The Importance of Speech and Humor in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book The Importance of Speech and Humor in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God by Natalie Lewis, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Natalie Lewis ISBN: 9783638268974
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: April 17, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Natalie Lewis
ISBN: 9783638268974
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: April 17, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), Free University of Berlin (JFK-Institute), course: Hauptseminar: Humor in Women's Literature, language: English, abstract: The Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s, also refered to as New Negro Renaissance, marked the first time that black literature and arts were seriously recognized by American publishers, critics and intellectuals. Participants in the movement attempted to refute the negative racist stereotypes of black life deeply imbedded in white popular as well as high culture. In a time when many black middle class intellectuals shamefully distanced themselves from their cultural heritage, artists of the Harlem Renaissance showed a strong sense of racial pride in exploring the African and Southern roots of black experience and experimenting with elements of traditional African American folk culture in different genres. One of the most significant figures emerging from this literary period was the anthropologist and fiction writer Zora Neale Hurston. After her college education, she engaged in extensive anthropological field research on rural black tradition in her all-black hometown Eatonville in Florida as well as the Carribean region and published the collected tales, sermons, songs and jokes in f olklore collections, e.g. Mules and Men. As a novelist, she made use of her extensive knowledge of African American Southern rural dialect and oral culture by texualizing it in the dialogues of her fictional characters. Zora Neale Hurston was one of the first black writers to give an acurate depiction of African American humor. She demonstrated that humor is a crucial element of speech within the black community not only for establishing communal bonds through laughter but also because it plays an important role in the assertion of one's voice. Hurston's second and best-known novel Their Eyes Were Watching God focuses on the black woman's place in society. The protagonist and story-teller Janie presents her quest for self-fulfillment and struggle against ve rbal oppression, over two decades and three marital relationships; as she gains experience by experimenting with different roles, she learns how to assert her voice within the community and to humor life.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), Free University of Berlin (JFK-Institute), course: Hauptseminar: Humor in Women's Literature, language: English, abstract: The Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s, also refered to as New Negro Renaissance, marked the first time that black literature and arts were seriously recognized by American publishers, critics and intellectuals. Participants in the movement attempted to refute the negative racist stereotypes of black life deeply imbedded in white popular as well as high culture. In a time when many black middle class intellectuals shamefully distanced themselves from their cultural heritage, artists of the Harlem Renaissance showed a strong sense of racial pride in exploring the African and Southern roots of black experience and experimenting with elements of traditional African American folk culture in different genres. One of the most significant figures emerging from this literary period was the anthropologist and fiction writer Zora Neale Hurston. After her college education, she engaged in extensive anthropological field research on rural black tradition in her all-black hometown Eatonville in Florida as well as the Carribean region and published the collected tales, sermons, songs and jokes in f olklore collections, e.g. Mules and Men. As a novelist, she made use of her extensive knowledge of African American Southern rural dialect and oral culture by texualizing it in the dialogues of her fictional characters. Zora Neale Hurston was one of the first black writers to give an acurate depiction of African American humor. She demonstrated that humor is a crucial element of speech within the black community not only for establishing communal bonds through laughter but also because it plays an important role in the assertion of one's voice. Hurston's second and best-known novel Their Eyes Were Watching God focuses on the black woman's place in society. The protagonist and story-teller Janie presents her quest for self-fulfillment and struggle against ve rbal oppression, over two decades and three marital relationships; as she gains experience by experimenting with different roles, she learns how to assert her voice within the community and to humor life.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Language in use: The pragmatical term politeness in reference to the serial 'Friends' by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book The mime and the clown - or Samuel Beckett as comedian by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Social Entrepreneurship by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book The Entertainment King. A Case Study of Walt Disney Co. by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book The Society of Maycomb and its Influence on Jem and Scout in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book An analysis of syntactic regularities in children's acquisition of language by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Marketing Campaign for Barilla by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Culture and Oral Health by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book The Achievements of Augustus - The Transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Love Is All: Creative Altruism In Global Management by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Using means-end chains and hierarchical value-maps by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book An Investigation into the Role of the World Bank in relation to the Privatisation of Public Services with respect to the Washington and Post-Washington Consensus by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book The Origin, Proliferation, and Institutionalization of Anti-Catholicism in America, and its Impact on Modern Christian Apologetics by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Workers' rights and the competitiveness of European business by Natalie Lewis
Cover of the book Foreign market entry and culture by Natalie Lewis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy