Zora Neale Hurston versus Richard Wright

After Zora Neale Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, her writing credibility and career quickly went downhill due harsh critiquing of her work. She ended up dying in poverty and obscurity in a nursing home because she was so deeply discredited by the critics. The harsh critique of Their Eyes Were Watching God inevitably ruined Hurston’s writing career, but were the criticisms fair or even correct? One would hope that they would be if they destroyed her career, but research shows that they weren’t very well founded.  

            One of Hurston’s greatest critics was Richard Wright, a civil rights activist and writer. Wright used his writing as a means of expounding on the evils of racism. Hurston’s book contained scenes that went against Wright’s philosophy of showing White cruelty towards African Americans. Scenes, like the one where the protagonist is beaten by her husband, seemed to back up White stereotypes of African Americans in Wright’s opinion (Jack).

            Wright wanted writing to be propaganda to end racism in the US, which is not a bad thing. However his harsh criticism of Hurston for depicting what many would consider to be the truth about the African American woman’s life at the time could be considered questionable at best.

            Now we can look back on the book without the turbulence of the civil rights movement and see that it has gone from a failure to a success. It is now considered to be a very well written book that is not bias in any way. Looking back, one could defiantly say that many of the things that Wright said about Hurston’s book were unfair judgments, and not worth the collapse of her writing career.

Jack, Grace, “Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960),” www.library.csi.cuny.edu, December 7, 1998.    April 13, 2011. Web

Into the Wild Project

As our final Into the Wild project I made a poster. I drew a picture of Chris's boots, which are still arranged under the stove in the bus where he died. Under that I put a breif quote from the book about his boots and how they were still there eventhough Chris is now gone. It is a strange thought that eventhough Chris has been dead for 19 years, his boots are still arranged under the stove like he's going to come back and put them on.

Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston

·         She lived from 1891-1960.

·         She was an African American writer and an anthropologist.

·         She was a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance.

·         She was born in Notasulga, Alabama.

·         She spent her childhood in Eatonville, Florida.

·         She gathered folklore from her hometown, Haiti, Jamaica, Bermuda, and Honduras.

·         Their Eyes Were Watching God was her most famous book, and was published in 1937.

·         She developed heart problems, which eventually killed her.

·         She died in total obscurity.

·         In the 1970’s her work was rediscovered and she became famous for her writing.

The Harlem Renaisssance

The Harlem Renaissance

·         Harlem was the core of the Harlem Renaissance.

·         The Harlem Renaissance were in the 1920’s and early 30’s.

·         The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement.

·         The Harlem Renaissance was a advancement of African American literature, art, theatre, music and politics.

·         The Harlem Renaissance was also known as the New Negro Movement.

·         It began a surge of African American cultural pride.

·         The Great Depression was one of the factors that brought the Harlem Renaissance to a close.

·         It opened up opportunities in the publishing world for African American writers.

·         It expanded the popularity of Jazz and Blues music in America.

·         The NAACP help to start the Harlem Renaissance.

Wintz, Cary DeCordova. "Harlem Renaissance." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Langston Hughes

·         Langston Hughes lived from 1902-1967.

·         He published his first poem in 1921.

·         He published his first compendium of poems in 1926 with the help of Vachel Lindsay

·         Most of his poems were free verse

·         He lived in Missouri, Paris, Washington DC, Madrid, and New York among other places.

·         "Langston Hughes." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Claude McKay

·         Lived from 1890 -1948.

·         Was originally from Jamaica, but moved to the US.

·         He was a writer, and published his first book in 1928.

·         His books were about black life in America.

·         Six years before he died he became Catholic and changed his entire life philosophy.

·         "Claude McKay." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Countee Cullen

·         Lived from 1903-1946.

·         He was a writer who wrote plays, novels, and poems; and was also a teacher.

·         He was an orphan and never knew where he was born.

·         He wrote many poems, but only one novel.

·         He taught at a black middle school.

"Countee Cullen." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

   

www.montgomerycollege.edu

langstonhughesfacts.com

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