Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston: Literary Analysis

Zora Neale Hurston was an African-American author who wrote during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic movement that took place in Harlem between the 1920s and the 1930s. The Harlem Renaissance was a period where African-Americans started to overcome racism and assimilate into a Caucasian dominated society. Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the most famous novels of the Harlem Renaissance. The novel focuses on the plight of an African-American woman, Janie, achieving a joyous, respectable life from a humble background. Janie struggled through life due to her mostly unsuccessful search for love. After many years with an oppressive husband, Janie finally found her true love and started to live life the way she wanted. This theme can be seen in the way that Hurston wrote the novel.
There is a great amount of correlation between Janie’s life and Zora Neale Hurston's. They both were raised by their grandmothers because their mothers passed away. Additionally, Janie has close relationships with a white family during her time as a child, to the point where she does not even think that she is black. Another point of correlation is the fact that Janie left Logan for Joe. Despite Janie’s lack of a formal divorce, her marriage mirrors Hurston's in the fact that both marriages lasted only a short period of time and both left because their husband had little left to offer. The most influential correlation can be found in their perception on marriage and men. Dr.Charlotte Holmes is the Associate Professor of English & Women’s Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Dr.Holmes