Their Eyes Were Watching God (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Zora Neale Hurston
- First Published: 1937
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The first half of the twentieth century
- Setting: Rural Florida
- Principal Characters: Janie Crawford, Nanny Crawford, Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods, Pheoby Watson, Mrs. Turner
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman, Folklore
- Subjects: African Americans, Self-discovery, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Florida, Migrant labor, Floods, Rabies
- Locales: Eatonville, FL
The Novel
Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford’s quest to fulfill her ideals of life and love during a thirty-year period beginning soon after the turn of the century. The novel is framed by a narrator’s description of a conversation between Janie and Pheoby Watson that takes place on Janie’s back porch in Eatonville, Florida. The point of view soon shifts to Janie’s perspective, and she tells Pheoby the story of her life, beginning with her sheltered childhood in western Florida. The two points of view merge to become one perspective,...
[The entire page is 2718 words long]
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