An Interpretation of Style in Their Eyes Were Watching God

【Abstract】Zora Neale Hurston is an important writers in Harlem Renaissance. Meanwhile， her unique writing styles influence African American literature. Especially， after Their Eyes Were Watching God （1934） were published， Hurston aroused various reflections. This paper analyzes the writing features in this work which differ from others.

【Key words】Hurston； Their Eyes Were Watching God； Style

1. Introduction

Harlem Renaissance is a movement that receive the African American cultural heritage and go against racial discrimination. Zora Neale Hurston was not only a productive black American woman writer， but an anthropologist and folklorist. Their Eyes Were Watching God （1934） was an enduring southern love story sparkling with wit， beauty， and heartfelt wisdom. Many commentators believe that it is a classic in the Feminist literature.

2. Analysis of Writing Features

2.1 Self narration： The feminist regard voice as an important symbol of women social identity. Therefore， discussing the event in womans voice is not only a writing skill， but an issue of social right and status. In Their Eyes Were Watching God， some part of chapters is constructed by Janies voice or self narration. Therefore， through the first person narration， readers would feel the work is authentic， intimate and natural and effectively acknowledge womens self consciousness like Janie.

2.2 Flashback. At the first chapter， a scene of Janies returning： The people all saw her come because it was sundown. The sun was gone， but he had left his footprints in the sky. Seeing the woman as she made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times. So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish.When she got to where they were she turned her face on the bander log and spoke. They scrambled a noisy “good evenin” and left their mouths setting open and their ears full of hope. But nobody moved， nobody spoke， nobody even thought to swallow spit until after her gate slammed behind her （Hurston， 2006）. After her last marriage with Tea Cake， Janie came back to her hometown， Eatonville. Obviously， the whole structure of the novel applied the flashback. As a storyteller， she began to remind her specific experience in her own voice in front of Pheoby. Here， flashback create suspension and make the article more fantastic that arouse readers curiosity to seek the further information.

2.3 Metaphor. At the beginning， the author use metaphor to describe peoples life trip： Ships at a distance have every mans wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon， never out of sight， never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes always in resignation， his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. （Hurston， 2006）. Here， setting out on a voyage， turning back， and the changing of the tides can stand for three different life situations： drifters， losers and winners. This metaphor implicates peoples fates. When Janie was born， she was raised by her grandmother. However， her grandmother and mother were raped by the white when they were young. Her grandmother made efforts to protect her under such a hard circumstance to avoid the same tragic fate， furthermore， Janies three marriages have made her mature.

2.4 Symbolism. In Their Eyes Were Watching God， some symbols are used to indicate Janies changeable living condition， such as her clothing. By Janies various clothing， Hurston intended to show her change： from bondage to freedom. In her first marriage， Janie with apron did housework. Thus， apron confirms Janies low position in their family. When Janie planned to elope with Joe， the apron thrown out means that Janie had escaped hard work in the patriarchy society. In her second marriage， Joe ordered her to wear the head-rag， meaning Janie has become his possession again. In her third marriage， she wore the overall which symbolizes equality and freedom because Janie worked together with the black and made a living like her husband.

3. Conclusion

This paper has analyzed the writing styles in this work. The interpretation of writing feathers will be more conducive to college students writing skills and help understand the influence of Hurstons works on African-American literature.

References：

[1]Hurston，Zora N.Their Eyes Were Watching God[M].New York： Harper Collins Publisher，2006.

[2]Thompson，Gordon E.Projecting gender：personification in Hurstons Works[J].American Literature.1994，66：737-764.

作者簡介：馮彥（1990-），女，內蒙古烏蘭察布人，山西師范大學，2014級碩士，研究方向：英美文學和語用學。