Chapter One: An Overview of the African American Literatureviewed

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Zora Neale Hurston, a Modernist Feminist and Folklorist Novelist

During the Harlem Renaissance, all Black artists and writers took into consideration the notion of Blackness to establish their new Negro identity and culture. They had been inspired from their sorrowful past and the burden of slavery. Zora Hurston started to write and to enlighten the literary scene during this period. As a folklorist, novelist and storyteller, she had dexterously tackled different literary genres as poetry, prose and short stories to extend her feminist and folklorist views and to explore themes of oppression, discrimination and search for identity.

In her fictional world, her writings were characterized by a sense of humor and imagination. In 1937, she published her masterpiece Their Eyes Were Watching God which received great attention. As modernist writers, she holds an optimistic view of future for African American culture in which she demonstrates self-confidence and strives towards individual triumph as a strong African American woman. She, hence, bestowed the Black woman opportunity to express herself.

She depicted her protagonist Janie as a typical character and offered her unique characteristics different from other novelists' protagonists of her time. She characterized her heroine as a strong and courageous woman who faced different obstacles to become an independent woman. In addition to that, she was so influenced by her community and highlights a real vision of her society.

She found inspiration in an authentic Black storytelling which stems from the experiences of its ordinary people. As a folklorist, she offers her readers the opportunity to socialize with each character from the community through their virtual social life as laughing, telling stories, dancing, playing checkers and other games. She thus gave her novel a worthy image and made her story seemed more realistic and enthralling.

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