The Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s, also refered to as New Negro Renaissance, marked the first time that black literature and arts were seriously recognized by American publishers, critics and intellectuals. Participants in the movement attempted to refute the negative racist stereotypes of black life deeply imbedded in white popular as well as high culture. In a time when many black middle class intellectuals shamefully distanced themselves from their cultural heritage, artists of the Harlem Renaissance showed a strong sense of racial pride in exploring the African and Southern roots of black experience and experimenting with elements of traditional African American folk culture in different genres.
One of the most significant figures emerging from this literary period was the anthropologist and fiction writer Zora Neale Hurston. After her college education, she engaged in extensive anthropological field research on rural black tradition in her all-black hometown Eatonville in Florida as well as the Carribean region and published the collected tales, sermons, songs and jokes in f olklore collections, e.g. Mules and Men. As a novelist, she made use of her extensive knowledge of African American Southern rural dialect and oral culture by texualizing it in the dialogues of her fictional characters. Zora Neale Hurston was one of the first black writers to give an acurate depiction of African American humor. She demonstrated that humor is a crucial element of speech within the black community not only for establishing communal bonds through laughter but also because it plays an important role in the assertion of one’s voice. Hurston’s second and best-known novel Their Eyes Were Watching God focuses on the black woman’s place in society. The protagonist and story-teller Janie presents her quest for self-fulfillment and struggle against ve rbal oppression, over two decades and three marital relationships; as she gains experience by experimenting with
different roles, she learns how to assert her voice within the community and to humor life.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Depiction of Southern black speech and folk humor
- Janie's quest for self-fulfillment and the acquisition of an assertive female voice
- The figure of God as the ultimate joker
- The critical response to Hurston's humor
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This seminar paper examines the role of speech and humor in Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, highlighting how the author used these elements to portray the African American experience during the Harlem Renaissance. The work analyzes Hurston's depiction of Southern black speech and its significance in establishing a distinct cultural identity for black communities. It also explores the protagonist's journey toward self-realization and the ways in which humor serves as a tool for empowerment and resistance against verbal oppression.
- The importance of Southern black speech in shaping African American identity and cultural expression.
- The role of humor in reclaiming voice and challenging racial stereotypes.
- The significance of Janie's journey to self-fulfillment and her struggle against verbal oppression.
- The use of humor as a tool for empowerment and resistance within black communities.
- The portrayal of God as a humorous figure in the narrative.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction provides a brief overview of the Harlem Renaissance and Zora Neale Hurston's contributions to black literature. It highlights her extensive knowledge of African American oral traditions and her commitment to portraying the richness of black culture. The first chapter focuses on Hurston's depiction of Southern black speech and its importance in shaping African American identity and cultural expression. The author analyzes the use of dialect in the novel, demonstrating how Hurston elevated Black Vernacular English as a distinct and linguistically valuable language. She further examines the role of porch talk as a space for the performance of black oral traditions, highlighting its significance for establishing a sense of community and empowering marginalized voices. The following chapters would delve deeper into Janie's journey, her relationships, and the ways in which humor and speech serve as tools for empowerment and resistance.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key themes and concepts explored in this paper include the Harlem Renaissance, Southern black speech, African American oral tradition, humor as a form of resistance, Janie's journey towards self-fulfillment, and the portrayal of God as a humorous figure. The research focuses on the linguistic and cultural significance of Black Vernacular English, highlighting its value as a distinct language system, and analyzes how humor operates as a tool for empowerment and cultural expression within black communities.
- Quote paper
- Natalie Lewis (Author), 2003, The Importance of Speech and Humor in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/23875
