Their Eyes Were Watching God, By Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston was an American anthropologist, folklorist, and novelist known for her contributions to African-American literature. As a writer, she portrayed the racial struggles of black people in the American South, in her work. Hurston’s fiction, which depicts relationships among black residents in Southern Florida, was largely unconcerned with racial injustices. Hurston is best known for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God has become a staple in women’s studies programs and has inspired many female authors to create non-stereotypical black female characters. Hurston is considered one of the foremost writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama. However, other sources state she may have been born on a different date and place. According to Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters her birth date might not be January 7, but January 15. Also, according to her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a
In the mid-1930s, she worked with Langston Hughes on a play called Mule-Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life, however, the play was never finished due to disputes that caused a falling out between the two writers. Mule-Bone was eventually published posthumously in 1991. Hurston also worked on other plays, including The Great Day and From Sun to Sun. In 1934, Hurston released her first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, which was well-received by critics for its accurate representation of African-American life uncluttered by stock figures or sentimentality. After 2 years, she received a Guggenheim fellowship, which allowed her to work on what would become her most famous work: Their Eyes Were Watching God, which was published in 1937. While working on the novel, she traveled to Haiti to study local voodoo practices. That same year, Hurston also traveled to Jamaica to conduct anthropological