The twentieth century was marked by the appearance of prominent figures in African American literature. In this regard, Zora Neale Hurston was one of the most extraordinary and versatile persons concerned about acute racial issues in the United States. She was memorized due to her sympathy for Black workers and women who continuously experienced racial discrimination in the South. Thus, this paper aims at providing a summary of readings about Zora Hurston’s life, indicating her most outstanding works, central themes, and important moments of life.
The birth of Zora Hurston was slightly mysterious and obscure, and even its date was first established wrongly by the researchers of her biography. In particular, “scholars set the year of her birth as 1901, as in fact, she was born a decade earlier, on January 7, 1891” in Notasulga, Alabama (“Zora Neale Hurston” 997). When Hurston was a toddler, her family moved to Eatonville, Florida, her hometown that acquired a mythic image in her writings (“About Zora Neale Hurston”). In Eatonville, Hurston’s family flourished, and her father even became one of the town’s mayors. Nevertheless, at that period, Hurston faced her first hardships, such as the death of her mother, clashes with her step-mother, and problems with studies. Despite all those events, Hurston “earned her high school diploma from Morgan Academy in 1918, then studied sporadically at Howard University” (“Zora Neale Hurston” 997). Hence, she obtained profound education, which was rare for Black women at that time.
In New York, in 1925, Zora Hurston revealed the talent of an artist and considerably contributed to the Harlem Renaissance. At Columbia, owing to the support of Franz Boas, a distinguished figure in anthropology, she was engrossed in examining black folklore and then published Mules and Men, the first collection of African American folktales. Hurston’s most outstanding works include Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934), Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), Seraph on the Suwanee (1948) (Norwood). For instance, her first novel “had been well received both by the critics and the public” (“Zora Neale Hurston” 998). The second work demonstrated the characters’ victory over limitations inflicted by poverty and discrimination. Overall, Zora Hurston continues to influences many writers throughout the world, forever having cemented her niche in history as an eminent writer of the twentieth century.
References
“About Zora Neale Hurston.”Zora Neale Hurston. n.d. Web.
Norwood, Arlisha R. “Zora Neale Hurston.”The National Women’s History Museum, 2017. Web.
“Zora Neale Hurston,”. n.d. Web.