Zora Neale Hurston's Writing Style Essay Sample

Zora Neal Hurston was a brilliant, determined black woman who used a distinct dialect in her writing. She was the first-ever black woman to graduate from Barnard College in 1928. Hurston uses an evocative style in her writing to make a deeper connection with black women and their rights. An evocative style is a style that brings strong images, memories, and or feelings to the text. Her objective in her writing is trying to let the audience understand the knowledge of what black women had to experience over time. 

One of Hurston’s objectives is for her to be seen and heard as an intelligent young black woman. She once mentioned in the article How it Feels To Be Colored Me,  "I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall”(3). This quote is an example of her using a metaphor to let other women know not to be a brown bag; be someone who gets noticed, given a chance, and not be overlooked. Hurston uses imagery to show her strong feelings towards the significance of how white men treated black men, and black men treated women. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, they stated, "So de white man throw down de load and tell de n***** man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De n***** woman is de mule ud de world so fur as Ah can see” (44). This cycle of mistreatment gives the readers a better understanding of the disrespect and oppression black women received and continued to receive over time. 

The trials and tribulations of her life and experiences helped pave a way for Hurston to discover her worth. She then took this knowledge and moved forward to helping others find their self-worth. Hurston expresses in ``Their Eyes Were Watching God, “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman” (31). This helps bring an understanding as to where her journey started and how she evolved as a person. Hurston uses Janie as a great example of overcoming failure and recognizing that she can grow up as a strong, independent woman who can stand up for herself and can be in control of her life. Hurston mentioned "Janie, we got tuh git outa dis house and outa dis man’s town. Ah don’t mean tuh work lak dat no mo’``''NawNaw, naw, Tea Cake. Less stay right in heah until it’s all over. If dey can’t see yuh, dey can’t bother yuh"(19.34-35). In this text, she expresses being passive over being fearful to prove to Tea Cake she is capable of being a strong woman without him. However, he asserts his masculinity by the use of his hands. When comparing Sweat and Their Eyes Were Watching God, you can identify that these women have accepted being mistreated to justify that their husbands are in control. Hurston uses imagery to give a stronger perspective of what they are dealing with. In Sweat, her husband Sykes attempted to murder her with a rattlesnake, but that didn’t work out, "She saw him on his hands and knees as soon as she reached the door. He crept an inch or two towards her– all that he was able, and she saw his horribly swollen neck and his eyes shining for hope” (9). This sheds light on the fact that women are allowed to struggle and be miserable, but are supposed to support, love, and care for the person who abuses them on a day-to-day basis. 

Hurston wants to compel the audience to make a deeper connection through her use of emotional context. She demonstrates this by using descriptive words that allow you to feel what the characters are feeling. In Spunk Hurston's use of emotional context is demonstrated when "Lena looked up at him her eyes so full of love that they wuz runnin’ over, an’ Spunk seen it an’ Joe seen it too, and his lip started to tremblin’ and his Adam’s apple was galloping up and down his neck like a racehorse” (3). From this quote, you can make an emotional connection to the characters with a strong feeling of love, sorrow, and desire of wanting something you can’t have. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie emphasizes her feelings about her long black hair. Once she got away from her virulent partner,“she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging well below her waist” (89). Janie expresses and lets the readers know that she loves her long beautiful black hair and nobody can tell her to hide it anymore. All of these emotions allow you to connect and experience what the characters are feeling on a higher level. 

While Zora Neal Hurston died in 1960, her most recent book was published 61 years after her death. Her writing became more popular after her passing. Although her writing could be deemed controversial, she captures the reality of African American women who were faced with racism, abuse, and male authority. The purpose behind all of this was to be a voice for black females and their livelihood.