identity. HurstonÆs works demonstrate that through such processes as naming, African-American women achieve self-liberation.

HurstonÆs (1978) novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, illustrates the story of Janie and her quest of self, which finally guides her to a place where she is able to define and name herself. This is true despite an oppressive society that hopes to deny her power because she is a Black female. The theme of the story is JanieÆs search for a name or identity of her own and her efforts to overcome the oppressive power of those who try to force a name and identity on her.

At the beginning of the novel, Janie has no name when she comes to Eatonville. Hurston (1978) describes Janie as ôso the beginning of this was a womanö (9). Janie is finally named by the townspeople on the porch, itself symbolic of an entry into an enclosed home or community. However, she is incorrectly named as ôJanie Starksö, despite the fact that she has married three times (Hurston 1978, 12). The power of naming as a symbolic act is referenced by Hurston (1978), with respect to the actions of the townspeople sitting on their porch: ôThey became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgmentö (10).

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Zora Neale Hurston's Literary Output. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:50, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711729.html