The myth and ritual of Ezili Freda in Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God.' (Zora Neale Hurston)

Article Abstract:

Scholars have traditionally seen Zora Neale Hurston's work as an example of African American literature, but this view is narrow and neglects Hurston's interest in Caribbean mythology. The fictional character Janie in 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' resembles the Haitian love goddess Ezili Freda in her beauty, her interest in erotic love and barrenness, and in her impermanent relationships with men. Given Ezili Freda's tragic side, the love Hurston gave Janie was inherently doomed and could not be fulfilled. Janie's personal growth entails a strong sexual component.

American literature, African American literature, Their Eyes Were Watching God (Novel)

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Literary objectives: Hurston's use of personal narrative in 'Mules and Men.' (Zora Neale Hurston) (Special Issue: The Personal Narrative in Literature)

Article Abstract:

Zora Neale Hurston's 'Mules and Men' is an early exemplar of self-reflexive, literary ethnography. Hurston's use of the personal narrative in fieldwork account format to present folkloric material has obscured the degree to which she has manipulated her material for artistic purposes and has contributed to a lack of consensus concerning the work's genre. Examples of literary technique in the work include the creation of an illusion of natural ordering, dramatization of fieldwork problems and presentation of analysis by characters other than the narrator.

First person narrative, Mules and Men (Book)

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Representations of speech in the WPA slave narratives of Florida and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston

Article Abstract:

The representations of speech in the Works Progress Administration slave narratives and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston are compared. It was seen that the WPA field workers applied various methods of phonological transcription but these methods differed from those of Hurston in terms of their recording of speech and the circumstances surrounding the interviews.

Florida, Executive changes & profiles, Public affairs, Officials and employees, Speeches, lectures and essays, United States. Works Progress Administration

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