Final Post

"Why is studying the Harlem Renaissance still worthwhile in the 21st century?"

When I saw that Harlem Renaissance Literature was on my schedule for my first semester of college, I was pretty content with what I believe would be a class filled with information I'd already learned. Several of my English classes during high school had done units on this movement, and I figured that I knew the basics already. Now, after completing the course, I realize that, literally, ALL I knew was the basics. From the time I have spent learning about the art, literature, music, stories, culture, drama, and politics of this time period, my mind has been greatly expanded on all things regarding the Harlem Renaissance. Up until this course, I simply thought of the Harlem Renaissance as a time period where Langston Hughes wrote a lot of poetry and jazz music started to become popular. However, from immersing myself in the atmosphere of the Harlem Renaissance, I've learned that this movement was a time when the African-American culture struggled to find identity, and also a time for all kinds of Americans to read the thoughts of African-Americans, deriving their expressions, personalities, styles, and personal stories.

Much of the Harlem Renaissance was centered around struggles for artists and writers: struggling to overcome challenges and be accepted by blacks and whites alike and struggling to escape the painful memories of slavery. I imagine that some individuals would argue that the Harlem Renaissance, because of its ties to slavery -- like the Holocaust -- has so much struggle and pain associated with it that it isn't worth studying and rehashing over and over. However, I truly believe that the only way to avoid having history repeat itself is to continue to study it, and learn from our mistakes. The Harlem Renaissance was the first emergence of African-American culture in American society, and the recognition that was eventually gained by the artists, poets, and performers of the Harlem Renaissance helped countless culturally-minded thinkers of all races make advancements in the future.

From this class, I've drawn a strong conclusion that the Harlem Renaissance was an invaluable part of American history, setting the spark for African-American artistic expression. Halting the study of the Harlem Renaissance would be like trying to deny a chunk of America's heritage.

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Pt. 3

Since the beginning of this novel, I've been wondering about the meaning of the novel's title. Until a direct mention on page 160, where Hurston writes, "The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God," (160).

In my opinion, there are two particularly striking words in the title, one of which is, "Their." In a novel focusing primarily on the life process of an individual, Janie. However, the novel is also about the influences of community and unity, and how the presence and opinions of others affects Janie as she progresses through her life. At the particular part of the novel where the title is referenced, Janie, Tea Cake, and Motor Boat are working together in an attempt to overcome the "triple fury" of the hurricane attacking the Everglades. For one of the first and only times in the novel, Janie's very existence is crucial to her ability to utilize the community around her. And while, because of their togetherness, all three survive the hurricane, Hurston's use of the word "their" seems fragile and short-lived when Janie is forced to kill her husband.

The second word that jumped out at me was "God." Throughout the course of this novel, Hurston doesn't portray the protagonist, Janie, as a religious individual. Really, the only definition of God comes when the reader is introduced to the character of Ms. Turner, a very conservative and racially driven individual who equates God with suffering. Other than that, God and religion aren't mentioned much at all in the novel; perhaps because Janie is on a voyage of self-discovery, not religious discovery. However, Janie's life has been full of suffering, arguably allowing her to achieve a connection with Ms. Turner's version of God.

I guess that I still cannot pinpoint the direct meaning of the novel's title. However, much of Hurston's writing is ambigious, and therefore, the title is probably up for open interpretation.

Any other ideas?