ZoraNealeHurstonandHarlemRenaissanceTheHarlemRenaissancereferstothefloweringofAfricanAmericanculturalandintellectuallifeduringthe1920sand1930s.Atthattime,itwasknownasthe“NewNegroMovement”.IthappenedinHarlemwhichisadistrictneighborhoodofNewYorkCityforblackpeople.HarlemRenaissanceencouragedblackpeopletoimprovetheirlevelofliterature.Ithadaprofoundimpactondevelopmentofblackpeople’sundertakings.Intheendof19century,manyblackpeoplewholivedinSouthAmericawenttowardtoNorthAmerica.Itisagoldenperiodforblackpeople.Becauseofmanyblackpeopledidnothaveskillstomakealiving,mostofthemcannotadapttotheseNorthcities.Atthistime,blackpeoplehadtofacetodiscriminationbywhitepeopleandmoreandmoreseriousapartheid.BlackpeoplewerecrowdedouttoHarlemwhichwastobethebiggestagglomerationforblackpeople.WiththedevelopmentofeconomyaftertheFirstWorldWar,manyeducatedblackpeopleandartistswenttoHarlemwhichleadedittobethe“culturalcapital”forblackpeople.HarlemRenaissancewasaturningpointinthehistoryofblackpeopleandithasimpactonthemuntiltheSecondWorldWar.Thismovementmadeentireworld,especiallywhitepeoplehaveanewimpressiononblackpeople.Manyoutstandingpoetsandwritersemergedduringthisperiod.Amongthem,ZoraNealeHurstonisanoutstandingrepresentativeinHarlemRenaissance.ZoraNealeHurstonwasafolklorist,anthropologistandauthor.IfpeoplewanttoanalyzethereasonwhyZoraNealeHurstonbecametobetherepresentativewriterinHarlemRenaissance,itisnecessarytoknowherexperience.HurstonwasborninNotasulga,AlabamaonJanuary7,1891.Shedidnotexperienceracialdiscriminationinherchildhood.However,whenshewasnineyearsold,hermother’sdeathendedherhappytime.Shehadtoleaveherhomeandlivedwithherrelatives.Shebegantoknowthehardshipasablackgirl.Aftershegraduatedfromcollege,herthoughtwasforming.Herheartandexperiencesurgedhertowritesomeliterarywhichcaninspireblackpeopleespeciallyblackwomen.OneofHarlemRenaissance’scharacteristicsisthattheliteraryworksdenytheimageof“uncleTom”andtheywanttosetthenewimageofblackpeople.DuringperiodofHarlemRenaissance,blackwomenwriters’aimwastocorrecttheimageofblackpeople,especiallyblackwomeninthepastliterature.ZoraNealeHurstonhadthesamecreationpurpose.Shewantedtomakewhitepeopleorsocietyhavearightimpressiononblackpeople,especiallytheblackwomenthroughhernovels.Inearlytime,Americanwhitewriterliketodescribeblackwomenintheirnovels.Thereblackwomenwereoftennannyandshamelesswhichwrotetoserveasafoilforwhitewomen.Andinblackwriters’novel,blackwomanisafoilformen.Hurstonpaidherattentiontoblackpeople’struelife.Shestatedthatasallhumanbeingsintheworld,blackpeoplealsohavetheiremotionsandspiritualworld.Sheputheremphasisondescribingfeelingsofblackwomen,andshewantedtoshowtheirselfconsciousnessdevelopment.HernovelwaslikeamirrorwhichcanshowracialismanddiscriminatoryofAmericansocietyandshewantedtohopethesenovelstoexpressherinnerworld.Therepresentativeisjenny,ablackmixraceswomaninHurston’snovelTheirEyeswereWatchingGod.Sheisanewimageofblackwomaninliteraryworks,whichhasindependentthoughtsandwantstofindherself-value.Shewasbeautiful,smartandfullofrebelliousspirit.Asmostofblackwomeninreallife,Jennywantstopursuebetterlifeandrebelsherself.ThoughHurston’snovel,peoplecanrecognizeblackwomen’snewimage.Althoughshealsodescribednanny,sheattemptedtoshowtheirinnerworldsandmentalstress.Hurstonwasatragiccharacterinliteraryhistory.Likeotherwomenatthattime,Hurstonalsoinvol...
