Introduction to Blog

  This blog is all about Zora Neale Hurston and her book called Their Eyes Were Watching God. This book is about the journey of a woman, Janie Crawford, who lives in the South. The story is a romance about Janie's journey through life to find herself and become her own woman. The book has been described as one of the most important literary works of the twentieth century and is possibly the most widely read and highly regarded book written in African American literature.

  The author, Zora Neale Hurston, was a beautiful writer but was never recognized for her great talents until after her death. She was an anthropologist who wrote about black heritage with great imagery and language. She died penniless and couldn't even afford a proper headstone. Zora Neale Hurston has know been recognized for her great works and is considered one of the best authors of the Harlem Renaissance.

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hurston-Zora-Neale-LOC.jpg

My Name

My name was thought of by my grandmother which explains why my name is very Irish. Ryan in old Irish meant "little king". My other name possibilities were Matt, Tyler, and Patrick. My grandmother gave my parents the name which moved their choice, Patrick, became my middle name. I like my name and I think that it suits me well. If I was a girl my parents decided my name would be Kelly. I am glad that my name is Ryan. I am also glad that my name had a purpose behind it with my Irish roots, unlike my little brother whose name was picked after a power ranger.

25 Random Things About Me

1. I used to have a webbed toe
2. I have never broken any of my bones
3. I hate the winter
4. I am much taller than i was supposed to be
5. I am the only person in my family that doesn't have curly hair
6. I have played soccer since i was 4
7. The Outer Banks in North Carolina is my favorite place
8. studying for tests scares me
9. I got pneumonia every year since 5th grade except for this year
10. Not many people call me by my first name
11. I had really crooked teeth until I had braces
12. My family calls me bumble because I drop lots of things in my house
13. If I am very tired I sleep talk and sometimes sleep walk
14. I can never remember my dreams
15. People say I look like my brother but I don't think so
16. I have a photographic memory
17. Making big decisions scares me
18. I have always wanted to play guitar but never gotten around to it
19. When I was young I always wanted to be a janitor
20. When I over think a decision I will usually talk myself out of it
21. I have always loved music but I don't like most of the new music that has come out
22. My older brother and I have always been very close
23. Basketball is my favorite sport
24. I didn't get a cell phone until midway through 8th grade which made me very mad
25. Lots of people say I look old but in reality I am younger than most people in my grade

Symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1. Janie’s Hair- Janie’s hair represents her freedom. When she lets her hair down and have it in her long braid, she feels free but when her hair is up and hidden she is constricted.




2. Pear Tree- the blossoming pear tree represents Janie becoming her own woman.



3. Gate- the gate represents the barrier between want Janie wants and what she has.



4. Horizon- the horizon represents how far away people’s dreams are and it seems like the life they want doesn’t seem to be reachable



5. Joe’s House- Joe’s house shows how Joe is becoming more like the white man in the town because his house looks like a plantation owner’s and he has control over everything.



6. Head rag- The head rag that represents the dominance that Joe Starks tries to have over Janie. When the head rag is being worn, her hair is tied up. She is not free to be herself because her hair is restrained by the rag.





7. Tobacco Spittoon- The tobacco spittoon symbolizes the wealth that Joe Starks has over the town. It was a gold vase that some people in the town would have liked as an ornament in their house.



8. Lamp-Lighting up town- The lamp lighting up the town symbolizes the new era that is unfolding with Joe Starks as the mayor. He industrializes the city and brings it up to contemporary times.



9. Overalls- The overalls symbolize a working man or woman that is poor. It represents this because typically, a woman would wear a sun dress. Janie was wearing the overalls instead of a sun dress.



10. Mule- The mule that pops up twice in the story represents a laborer or a slave.

Imagery in Their Eyes were Watching God

1.”From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf buds to snowy virginity of bloom.” p.10. This quote is talking about the different parts of the blossoming pear tree.


2. “It was like a song forgotten in another existence then remembered again.” P.10. It is talking about how Janie is finding new revelations to her life but it was like she had already known them.

3. “…alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her.” (p. 11). Zora Neale Hurston is describing the environment surrounding the pear tree.

4. “…dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight.” (p. 11). This example is talking about a bee going into a pear blossom.

5.”they sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge inti the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged.” (p.33) this imagery talks about the day and the night come from the same place and you can either see the good or the bad.

6.”She must look on herself as the bell-cow, and the other women were the gang. So put on one of her bought dresses and went up the new-cut road all dressed in wine-colored red. Her silken ruffles rustled and muttered about her. The other women had on percale and calico with here and there a headrag among older ones.” (p.41) This quote talks about how Joe wanted Janie to look better than all the other women whenever she went out and she wore beautiful dresses in public.

7.”The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets; the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume; then her pugnacious breasts trying to bore holes in her shirt.” (p.2) This quote talks about how beautiful Janie is.

8. “He spoke of the joys of mule-heaven to which the dear brother had departed this valley of sorrow…” (p. 60). This quote is talking about the mule’s funeral and what holds in store for him in the future.

9. “Things packed up and put away in parts of her heart where he could never find them.” (p. 72). This quote is talking about Janie locking feelings that are private and she doesn’t want to share with the men in her life.

10. “incredulous laughter burst out of their eyes and leaked from the corners of their mouths…” (p. 37) This quote describes the joy and freedom people find in laughter.