Define Books Supposing Their Eyes Were Watching God
Original Title: | Their Eyes Were Watching God |
ISBN: | 0061120065 (ISBN13: 9780061120060) |
Edition Language: | English |
Characters: | Eleanor, Sam Watson, Shelby, Janie Starks, Pheoby Watson, Nanny, Leafy, Johnny Taylor, Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, Tea Cake, Pearl Stone, Mrs. Sumpkins, Lulu Moss, Mis' Washburn, Mr. Washburn, Miss Nellie, Mayrella |
Setting: | Florida,1928(United States) Everglades, Florida(United States) |
Literary Awards: | Audie Award for Solo Narration - Female (2001) |
Zora Neale Hurston
Paperback | Pages: 219 pages Rating: 3.91 | 245455 Users | 12370 Reviews
Mention Containing Books Their Eyes Were Watching God
Title | : | Their Eyes Were Watching God |
Author | : | Zora Neale Hurston |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | First Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 219 pages |
Published | : | May 30th 2006 by Amistad (first published 1937) |
Categories | : | Young Adult. Fantasy. Science Fiction |
Rendition Conducive To Books Their Eyes Were Watching God
Janie saw her life like a giant tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches.I've spent many years wanting to read this book, but also not wanting to read it because the title made me think it was going to be heavy on religion, which is something I generally avoid in books. It's not, though. It's a wonderful, lyrical tale of a woman's life and search for independence. Now I'm fascinated by interpretations of the title because religion and God don't feature much in the story at all. I’ve been reading about the idea that the title implies how Janie must look to God - not white people, not husbands, not well-meaning family members - to determine her future. While this theory doesn't give her much agency, it does fit with her search for a life outside of others' expectations (except God's). It's set in Florida in the early 20th Century, at the height of Jim Crow. The novel begins with Janie Crawford sharing her life story with her friend Pheoby. We are taken back to her youth and sexual awakening-- an event that triggers her grandmother's insistence that she marry for protection. Nanny, herself, is fascinating. You feel both Janie's frustration toward her controlling grandmother, and Nanny's desire that Janie will have a better life and be taken care of.
"She was borned in slavery time when folks, dat is black folks, didn’t sit down anytime dey felt lak it. So sittin’ on porches lak de white madam look lak uh might fine thing tuh her. Dat’s whut she wanted for me – don’t keer whut it cost. Git up on uh high chair and sit dere. She didn’t have time tuh think whut tuh do after you got up on de stool uh do nothin’."As you can see from above, the novel's dialogue makes strong use of dialect and colloquialisms. Through three marriages and many instances of physical abuse, Janie remains fierce and unapologetic. It was a terrible time in America for a black woman to find freedom and independence, but Janie pursues it nevertheless. It's now eighty years after the book's first publication and Janie's indistinguishable spirit is as captivating as it surely always was. In the end, the book is about defying expectations and living for oneself. Everyone in Janie's life wants and expects something from her. Her Nanny wants her to marry for protection, white men want to keep her down, darker-skinned African-Americans feel she should emphasize her lighter skin, each of her husbands wants her to behave and dress in a way that suits them. But Janie remains wholly herself throughout. I love her. Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
Rating Containing Books Their Eyes Were Watching God
Ratings: 3.91 From 245455 Users | 12370 ReviewsDiscuss Containing Books Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God: Zora Neale Hurston's Novel of an Independent Woman "Dat's all right, Pheoby, tell 'em. Dey gointuh make 'miration 'cause mah love didn't work lak they love, if dey ever had any. Then you must tell 'em dat love ain't somethin' lak uh grindstone dat's de same thing everywhere and do de same thing tuh everything it touch. Love is lak de sea. It's uh movin' thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it's different with every shore.""Lawd!"This is a wonderful novel and I would recommend it. The speech is not easy to follow initially, but is easy to get the hang of if you persist and is well worth the effort.The story of the life and loves of Janie Crawford; told in her own words and in a strong clear voice. It has had a mixed history in terms of reviews. Ralph Ellison criticised its calculated burlesque and others regarded it as not being serious fiction. Then there was the debate about racial uplift and improving image; an
Talking about what a revelation this book was to me with a girlfriend, I told her this is essentially a feminist novel that was published in 1937. Gone With the Wind was published in 1936, so this was what shook me to my core. Here is Thurston with her main character, Janie, not content with what others have decided for her; she will live her life on her own terms and decide for herself. It is truly a modern idea. Unlike Gone With the Wind (which I hated), in which all the black people are
I agree with it being slow. I got a little over 10% into it and had to put it down. Definitely something you have to be in the right mood for but the
I was prepared, based on the many five star reviews for this novel by many of my esteemed Goodreads friends, for a worthy book. I was prepared, based on its 1937 publishing date and its setting of Eatonville, Florida and then the Everglades, that important racial themes would be present. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was to be knocked over completely by the shimmering, feathery-fine, poetic prose. I wasn't prepared to be told a courageous, all-in, love story.Zora Neale Hurston's
"Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore." In the beginning, there was Nanny. Nanny knew what it meant to be a slave to men. And Nanny had a daughter. She saw what happened to her, how she chose to escape pain in oblivion. And Nanny was scared. She was so scared that she wanted to prevent the same thing from happening to her daughter's daughter, even if it meant that she had to force her
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