Free Essays on Zora Neale Hurston

Summer Reading Assignment: Biography of Zora Neale Hurston The quotation on her tombstone, â€Å"A Genius of the South† is an understatement. (Dickenson) Zora Neale Hurston is more than a genius. She is an inspiration to all kind of people, but primarily African Americans. Her writings about everyday life help normal people get through all kinds of troubles. She was born on 7 January 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, but soon after, she moved to Eatonville, Florida. Many people think that this was her place of birth, but it is not. Most of her ideas for her writings come from her struggles while living in Eatonville. (Dickenson) Hurston’s mother, Lucy Hurston, died in 1904, and she took a dislike to her stepmother. As a result, she left home and joined a traveling theatre company. This wasthe beginning of Hurston’s education and future writing career. (Dickenson) After leaving home, Hurston ended up at Morgan Academy where she finished high school. In 1920, she enrolled in Howard University. After about a year, Hurston’s first piece of work was published. In 1921, Howard University’s literary magazine published one of her stories. She received more recognition later when another story appeared in the New York Magazine Opportunity. Hurston won second place in the Opportunity contest and, after lots of encouragement, moved to New York. (Dickenson) One of Hurston’s earliest pieces of works was the play Mule Bone she â€Å"wrote with Langston Hughes.† (Dickenson) The two disagreed over ownership though and charged one another with plagiarism. (Byrd) In 1934, Hurston published â€Å"Jonah’s Gourd Vine†, her first novel, which was based on two people who were like her parents. In 1935, she published a book of collected tales entitled Mules and Men. In 1937, the most powerful novel Hurston has ever written,... Free Essays on Zora Neale Hurston Free Essays on Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston was an African American writer. She grew up in an all black town of Eatonville, Florida. Zora was born January 7, 1903. When she was young her father, John Hurston, tried to crush her spirit. However, her mother urged all eight of her children to be ambitious. This encouragement made Zora continue her writing skills. Hurston’s writings reflect her immersion in â€Å"black folk† life. Racism played a relatively minor role in her fiction. Out of the many books she wrote, she was self possessed and self confident enough to deal with racism. Zora did not have to deal with the early abrasive contracts with racist whites that had deeply influenced almost all other â€Å"Afro-American† writers. Zora lost her mother at a young age and this caused her father to remarry quickly after her death. She despised her stepmother so much that she decided to leave her home. Zora later decided to drop out of school. For several years she wandered from house to house of family and friends. At the age of 16 she worked as a maid for a white singer. After about 18 months she moved to Baltimore. A while after she arrived, Zora was ready to renew her education. After she waited tables for a while she returned to night school. Hurston attended Morgan College in the high school department for two years. She also won a scholarship to Barnard College. She then continued school at Howard University in nearby Washington. She was influenced by Lorenzo D. Tuner of the Department of English. Alain Locke, a member of a campus literary group known as The Stylus, also encouraged her writing efforts. She was also the favorite pupil of the great Franz Boas. She wrote, â€Å"Drenched in Light† and it was soon published by Charles S. Johnson in December 1924. In New York, 1925, Zora won second prize in the opportunity competition for both short story and play. Zora graduated in 1928 and ready to write. After graduation, the next four years were spent ... Free Essays on Zora Neale Hurston Summer Reading Assignment: Biography of Zora Neale Hurston The quotation on her tombstone, â€Å"A Genius of the South† is an understatement. (Dickenson) Zora Neale Hurston is more than a genius. She is an inspiration to all kind of people, but primarily African Americans. Her writings about everyday life help normal people get through all kinds of troubles. She was born on 7 January 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, but soon after, she moved to Eatonville, Florida. Many people think that this was her place of birth, but it is not. Most of her ideas for her writings come from her struggles while living in Eatonville. (Dickenson) Hurston’s mother, Lucy Hurston, died in 1904, and she took a dislike to her stepmother. As a result, she left home and joined a traveling theatre company. This wasthe beginning of Hurston’s education and future writing career. (Dickenson) After leaving home, Hurston ended up at Morgan Academy where she finished high school. In 1920, she enrolled in Howard University. After about a year, Hurston’s first piece of work was published. In 1921, Howard University’s literary magazine published one of her stories. She received more recognition later when another story appeared in the New York Magazine Opportunity. Hurston won second place in the Opportunity contest and, after lots of encouragement, moved to New York. (Dickenson) One of Hurston’s earliest pieces of works was the play Mule Bone she â€Å"wrote with Langston Hughes.† (Dickenson) The two disagreed over ownership though and charged one another with plagiarism. (Byrd) In 1934, Hurston published â€Å"Jonah’s Gourd Vine†, her first novel, which was based on two people who were like her parents. In 1935, she published a book of collected tales entitled Mules and Men. In 1937, the most powerful novel Hurston has ever written,... Free Essays on Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston was born to John and Lucy Hurston. Her birthplace was Eatonville, FL. Zora came in the world on January 7, 1891, but she always claimed to have been born ten years later. As one of eight children, she felt disliked by her father. At the age of nine, Zora’s mother passed. She left home to live with one of her brother’s family, but soon also left there. (Their Eyes) Zora got her writing start at Howard Prep School in Washington, D.C. (Their Eyes 211) In 1920, Zora received her associate degree from Howard University. By 1921, Zora published her first short story, John Redding at the Sea. (Their Eyes 211) In 1924, she put out her first folk piece, Drenched in Light. A few years later, Hurston hooked up with fellow Renaissance writer, Langston Hughes. They collaborated on the magazine, Fire (1926), and in 1930 they co-wrote and produced Mule Bone, a play. (Their Eyes 212) Though many other great works would follow, Zora often failed at one thing. She was married several times and no children were born to these unions. When she was not writing or producing, she worked doing odd jobs. Once, she was a waitress in a black owned barbershop that only serviced whites. Then, she served as a librarian at Patrick Air Force Base. Another time, she was a substitute teacher at Lincoln Park Academy. Sadly, after all of her accomplishments and accolades, Zora died penniless and alone. She was buried in an unmarked grave. In the mid 1970’s, Alice Walker went â€Å"In Search of Zora Neale Hurston† and marked the folklorist grave. (Their Eyes 219) Plot Summary After being married off for Nanny’s peace and widowed twice, Janie returns to the town that Joe Starks built. Eatonville, FL was in no way a sanctuary for Janie, but it did house the center of her many beginnings. As Janie sat at the feet of her friend, Phoeby Watson, she begins to pour out her heart and soul. Janie was thrown into the car... Free Essays on Zora Neale Hurston The era in the 1920’s known as the Harlem Renaissance was a great change for African Americans. During the previous decade’s Great Migration millions of black Americans moved to the north, settling mostly in Harlem. The Renaissance coincided with the time Zora Neale Hurston, an African American writer, attended and graduated college and began writing. Hurston was an example of culture, diversity, and originality in the Harlem Renaissance. Zora Neale Hurston was born January 7, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida. Her parents, John and Lucy Ann Hurston, had three other children. Eatonville was one of the first all-black communities in the nation to be self-governed. Zora grew up surrounded by African Americans in all aspects of life. â€Å"Eatonville was a unique municipality, one where traditional black culture not only survived but flourished.† (Witcover 22) She was very inquisitive, adventurous, intelligent, sassy, and creative. She completed high school at Morgan Academy in Baltimore, where she first became interested in writing. She then went on to college at Howard University in 1919. She left Howard University and moved to New York in 1925, during the Harlem Renaissance. During her time in Harlem Hurston became a well-known and widely celebrated writer and personality. Her short stories, such as Spunk and Drenched in Light, told stories of life-like events. The African American characters were often based on real life and represented black American’s lives in America at the time of the Harlem Renaissance. â€Å"She not only developed a dynamic mature style; she had also demonstrated her ability to make sophisticated use of the folklore that had fascinated her all her life.† (Witcover 61) In 1936 Hurston wrote her most celebrated novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. The novel is an account of a girl’s search for herself and for self-expression. It is also a romantic love story, which is believed to have basis in Hurston’s lov...