Hurston’s narration lapses into free indirect discourse as she cries out from Janie’s perspective, “Oh, to be a pear tree-any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world!” (11). She glorifies the simple, idyllic purity of the natural exchange, the give-and-take of a bee and a bloom. She then lets Janie watch as “a dust-bearing bee” lowers itself into one of the tree’s blooms, becoming the quintessential embodiment of love as Janie would define it. Hurston uses the natural imagery of the “glistening leaf-buds” and the “snowy virginity of bloom” and “the panting breath of the breeze” to liken Janie’s blooming womanhood to the flowering of a pear tree. Janie’s first exposure to love is unique in that it does not come from a human mentor, but rather from the natural world and her own unchecked ideas. She uses Janie’s learning experiences to first determine what romantic love is not, and then she uses the negative space of Janie’s failed relationships to outline a turbulently sweet portrait of what Hurston contends true love is. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston approaches romantic love as a symbiotic element of nature and longing that, when finally realized, is too pure to exist for very long on an impure earth. It is dynamic, and evasive, and confusing. Romantic love is not a concept words can easily define, and it is not an umbrella that everyone’s experiences can squeeze underneath. In the words of Janie Crawford, “you got tuh go there to know there” (192). It seems that someone must find answer to the question of love for herself. Romantic love seems to be a complex, yet clumsily-assembled combination of every idea we attempt to describe it with. Alternately, it could be a side effect of social convention, or merely a child’s fantasy. Or maybe it is a preordained, God-given glimpse of some eternal force. Perhaps love is little more than an adaptation of an instinctive drive to reproduce. There are also audio readings on the internet of the novel - some students may also find it more helpful to listen along with the reading.It is difficult to locate the exact origins of romantic love. If students get stuck, it helps to sound it out. Sometimes words are shortened, letters are dropped, or are put into contractions, such as willin’, s’posed, and speck instead of expect.The long “i” sound is often replaced with the short “a” sound, as in Ah instead of I, lak instead of like, mah instead of my.“d” is often substituted for “th”, as in dem, dat, wid, dese, de.Some key points of Hurston’s eye dialect to point out before beginning the novel are: As the students read, have them make a list of recurring words Hurston uses in the narrative for easy reference. It may be a bit disconcerting for students to get used to at first however, it soon becomes apparent that being able to read what is usually heard instead gives a strength to the characters that is fascinating. Hurston’s novel is most compelling because of its use of eye dialect, or the phonetic, nonstandard spelling of words to effect the sound of local dialect or accents. Explored institutional racism gave rise to a voice for equality.Examined the lingering impact of slavery.Addressed stereotypes and marginalization.Important characteristics of Harlem Renaissance literature include: It included several important writers, including Langston Hughes, Jessie Redmon Fauset, Alain Locke, Jean Toomer, Rudolf Fisher, Nella Larsen, and Zora Neale Hurston. It also served to lay the foundation for the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This intellectual and artistic movement gave a new sense of cultural identity to African American writers and thinkers. The Harlem Renaissance was an important African American flowering of art, literature, and music in Harlem, New York from 1919 to the mid 1930s. How does the use of dialect enhance understanding about a character?.What obstacles come between people and their dreams?.What is more important: the journey to reach a dream, or the fulfillment of that dream?.How can staying silent about one’s true feelings be damaging in a relationship?.Can people of the same race be prejudiced towards each other? How?.What is a woman’s role in a family? In a marriage? How have ideas about women’s roles in society changed since the 1920s?.What are some important lessons people learn about themselves after facing hard situations?.Can marriage ever bring about love, or must love always happen before marriage?.Essential Questions in Their Eyes were Watching God
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