English 110 Essay 4: Interpretation of the Novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Due dates: see Canvas
BACKGROUND: As we read in “The Compelling Ambivalence of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God,” literary scholar, William M. Ramsey, points out the contradictions, tensions, and ambivalence in the novel with regard to class, feminism, and race and highlights the fact that different people interpret the novel in “dramatically opposing ways.”
TASK: Where do you stand? Choose one of the following topics for essay 4.
To develop your thesis, I encourage you to review our class notes: weigh the evidence and counter-evidence and decide where you stand. It can be somewhere in the middle, but you should take a clear stance. (More advice on thesis statements below.)
1. How do you interpret Janie? To what extent do you agree with scholar Trudier Harris regarding Janie? Is she a “pre-feminist,” with agency, or ultimately a conformist who submits to traditional gender roles? Be sure to take into account the entire novel, and grapple with the contradictions and ambivalence presented in the novel. Your thesis may reflect a nuanced interpretation that is neither black nor white.
2. How do you interpret Tea Cake? Is he a “good” man or not? Is his influence on Janie positive or negative? What is his function/purpose in the novel? How different is he from the other men? Be sure to take into account the entire novel, and grapple with the contradictions and ambivalence presented in the novel. Your thesis may reflect a nuanced interpretation that is neither black nor white.
3. How do you interpret Hurston’s treatment of economic or social class? What does she suggest about social class or the values of middle and laboring classes through the novel? What message do you think she is trying to convey? Your thesis may reflect a nuanced interpretation that is neither black nor white.
4. How do you interpret Hurston’s treatment of race and racism in the novel from the vantage point of a modern Critical Race Theory lens? As we have read, the 1937 reviews by Richard Wright and others which argued that her novel does not effectively speak to issues of race and racism have been contested. What do you think the novel reveals about the psychological impacts of racism on society and/or on individuals? How does it reflect the experiences of victims of racism? To what extent does the work resist or subvert white supremacist ideology? Your thesis may reflect a nuanced interpretation that is neither black nor white.
5. Considering that the novel is solely about African-American characters, how does the work illustrate ideas of intersectionality: that an individual’s experience is not based solely on their racial identifications, but also other social identities such as gender or class? Analyze how Hurston illustrates the complexity of identities and experiences with a comparison of 2 or more characters through a Critical Race Theory lens that examines intersectionality. For example, compare Nanny and Janie, analyzing how their social positions and/or age impacts their experiences, behavior and attitudes. Or compare Joe and Janie: how does gender complicate their experiences, behavior, and attitudes? Or Tea Cake and Joe: how do their different socioeconomic positions impact their experiences, behavior, and attitudes? Be sure to develop a specific arguable claim that focuses your essay and allows you to make a logical comparison that examines intersectionality.
REQUIREMENTS:
Develop a thesis that addresses the question posed in the essay topic you chose and offers your unique and clearly stated interpretation of the novel in response to that question. To develop your thesis, I encourage you to review our class notes: weigh the evidence and counter-evidence and decide where you stand. It can be somewhere in the middle, but you should take a clear stance. Thesis statements such as: On the one hand, Tea Cake is a good guy, but on the other hand he is a bad guy. are not very interesting or clear. You might consider the templates for concession as a way to phrase a thesis that offers a nuanced interpretation (one that is not strictly black or white.)
Support (defend) your thesis with well-chosen textual illustrations and provide plenty of explanation and close analysis which makes clear to your reader how your illustrations lead you to your individual interpretation. Effective argument of your interpretation means addressing the counter-evidence (See my resource on “Naysayers and Concession”). This means engaging with the contradictions, not ignoring them.
Plagiarism is unacceptable and will result in an F. Develop your own ideas. If you use secondary sources (anything besides the novel itself), cite them.
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