The Cambridge introduction to Zora Neale Hurston

154 Pages·2013·1.055 MB·English

by  Hurston, Zora Neale;King, Lovalerie

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TheCambridgeIntroductionto
Zora Neale Hurston
TheirEyesWereWatchingGodisakeytextinAfricanAmerican
literature.ItsauthorZoraNealeHurstonhasbecomeaniconicfigurefor
herliteraryworksandforherinvaluablecontributiontodocumenting
elementsofblackfolkcultureintheruralsouthandintheCaribbean.
ThisintroductorybookdesignedforstudentsexploresHurston’sartistic
achievementsandheruniquecharacter:herstaunchindividualism,her
penchantfordrama,hersometimescontroversialpolitics,her
philosophicalinfluencesandherviewsongenderrelations.Lovalerie
KingexploresHurston’slifeandanalyzeshermajorworksandshort
stories.Historical,social,political,andculturalcontextsforHurston’s
lifeandwork,includingherkeyroleinthedevelopmentoftheHarlem
Renaissance,aresetout.Thebookconcludeswithanoverviewofthe
receptionofHurston’swork,bothinherlifetimeanduptothepresent,
aswellassuggestionsforfurtherreading.
LovalerieKingisAssistantProfessorofAfricanAmericanLiterature
atPennsylvaniaStateUniversity.
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The Cambridge Introduction to
Zora Neale Hurston
LOVALERIE KING
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521854573
© Lovalerie King 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-42674-2 eBook (Adobe Reader)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-85457-3 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-67095-1 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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ForMyBabySister
Earnestine(Tiny)CassandraKing
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Contents
Preface page ix
Acknowledgments xii
Abbreviations xiii
1 Life 1
2 Contexts 14
3 Works 36
Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934) 36
MulesandMen(1935) 47
TheirEyesWereWatchingGod(1937) 52
TellMyHorse(1938) 61
Moses,ManoftheMountain(1939) 68
DustTracksonaRoad(1942) 74
SeraphontheSuwanee(1948) 87
Shortstories 96
4 Critical reception 105
Jonah’sGourdVine(1934) 107
MulesandMen(1935) 110
TheirEyesWereWatchingGod(1937) 112
TellMyHorse(1938) 114
Moses,ManoftheMountain(1939) 116
DustTracksonaRoad(1942) 118
SeraphontheSuwanee(1948) 120
Suggestionsforfurtherreading 126
Index 130
vii
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