Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
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Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
This book is really really good. I realize that you probably know that already, seeing as how it's a seminal African American text and considered a masterpiece of American literature, but still, it bears repeating. The story is touching with just the right amount of heartbreak, and I felt enough of a connection with Janie that I can say I liked her as a character (although if I'm being honest her helplessness got to me a bit, especially towards the beginning).
A friend of mine read this book and noted in her review that although it is considered a feminist text, Janie didn't feel like a "feminist" character. While I understand her thinking on this point, I need to respectfully disagree. Janie handles unimaginable situations with grace and poise. She has the strength of will to break free of a life she doesn't wish to lead (twice), and is able to commit an unthinkable act without shattering because it is required of her. She lives through a hurricane, both literal and emotional, and comes out the other side still standing. And that, to me, is the definition of a strong female.
If you haven't read this book yet, I recommend you remedy that situation immediately (and, honestly, if you're still a student, you'll probably be forced to read this at some point during your studies). While it's especially relevant if you're a woman or a minority, the themes are universal and real. Honestly, even if you don't fully connect with this book, it's one of those texts that simply deserves the time it takes for you to read it. I hope you'll find it as important and classic as I did.
Rating: 4 stars.
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Can I just say I loved the juxtaposition of the high-flung prose and the colloquial dialogue? Gorgeous.
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This is such an important piece of African American and feminist literature, I would encourage anyone to read it!
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My definition of feminism includes the women who want to live and uphold the dichotomy for their own sake. Janie is strong enough to choose how she lives her life, and I feel that to have a choice is enough for my definition. No, she doesn't break traditional roles, but I believe that it's because she's comfortable with her designated duties and such that traditionally come along with being a woman.winsomefish wrote: ↑01 Jul 2014, 13:53 I also loved this book, but I did feel like it had some problematic themes in relation to feminism and the way our society view the relationship between women and men. Janie's ideal relationship is one of symbiotic dependency that recognizes the differences in roles between men and women, which is not inherently problematic, but it reinforces the gender dichotomy inherently, and doesn't provide for differences in dynamics, not to mention homosexuality. I feel that she is a feminist figure because she aims to satisfy herself emotionally and physically as the book goes on and in the end she is happy with herself and doesn't need a man in her life, but she only got there through the love of Tea Cake, another thing which is vaguely problematic. So, in short, I would say she is a feminist character in the same way that characters like Elizabeth Bennet are feminist characters--she is strong within the mold placed on women at that time in society. She carves out a strong sense of self within that mold, but does nothing to break it.
Can I just say I loved the juxtaposition of the high-flung prose and the colloquial dialogue? Gorgeous.