Rating: 
Summary: Their Eyes Were Watching God The Wes Version
Review: Summary of Their Eyes Were Watching God
This book written by Zora Hurston tells the story of a black lady whose name is Janie. The story takes place in the state of Florida apparently after World War II. Janie grew up with her grandmother, who gave up everything to raise her and her mother. Janie's grandmother lived a hard life, which is the reason why she wanted Janie to marry a wealthy person. Janie had her own ideas about love, but she was not strong enough to stand up and defend them. Life with Logan her first husband was not good because she married him thanks to her grandmother, who forced her to do so. She did not love him and besides that, Logan did not treat her good. She prayed for the end of this relationship. Latter she met Joe, and she thought that he was the man of her dreams, and the type of romance that she was looking for.
One day when Janie and Logan were arguing really bad, Logan threatened her with an ax and he told her that he will kill her. She ran out of the house with Joe, and that afternoon before the sundown she married Joe. They moved to a town where there were a lot of black people. Joe bought land and then he sold it to black people that were moving to the town, he set a store also. After the years went by he became the major of the city. For Janie life was not easy with Joe either. He treated her as an ornament. He was so interested in becoming somebody important in the community that he did not pay attention to Janie, and eventually he became aggressive. Before he died Janie told him that the problem in their marriage was that he did not listen to her. When he died Janie acted like she was sad, but inside her heart she was happy.
One evening Janie met a guy named Tea Cake in the store, they played and flirted for a little bit, and that was the beginning of a new relationship. Compared to the relationship between Janie and Joe, the relationship between Tea Cake and Janie progressed slowly and playfully. The people in the town criticized her relationship because for them it was too soon for Janie to meet another person. Phoeby, Janie's best friend shared all the secrets of the relationship, and sometimes Phoeby wondered how her friend Janie had such a big change because she did a lot of things with Tea Cake that she did not do before.
Tea Cake was a new world for Janie. He took her to places that her Phoeby latter described as "places where she [Janie] had never been". At this point Janie was so tired of not living the life she wanted. Janie often described her life as her "Grandma's way to live". She decided to sell the store and move out of town.
Janie and Tea Cake got together. It is interesting to see that their relationship as a couple was not easy either, but this time things were different because Janie loved him. They overcame a lot of bad situations such as when Tea Cake took all the money from Janie and spent it with his friends. He latter on recovered the money by gambling, even though they had to move out of town because some people were mad against Tea Cake. Latter Tea Cake had an affair with a woman named Nunkie. Janie even forgave Tea Cake for beating her up because he wanted to show Mr. Turner's brother that he had control over Janie. Then in the stormy night Tea Cake get rabies from a dog that bit him on the face. This caused Tea Cake to become quite bit insane, that he even shot Janie with a pistol. Janie shot him with a rifle and she killed Tea Cake. She explained her cause to the court and she got free from all charges. She prepared a nice funeral for Tea Cake and then she returned to her old town, and she shared her story with Phoeby. The book ends describing how happy Janie felt at that time about how she had lived her life.
Rating: 
Summary: I recommend this book to anyone
Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is definitely a book worth reading. Set in the post-civil war south, the fiction novel takes place in an all African American community - a town called Eatonville. The novel explores the life of protagonist Janie Crawford, a black woman who has grown through her experiences with three husbands.
Well known black authors, such as Richard Wright, criticized this book when it first came out for not portraying black people well. Wright was outraged by the dialect Hurston used. He said Hurston wrote it to give the white majority what they wanted to hear. However, I think the dialect and dialogue helps any reader feel a stronger connection to the scene. It wouldn't be realistic if she wrote it in proper English.
Hurston also focuses the novel on black people in a black world-not black people in a white world. This is unique to most novels of this genre. The majority show much oppression from the whites, and the blacks' struggle to deal with that oppression. Hurston, on the other hand, portrays black people in a more ideal, yet nonetheless realistic manner, through their interactions with a homogeneous community of African Americans.
Hurston does not just focus on the trials and experiences of humankind, but that of females especially. She puts an emphasis on feminism. We see Janie's struggle to think for her self and speak out. All three of her husbands demean her in one way or another. She gives a very realistic portrayal of human emotions as a result of specific events that have occurred. Alix Wilber said, "In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston breathes humanity into both her men and woman, and allows them to speak in their own voices."
Hurston brings the content of the novel to life through her use of words and imagery. The way she uses metaphors captures images and feelings that normal words cannot execute. She described Janie and said, "She stood there until something fell off the shelf inside her. Then she went inside there to see what it was" (p 72). We can find language like this throughout the whole book, which makes it quite enjoyable to read.
Hurston's use of character personalities and interaction stirs emotion and provokes thought. I think she successfully portrays Janie's inner thoughts and feelings. It helped me realize that emotion is universal. I have friends that feel similarly to Janie about the way they view themselves. Hurston also explores Janie's growth and self introspection.
I recommend this book to anyone. Hurston's use of dialect, language, and character development allow the reader to explore and learn. It deals with such issues as: oppression (mostly against women), self-worth, happiness, and true love. We can all learn something from Hurston's thoughtful novel.
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Summary: Self Actualization
Review: "The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall. Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see."
Indeed, Zora Neale Hurston's book Their Eyes Were Watching God was a true glimpse into the life of imprisonment and liberation, forced complacency and eventual discovery. The protagonist Janie had grown throughout the book--from her teenage years of nascent sexual maturity, to her eventual self-actualization while with her third husband Teacake, Janie's progress as a Black woman was one filled with much yearning and anguish. Yet, the beauty of the book was that Janie found what she was looking for--"so much life" and so much "peace." Moreover, she did this while bearing the "brunt" of being both a Black and a woman.
The tale of Janie took place in various locations in Florida during the early 1900s. And though the time was apparently long after the drudgeries of the slavery era, there was an atmosphere of relinquishment and servility among the Blacks. However, this did not take away from the vivacity and hue of the Black communities, as it was still one steeped with vibrant culture and colorful language. Born and raised in Eatonville, Florida, Hurston's personal experiences with the Black community gave ample manifestations in the language and actions of the characters. The relentless, and comical, lashings from Sam and Lige against the miser Matt Bonner, who refused to sufficiently feed his malnourished mule, demonstrated this colorful language:
" Dat mule of yourn, Matt. You better go
see 'bout him.He's bad off.
Where 'bouts? Did he wade in de lake and uh
alligator ketch him?
Worser'n dat. De women folks got yo' mule.
When Ah come round de lake 'bout noontime mah wife
and some others had 'im flat on de ground usin' his
sides fuh uh wash board."
Further, the authenticity of the characters were very much credible, as one delved into the fears of Janie, as well as the anxieties and aspirations of the different generations of Blacks. For Janie's grandmother (Nanny), these dreams entailed sitting on a high pedestal--being like the White "Mastah" on the Big House porch. And the anxieties of not achieving so much was unbearable for her. Yet, for Janie, her aspirations were different. Simply put, this book could be considered as merely a love story. Yet, it was more than that. It was a tale of lost dreams in others--while of redemption and fulfillment in one--Janie. It was a rebellion against conventions, however well-meaning and outwardly innocuous--yet, inherently dangerous and imprisoning. Also it was an assertion of the self amidst the scornful looks of compliance:
"Ah reckon Ah looks mah age too. But Ah'm uh
woman every inch of me, and Ah know it. Dat's
uh whole lot more'n you kin say."
Furthermore, Hurston's master crafting of the language and structures accentuated these dreams, and this fulfillment. For the language was sensuous in many ways--fluid-like in its flow, yet, cogent in its expression of feelings.
Their Eyes Were Watching God stood long among the ranks of the revered in American literature. However, it had not always been so until the revival of Hurston's works by authors like Alice Walker during the mid-20th Century. Indeed, this book was a gem waiting to be discovered--and it called for other "souls to come and see."
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Summary: The South on Canvas
Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God If words could paint pictures, Zora Neale Hurston would rival Norman Rockwell. In her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston puts the South on canvas, capturing the flavor of her culture and the landscape of the time period. Hurston employs dialect to recreate the atmosphere of Eatonville, Florida, the first all black municipality. Although the phonetic spelling requires a little effort at the beginning, it adds distinct style to the novel and produces greater veritability in the characters. In order to advance the plot, Hurston uses vivid prose, creating images and analogies that capture the imagination of the reader. Hurston often switches between dialect and prose, using prose to move the story along and dialect to recreate specific events. The combination of these two elements create a novel that captivates its audience and holds the reader's attention from the first line to the last page.
Her novel focuses on the life of Janie Crawford, a young woman searching to find herself. The novel follows her through the course of three marriages and various cities. Each husband reveals different traits about her and each environment provides Janie a chance to explore her potential and find herself. Janie's grandmother arranges a mismatch of a marriage to Logan Killicks, a wealthy black farmer in her hometown. Janie's sixteen years paled in comparison to his thirty-six years of experience and Janie's hope of blossoming love in marriage wilts within the first year. He treats her as a mule, or property rather than a wife and person. Seeds of discontent grow ripe and a young, rich man, Jody Starks, steps into Janie's life. Her discontent drives her out of the house and into the arms of Jody Starks and they run away to Eatonville. Jody quickly establishes himself as the mayor and sets Janie on a pedestal. But Janie wants to step off the pedestal and into the society around her. Her husband refuses to allow her to let down her hair and join with the townsfolk in daily life creating smouldering resentment for her husband and his 'big man' image. This resentment sparks an argument that drives a wedge in their marriage. Their relationship deteriorates, as well as Jody's health, and eventually he dies. Janie continues to run the store she owns, and meets Tea Cake, a man who opens Janie's soul and allows her to spread her wings. Their romance quickly leads to marriage and more opportunities to grow as she moves away from Eatonville to live in the Everglades, harvesting beans. Through this relationship, Janie discovers the joys of living. She finally feels the freedom she has yearned for since her youth. Her relationship with Tea Cakes ends in tragedy and forces Janie to return to Eatonville to start again, but this time with a greater knowledge of who she is and what life is about.
This novel prompts the reader to search within and recognize the desires the lay suppressed beneath the surface. Each reader should ponder the questions that confront Janie throughout the novel and come to find God, and find out about living. I highly recommend this novel to all readers, for pure enjoyment as well as a thought-provoking piece of classic literature.
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Summary: A Different Perspective
Review: This book offers a great contrast and perspective on other works by African-American authors in this time period that have the theme of racism and discrimination prevelant in them. Hurston's novel offers a different view than these because she grew up in an all black town in Florida, unlike fellow author Richard Wright who experienced discrimination first hand. The only discrimination addressed in Hurston's novel is that within the African-American community. This book focuses instead on the importance of finding oneself and not letting themselves be defined by others. Its maine character, Janie Starks, is on a quest to find true love, but she has to find out what it is first.
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Summary: a moving experience of being human
Review: I don't like the fact that this book seems to be always classified as first and foremost a work of African-American literature. It certainly is that, in fact it's one of the most natural, poetic, subtle and unapologetic celebrations of black culture I've ever read. But it goes way beyond just being black writing. Even more than being about blackness, it's about being a woman, and even more than that, it's about being a human being and the perpetual quest for self-realization in the midst of an imperfect world. This book was widely criticized when it was published for not directly taking on the issue of black-white relations. But in a way, it is what makes this book more universally meaningful in the end than, for example, the writings of Richard Wright or Ralph Ellison. The incredible rage and disillusionment present in some other black literature of the time is absent from this book and it gives the book a much more timeless feel. Her characters were also accused of being racial stereotypes, but in fact, because they are not stuck in the role of being pitted against their white counterparts, Hurston's characters are allowed a freer range of identity, action and emotion. At liberty to be more than just "black people" they are a full spectrum of human beings. Beyond all the literary reasons to read this book, is the fact that it is a beautifully moving story of a woman searching to answer the calls of her soul for love, freedom, happiness and self-expression in the midst of the people around her who don't seem to value these things. I recommend this book to any woman who has ever felt the tug of longing in a relationship, or wondered if the chance will ever come to express the fullness of your womanhood. I resist calling this a feminist book. I guess you could say it is, but I think it's more of a book written by a woman with a lot of wisdom about her own heart. I would also recommend it to men, but I can't speak to what it might be like to read it as a man. I imagine men feel the same longing for fulfillment and self-expression and so it might be just the same. I absolutely wept at the ending, because the ending is so beautiful, but also because the experience of this book as a whole is so rich and full and funny and generous and wise. It's a treasure and a classic of American literature and you should buy it, read it, pass it on to your children. Enjoy!
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Summary: A Must Read.....
Review: I recommend this book as a primer to Womenhood 101--this book is a must read for any women that has ever lived and loved or simply any women that has lived. I always tell my mother that I was born during the wrong era, oh, how I would have loved to have been born during the Harlem Renaissance, the literature during this period was so rich.
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Summary: A wonderful book....
Review: I read Eyes for my term paper junior year and for my AP Lit class. It really did take a second read to enjoy the book for what it really is. After having had the benefit of researching Hurston's life and the autobiographical elements included in the novel, it was refreshing to learn Hurston's magnificent style and the underlying meanings through my AP Lit class. This book contains wonderful language and metaphor, as expected from any work by Hurston. I really enjoy the music of the novel while I am reading it, though the story line is almost dull until you look at it from the perspective of her mythic journey. Overall, the style is excellent, the plot is good, and the value of the book is greater than most other books on the market. I definately recommend at least one reading, especially for those who can recognize symbolism, underlying themes, and elements of literature in a work.
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Summary: Just lovely!
Review: I read this book first in a college course I took to try to "fill in the gaps" of American literature I felt I was missing from high school. I expected this book to be a yet another "oppressed minority woman social advocacy" book, but was so pleasantly surprised by the poignance of Ms. Hurston's tale. The dialect compliments the story so well, the culture and mental pictures are vivid and wonderful. I would place this right up there with Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," but this story leaves a much better taste in your mouth. Perfect summer reading!
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Summary: A book I want my daugher to read
Review: I don't write many reviews as I feel that others capture the tone and import of a book better than I. However, in this instance, I want to let other fathers of young daughters know about this book. As a caucasian middle aged man, I didn't think the story of an African American woman at the turn of the century would do much for me. I was so far removed from Janie that I believed the story would be an interesting diversion at best. I was wrong. As I read of Janie's self-discovery I realized that I had a little "Janie" in my life in my daughter. She is starting to ask questions about who she is and where she wants to go in this life, and Janie's struggles seemed to capture what my daughter may be experiencing in some way. I appreciated Hurston's presentation of Janie's self-discovery and will encourage my daughter to read this book in the near future. As Hurston so wonderfully points out, I can't live her life for her and bring her to God. She must do those herself. Maybe a book like this will help her along that road.
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