Zora Neale Hurston
Introductory
Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 1, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida. Hurston had two siblings, an older sister named Sarah and a younger brother named John. Eatonville was considered to be the first all black community to be integrated. Because of growing up in a community with only one race, Hurston was never introduced into racism until her later years in life.
Hurton's Childhood House
Hurston's mother Lucy, past away when she was age 9. Her mother would always tell her to be ambitious and to be individualistic. As her mother would say, "jump at de sun." Hurston grew up poor and uneducated, but after the death of her mother, she was hired as a wardrobe girl and maid at age 14. Hurston attended Howard Univerity, and graduated from Barnard College; Columbia University.
After working at various jobs, Hurston moved to New York City where she joined the Harlem Renaissance. During the 1920's, her writing style helped shape the black literary and cultural movements. Criticism followed after publishing her first pieces not only by white male readers, but also by male writers of the Harlem Renaissance such as Langston Hughes and Darwin Turner.
Some of Hurston's writings that were published in black literary magazines which brought attention, were her short stories such as "John Redding Goes to Sea" and "Spunk." Unfortnately, those who critiqued her work based their opinions on Hurton's personal life and personality. This is due to the fact how and where she was raised. By living in an all black community, Hurston did not experience the racism as most African-American writers did. She was oblivious of the problems attributing to being black. Hurston wanted to repsent the black life without the concerns and opinions of the white people. She wanted to show them being human, just as any other race. The novel Hurston is most wellknown for is Thier Eyes Watching God published in 1937. Another piece of Hurston's which got a lot of attention was her play Color Struck.
Various Facts
Zora Neale Hurston has an elementry school named after her
In Orange County, Flordia, an annual festival is held for Hurston
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