Criticism of Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was highly criticized after its release into print. Critics accused her of ignoring the racism and oppression of the colored peoples in the South at that time. Others accused her of always having independent feminine characters whose behavior defaces African American men and whose stories always end up in situations of domestic violence. Some try to take this criticism farther to say her novels were merely a way to promote female empowerment. This caused Hurston to stop writing when she saw the amount of criticism her peers had piled upon her. One of the critics who was responsible was responsible for this was Richard Wright. A black man trying to push for black and white equality, his criticism was mainly focused on Hurston’s negative portrayal of black men and women, accusing her of reinforcing stereotypes. He also was full of contempt towards the idyllic endings of Hurston’s books, saying that real life was not that way and she was being ridiculous.

            I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing with Hurston’s critics. Her book does seem to involve an independent woman, disgrace the black man, and includes domestic violence. I can also see how this would easily be linked to extreme feminism. This I can see as reasonable, however, given the terrible conditions for women at the time. I only disagree with the extreme lengths she went to disgrace men, where she could have just empowered women. The negative depictions of colored people at the time were completely correct, however. They were not as much reinforcing stereotypes but reinforcing the truth. As for idyllic endings, don’t most of the fiction works of the world end with some sort of “happily ever after”? Why criticize Hurston for making a good, happy end for her characters?

Sources:

Webb Constance. Richard Wright: A Biography (c) 1968

Hurston, Zora. Their Eyes Were Watching God. (c) 1937

Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston

·        Date of birth: January 7^th, 1891

·        Birthplace: Notasulga, Alabama

·        Even though Hurston was born in Alabama, she was raised from an early age in Eatonville, Florida.

·        She was educated at Howard University, Barnard College, and also the Columbia University.

·        Hurston was first a writer, but had a passion for folklore and visited such places as Jamaica, Haiti, Bermuda, and Honduras.

·        Hurston wrote several books during her lifetime, including Tell My Horse, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, Seraph on the Suwanee, Dust Tracks on a Road, and Go Gator and Muddy the Water: Writings by Zora Neale Hurston from the Federal Writers’ Project.

·        It is important to note that Hurston’s works were not political but led to controversy in the black community anyway.

·        Zora developed health problems later in life that led her to death.

·        Date of death: January 28, 1960

·        Place of death: St. Lucie County, Florida

Image from: http://cdn.newsone.com/files/2009/01/zora-neale-hurston.jpg


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Works Cited

"Zora Neale Hurston." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

A Place That Would Change Me

If I could go somewhere and have it significantly change me, it would probably be London. The history of the city and all the unique architecture would absolutely stun me. I have always wanted to visit Big Ben the clock tower and see the Queen's guard with their big black hats. It would definetly be a place to remember and change my outlook.

The Harlem Renaissance: Contributers

Claude McKay

Image from: http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/mckay/mckay_a.jpg

• Claude was born 1890 in Jamaica, then considered a colony of Britain.
• He became an American author, writing poetry and novels.
• His first novel was Home to Harlem, published in 1928.
• Most of his works published in America were lyrical and spoke out against injustice.
• Claude died in 1948, after becoming a Roman Catholic and renouncing his former left wing ideals.

Information from:
"Claude McKay." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 
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Zora Neale Hurston

Image from: http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Public_Domain_Photos/Zora_Neale_Hurston.jpg

• Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama.
• She was an American writer and was interested in folklore.
• Hurston was educated at Howard University, Barnard College, and also at Columbia University.
• She gathered information on folklore at Jamaica, Haiti, Bermuda, and Honduras.
• Zora developed health problems in later life and died in 1960.

Information from:

"Zora Neale Hurston." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 
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Marcus Garvey

Image from: http://www.africawithin.com/garvey/Mgarvey%5B1%5D.jpg 
 

• Marcus Garvey was born in 1887, at Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica.
• He became a black nationalist leader who started the "Back to Africa" movement in the US.
• Marcus traveled to several different places in his life including South America, Central America, England, and New York.
• He founded the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914.
• Garvey was arrested for mail fraud in 1922 and when he was released from jail, he was deported to Jamaica, where he died in 1940.

Information from:

"Marcus Garvey." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

African American History: The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance

·        This was an African American cultural movement that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

·        It started right after WWI in 1918 and ended in the mid-1930’s.

·        This was the first time mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously.

·        It was primarily a literary movement but it also was closely related to developments in African American music, theater, art, and politics.

·        During WWI, African Americans moved north for jobs and Harlem was the area where a large number of the most well educated and socially conscious blacks centered at.

·        What the movement pushed for was political and social equality and a sense of strong racial pride.

·        The thing that made the Harlem Renaissance unique was the many different and diverse ways it was expressed.

·        Audiences for the movement were of mixed racial groups, appealing to both whites and blacks.

·        African Americans wanted to freely express themselves at this time, no matter what the mixed public thought.

·        One of the major reasons the movement declined was because of the Great Depression.

Information from:

Wintz, Cary DeCordova. "Harlem Renaissance." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

English Project - End of Third Quarter

Christopher McCandless Final Assessment

In the Author's note of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer presents an argument that has ensued from the release of McCandless's adventures into print. He states: "Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity – and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received."

After reading about Chris McCandless in Into the Wild, I have come to my own conclusions on the subject. My general attitude towards McCandless contains elements of both sides of the argument.

I admire him for his ability to dream and being able to follow his dream. He is one of the few who will stand up for what he believes, despite adversity and critisim.

But, I also believe McCandless was reckless and irresponsible. He thought alot about his journey and how it would affect him, yet he never seemed to ponder on how much it would affect the people around him, should he fail. He also had a slight arrogance problem and did not want to admit he was wrong.

Overall, I believe that McCandless was wrong in his actions. His motives were pure, but the consequences and real life effects were not worth the journey. He may have gaind special insight, but at what cost? The ends did not justify the means.

This is a side note, but I do not believe McCandless was undeserving of the media attention he recieved. I think Chris was wrong, but telling his story can help us all learn from it. I believe everyone has a story and that their story should be told (if they wish), if just to have it out there for someone to learn or be affected by.