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the white woman the courtroom offer support janie

The white woman the courtroom offer support janie

Their Eyes Were Watching God As An Example Of Harlem Renaissance Period

Literature reflects the cultural views, political heartbeats, social reforms and failures of a society. The people rejoice in the progress that society makes but cries in the setbacks it experiences; such is the story of the Harlem Renaissance Period of literature. Slavery had been abolished, but injustices still occured, and prejudices still exisited. The writers of this time reflected these in their writing so that society, black and white, could read and empathize with the obstacles of the new Negro. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston uses her characters and their conflicts to mirror the experiences of Afro- American males and females in the United States after World War 1. This novel definitely exhibits most of the characteristics of this time period, with only a few exceptions.

Racial pride was one of the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance period (Shmoop Editorial Team). Hurston uses the character of Janie Mae Crawford to show that the black community purses not only material wealth but also inner qualities, such as self-worth and pride. Janie could easily be a black woman in the Afro-American community in Harlem in the 1920s or 1930s. Janie and her Nanny live in the beauty. She is proud of who she is and especially her hair: “She tore off her kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight. The length, the glory was there,” (p.). Another way to show racial pride is through progressive politics. Hurston demonstrates this through the character of Jody as he is elected mayor of the small town of Eatonville. He is influential and is admired by the community at first. Not only is he elected mayor, but he buys a light pole and then has the setting of it approved by the people: “Nobody had ever thought of street lamps and some of them said it was a useless notion. They went so far as to vote against it, but the majority ruled,” (p.). This shows organization and leadership within the black community. The author uses both of the characters to show evidence of racial pride in her novel. This idea is also evident in the music and art of the Harlem Renaissance Period.

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