Below is a sample from Zora Neale Hurston's biography from her official website.
"In Eatonville, Zora was never indoctrinated in inferiority, and she could see the evidence of black achievement all around her. She could look to town hall and see black men, including her father, John Hurston, formulating the laws that governed Eatonville. She could look to the Sunday Schools of the town's two churches and see black women, including her mother, Lucy Potts Hurston, directing the Christian curricula. She could look to the porch of the village store and see black men and women passing worlds through their mouths in the form of colorful, engaging stories.
Growing up in this culturally affirming setting in an eight-room house on five acres of land, Zora had a relatively happy childhood, despite frequent clashes with her preacher-father, who sometimes sought to 'squinch' her rambunctious spirit, she recalled. Her mother, on the other hand, urged young Zora and her seven siblings to 'jump at de sun.' Hurston explained, 'We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.'"
How can you compare her background to what Janie is feeling/going through in Eatonville?
Feel free to leave comments about the website. Did you find anything useful?
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3 comments:
I do not know much of anything about this blog. But as I was reading your post I had liked the sample of Zora Neale Hurston's biography and i found it very interesting. I noticed you had a compare and contrast question between Zora and Janie and i was wondering if there was a book on Janie that was similar to Zora's biography could our class read it or may I have the book to read about please.
In a sense, Janie may be Zora in character form with a slightly different story. Actually growing up in Eatonville gave her all the experience she needed to create a character's life. Here's what I found they had in common:
"For Hurston, Eatonville was always home." It was the same for Janie because that is where she returned.
"She could look to the porch of the village store and see black men and women passing worlds through their mouths in the form of colorful, engaging stories." The store's porch as a place Janie longed to be to express herself too.
Zora's mother passed away when she was a teenager, as did Janie's grandmother.
Zora's father didn't like her fiery ways and Joe never wanted Janie to speak.
@Ms. Monatao I had commented on this blog post and I had said that I wanted to read the book about Janie and I had really enjoyed it. It was not boring and it had kept me interested throughout the gole entire movie.
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