Topic 1: Life and culture

Southern folkore

The author’s life can inform and expand the reader’s understanding of a novel. For example, authors often integrate their expertise into the story. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston infuses the setting, characters and dialogue of the novel with Southern folklore and anthropological research. Also, events in the novel mirror some circumstances and events in her life. What events in the story seem to come from Hurston’s life? Do these events add realism to the story? Click on the link below to begin blogging.

Topic 2: Sharing your life

Sharing experiences

Janie tells her story to her best friend in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. If you could tell your life story to only one person, who would it be? Where would you begin? Begin with a significant event or moment that changed your view of the world. Describe your experience through images or word pictures. Click on the link below to write a journal excerpt about this moment.

Topic 3: Everyday influences

Everyday events

In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston infuses the setting, characters and dialogue of the novel with Southern folklore and anthropological research. Societal events affect our lives every day. What events have influenced your life? Look in the St. Petersburg Times for examples of everyday events that influence your life. Do these events influence your life in a positive or negative way? Click on the link below to share your thoughts on the NIE Blogging Zone.

Topic 4: Linking history and music

Culture and music

During the big band era (1935 to 1945), jazz music was at the very forefront of popular culture in the United States. Research what was going on in the United States during that decade. Look for articles in the St. Petersburg Times, online or in print, focusing on current popular music and culture. Is our culture represented in music? Is our culture influenced by music? Share your thoughts at the NIE Blogging Zone.

Topic 5: Dialect and oral tradition

The beauty of language

A great writer’s work often reflects the arts and culture of the era. The Jazz Age of the 1920s and the Harlem Renaissance marked the artistic, political and cultural birth of the “New Negro” in literature and art. This renaissance relied upon its deep roots, including the oral traditions of storytelling and folktales. These traditions corresponded to a variety of musical styles: Negro spirituals, blues and jazz. In Hurston’s prose, the old and new converged into the dynamic, vibrant language of Janie, Pheoby and the Eatonville townspeople. Click on the link below to discuss why Hurston would use Southern black idiom to tell her story?

Topic 6: Connecting the past and the present

Learning from history

Jim Crow laws in America marked a negative time in our nation’s history. Author George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” What does this phrase mean? What types of connections from the past to the present can you find in the St. Petersburg Times? Click on the link below to begin blogging.

Topic 7: Separate ≠ equal

The Jim Crow era

When Hurston was a child in the 1890s, a system of laws and regulations commonly referred to as “Jim Crow” emerged. Most of the laws separated such public facilities as parks, schools, hotels, transportation, water fountains and restrooms into “Whites Only” and “Colored.” Throughout her life, Hurston was often the object of discrimination. Discuss the issue of discrimination in current society. How have things changed over the years? Click on the link below to begin sharing your thoughts.

Topic 8: Character development

Character motivation

A great writer develops characters who continue to fascinate readers throughout the years. We become enchanted by their personalities, their trials and their growth. We follow the main figure, the protagonist, through a challenging series of events. The protagonist’s journey is made more dramatic by the challenges presented by characters who often embody different beliefs. These supporting characters can be antagonists or foils.  The men in Janie’s life help develop her character. How do Logan and Joe reveal different sides of Janie? What are their motivations? To what extent does Janie acquire her own voice and the ability to shape her own life? How are the two attributes related? Click on the link to share your ideas.

Topic 9: Figurative language

Descriptive language

Hurston’s writing is thick with language that draws us beyond the literal descriptions of people, places and events. Identify the novel’s figurative language and expand the meaning of the novel. For example, what does Janie mean when she says that her “life is like a great tree in leaf”? Discuss some notable examples of figurative language in the book.  Pay special attention to the novel’s first page. How are these descriptions used figuratively: the road, ships, trees, the sun, eyes, time, God, dreams, judgment, speech, silence or mules? Click on the link below to share your thoughts.

Topic 10: The role of the narrator

Third person narration

Their Eyes Were Watching God opens with an unidentified third-person narrator who remains outside the story. However, the narration changes when Janie tells her story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. How can an omniscient narrator tell the story at the same time that the novel’s heroine, Janie, also tells her story? Do these voices reflect different parts of Janie, or does the omniscient narrator reveal another force in Janie’s universe? Click on the link below to begin sharing your thoughts.

Topic 11: Gossip and judgment

Judging Janie

Their Eyes Were Watching God begins with the reader’s eyes fixed on a woman who returns from burying the dead. Janie is watched and judged throughout the novel. In the first chapter, who judges her, and why? How does Janie respond? Why does Janie choose to tell her story only to her best friend, Pheoby? How does our own audience (especially friends) affect what we reveal or conceal? Click on the link below to begin sharing your thoughts.

Topic 12: Politics and life

Politics

Hurston’s father was the mayor of Eatonville. This experience is represented in Their Eyes Were Watching God with Janie’s husband, Joe Starks, being the mayor. Politics affected Hurston’s life and often affects everyone’s life in one way or another. Do you know who is running the world – locally, nationally and internationally? This is an important election year. Who are the candidates running for election? How will these leaders effect your life and the lives of the people in your community? Click on the link below to share your ideas.

Topic 13: The great American novel

Reviewing the novel

Read the book reviews in the St. Petersburg Times. Identify the key elements in the reviews that identify the characteristics of the books. What elevates a novel to greatness? Do you agree that Hurston’s book is a great work of literature? Share your thoughts about the qualities that make this book great.

Topic 14: Shattering stereotypes

Women stereotypes

After years of polite submission to her male counterparts, Janie gains her voice in Chapters 7 and 8. Prior to her defiance of Joe, Janie observes the way Daisy, Mrs. Bogle and Mrs. Robbins are treated by the men. These three Eatonville women provide caricatures – quick, stereotyped sketches – of what it means to be a black woman in this small Florida town. In what ways do these caricatures highlight a larger disrespect toward women? Have you found any articles in the St. Petersburg Times that highlight or represent a stereotype, discrimination or prejudice? Share the article and your views here.