Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

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Their Eyes Were Watching God Summary
Zora Neale Hurston

Everything you need to understand or teach Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Their Eyes Were Watching God Summary & Study Guide
37 Student Essays
1 Encyclopedia Article
11 Literature Criticisms
1 Book Notes
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30 Their Eyes Were Watching God Lessons
20 Activities
180 Multiple Choice Questions
60 Short Essay Questions
20 Essay Questions
Pre-Made Tests and Quizzes
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Their Eyes Were Watching God Summary

When Their Eyes Were Watching God first appeared in 1937, it was well-received by white critics as an intimate portrait of southern blacks, but African-American reviewers rejected the novel as pandering to white audiences and perpetuating stereotypes of blacks as happy-go-lucky and ignorant. Unfortunately, the novel and its author, Zora Neale Hurston, were quickly forgotten. But within the last twenty years it has received renewed attention from scholars who praise its unique contribution to...

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The Their Eyes Were Watching God Study Pack contains:

Their Eyes Were Watching God Study Guide

Overview

Free Quiz

Characters

Setting

Techniques

Themes

Style

Criticism

Adaptations

Topics for Further Study

Compare and Contrast

What Do I Read Next?

Topics for Discussion

Ideas for Reports and Papers

Literary Precedents

Further Study

Bibliography

Encyclopedia Articles (1)

Their Eyes Were Watching God

4,231 words, approx. 15 pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Probably born in 1901, Zora Neale Hurston was raised in Florida. She moved to New York in 1925, becoming one of the foremost writers during the Ha... Read more

Zora Neale Hurston Biographies (5)

Zora Neale Hurston

669 words, approx. 3 pages

Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960), folklorist and novelist, was best known for her collection of African American folklore Mules and Men (1935) and her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), in whic... Read more

Zora Neale Hurston

5,667 words, approx. 19 pages

"Zora was funny, irreverent (she was the first to call the Harlem Renaissance literati the 'niggerati'), good-looking and sexy," wrote Alice Walker. Having been one of the most prolific African-Americ... Read more

Zora Neale Hurston

6,575 words, approx. 22 pages

From the 1930s through the 1960s, Zora Neale Hurston was the most prolific and accomplished black woman writer in America. During that thirty-year period she published seven books, numerous short st... Read more

Zora Neale Hurston

6,273 words, approx. 21 pages

Zora Neale Hurston achieved moderate success during the Harlem Renaissance as a short-story writer and a collector of black-American folklore. Her stories deserve attention beyond the concerns of bla... Read more

Zora Neale Hurston

8,090 words, approx. 27 pages

Biography EssayFrom the 1930s through the 1960s, Zora Neale Hurston was the most prolific and accomplished black woman writer in America. During that thirtyyear period she published seven books, many ... Read more

Essays & Analysis (48)

Critical Essay by Richard Wright

215 words, approx. 1 pages

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Critical Essay by Sherley Anne Williams

392 words, approx. 2 pages

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Critical Essay by Roger Sale

628 words, approx. 3 pages

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Critical Essay by John Roberts

1,001 words, approx. 4 pages

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Critical Essay by Sheila Hibben

452 words, approx. 2 pages

13,532 words, approx. 46 pages

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Critical Essay by Margaret Earley Whitt

47,202 words, approx. 158 pages

2,014 words, approx. 7 pages

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Critical Review by Patrick Pacheco

2,333 words, approx. 8 pages

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Critical Essay by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

5,994 words, approx. 20 pages

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Critical Essay by David Todd Lawrence

7,640 words, approx. 26 pages

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Journey to Obtain the Pear Tree

1,207 words, approx. 5 pages

There have always been times in our lives where we have regarded someone as having a significant impact on us and therefore worthy of our greater appreciation. Parents or loved ones can have a major... Read more

A Study Guide for Their Eyes Were Watching God

3,680 words, approx. 13 pages

The framing of the story is set up so the story starts and ends at the same place. This is important because it gives a lot of meaning and insight to Janie's experiences. Janie has already grown... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Janie's Clothing

919 words, approx. 4 pages

The evolution of Janie`s inner self is reflected in the clothing she wears throughout the book. Each article represents the type of relationship carried on with each husband that she had, and h... Read more

So Much of Life in Its Meshes

1,474 words, approx. 5 pages

Power is a concept that directly affects very few of the worlds species, yet it shapes the lives of nearly every member of the human race. This concept, in one shape or another, is continually exami... Read more

Three Features of "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

671 words, approx. 3 pages

Every novel has a protagonist and an antagonist of the story. There has to be a "good guy" and "bad guy" in order for there to be some sort of an interesting plot. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

767 words, approx. 3 pages

I enjoyed reading their eyes were watching god. At first I thought it was just another boring book assigned to be read over the summer. It proved to be much more than that so the following is a lite... Read more

Literary Analysis of "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

1,154 words, approx. 4 pages

There are no three written rules for writing a good book. I believe it's based on personal opinion of what you'd like in a book. I like a book that is satisfying the whole way through with a lot of di... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

1,933 words, approx. 7 pages

In the novel Their Eyes were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie, the main character, seems to portray more an issue of man to woman relationships than a racial issue. Janie starts the stor... Read more

Clothing on Every Step

2,123 words, approx. 8 pages

"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his e... Read more

Relating the Title to the Novel and Novelist in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

1,001 words, approx. 4 pages

In Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, there are many major points in the novel that reflect the meaning of the title. Hurston seems to relate God to love and life and this coul... Read more

Violence and the Economic Treatment of Women Then and Now

2,211 words, approx. 8 pages

Although none of the novels were wrote in conjunction, each has a link towards the other regarding abuse, both sexual and spousal, as well as class oppression and the manual labor that was a necessi... Read more

Breaking through Boundaries: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

1,587 words, approx. 6 pages

"I am not sure if a man can explain excitement to another person. It is an emotion that is probably different to all of us. We experience excitement for a lot of different reasons; love, hate, rage, s... Read more

"Janie's Journey on the Road to Love"

1,102 words, approx. 4 pages

Janie Crawford is the protagonist of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" during the course of the novel, Janie searches for love, and marries three times. Each marriage helps Janie define her own desires ... Read more

Literary Devices in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

609 words, approx. 3 pages

In Zora Neale Hurston's Novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Hurston uses many literary devices to further the connection between the main character, named Janie, and the reader. Hurston uses literar... Read more

Janie's Marriages in "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

358 words, approx. 2 pages

In Janie's first marriage to Logan Killicks, she thinks love will just happen. She is convinced to marry Logan for all the wrong reasons, including satisfying other's wants and taking the safe road ra... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Character Analysis of Janie

1,705 words, approx. 6 pages

Character Analysis Janie, the main character in Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is a very dynamic character. Throughout the book she endures several trials and tribulatio... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

1,313 words, approx. 5 pages

Janie finds her way out when Joe Starks appears. The first thing Joe does after asking for a drink of water is to name himself: "Joe Starks was the name, yeah Joe Starks from in and through Georgy" (4... Read more

Comparison of "Lost Illusions" and "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

1,047 words, approx. 4 pages

Lost Illusions, by Georgia Douglas Johnson, has many connections to the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Firstly, Lost Illusions seems to be about a woman reflecting on her li... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

1,179 words, approx. 4 pages

In Zora Hurston's novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie's journey shows how one's conditions can mold and shape oneself. Through experiences with each of her three husbands, and the respective e... Read more

Motifs in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1,289 words, approx. 5 pages

In a musical composition, a motif assumes the role of a short rhythmic or melodic passage, which resounds in various parts to evoke or convey a specific feeling or message. Though they deviate in for... Read more

"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Janie's Marriages

687 words, approx. 3 pages

In Zora Neale Hurston's, "There Eyes Were Watching God", Janie is the main character who has three different marriages. Each of these three men has something that initially pulls her towards them. T... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

621 words, approx. 3 pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, is a book filled with many different symbols and motifs. Janie is confused with her love life and what she wants and goes through a lot of men. One... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Control

1,973 words, approx. 7 pages

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the emphasis that is placed on the control of speech and expression proves to be the source of restriction on the identity of the main... Read more

Janie: a Hero?

538 words, approx. 2 pages

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston created a heroine in Janie Crawford. Janie overcame many obstacles of her time. Acceptance into the community, self-discovery, and courageousness ... Read more

Breaking Through

1,910 words, approx. 7 pages

Breaking Through In the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God" written by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie the protagonist is seen by critics as having no voice. For all women silence knows no boundaries of... Read more

A Quest for Dependency: Their Eyes Were Watching God

951 words, approx. 4 pages

Zora Neal Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God describes the life of a black woman named Janie. Janie is raised by her grandmother and begins a close to life-long quest that can be viewed as a sea... Read more

Possesion in Their Eyes Were Watching God

360 words, approx. 2 pages

Even though the relationship with Teacake was Janie's best marriage, it was, by no means perfect. Tea Cake beat her publicly, stole her money, would take off without telling her where he was going a... Read more

Review of "their Eyes Were Watching God"

349 words, approx. 2 pages

I've read the book and seen the movie; the book was of a higher level. The movie lacked depth into the meaning of the pear tree and Janie's Relationships. I knew I'd have problems with the movie when,... Read more

Hurston Metaphysics

1,653 words, approx. 6 pages

Zora Neale Hurston believes that all struggles to realize personal goals are futile due to the unknowable forces that control reality. She believes that these unknowable forces are controlled by God... Read more

Clothing Representation in Their Eyes Were Watching God

932 words, approx. 4 pages

Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, follows the story of a young woman named Janie Starks throughout her life of love. She marries three different men that all tr... Read more

The Black Woman's Burden in Three Novels: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Toni Mo

1,909 words, approx. 7 pages

The Black Woman's Burden As humans living in an organized society, we are inevitably defined and viewed through the ideals created by that organizing entity. Each culture has its own view of masc... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

985 words, approx. 4 pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God, a novel by Zora Neale Hurston begins with a sharp contrast between men and women. Hurston explains how men's dreams are like ships that ... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

1,180 words, approx. 4 pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel written by Zora Neale Hurston. She writes about a woman named Janie Crawford, who is the main character of the story, and her li... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God

736 words, approx. 3 pages

"Love is a flower of life" German Poet "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston is an amazing novel. It is a fictional novel with realistic experiences of Blacks. This novel has 19 chap... Read more

A Womans Worth

1,062 words, approx. 4 pages

A Woman's Worth The title "Their Eyes Were Watching God," signifies the struggles that the people in the story must go through and who is the power that brings them to or from it. I feel that the... Read more

Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's Journey of Self-discovery

2,025 words, approx. 7 pages

When Their Eyes Were Watching God was first released, it is interesting that it gained more acceptance from white reviewers than from African-American reviewers even though it depicts an African-Ameri... Read more

Endings Leading to Beginnings in Their Eyes Were Watching God

1,854 words, approx. 7 pages

Often times when one considers an ending, he or she connotes to a definite stop. An end is often used to imply the permanent halt to an event or reoccurring trend. However, often times in life an e... Read more

Free Book Notes (1)

Their Eyes Were Watching God

10,589 words, approx. 36 pages

Their Eyes Were Watching God Book Notes is a free study guide on Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Browse the summary below:   Author Biography / Context of the Work   ... Read more

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