Similarities of Southern Writing
How are the works of two completely different writers, "Barn Burning" by a white, male with an aristocratic background, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by a black, female with a humble background, so similar? The answer lies in the notion that both William Faulkner and Zora Neale Hurston create works that thrive on the discord that is inherent to humanity; in fact, their literary force comes from the fact that they are both well equipped to tap into the sometimes grim yet always intriguing aspects of the human condition. In short, they are both southern writers writing about southern topics. The dominance of these southern themes is what makes these two works similar, although the emphasis placed upon the themes differ. One important thread woven through both "Barn Burning" and Their Eyes Were Watching God is tension provoked because of class or race differences. For starters, racial relations mostly serve as a background to both stories. Both take place around the Civil War, so racial prejudice is still omnipresent. However, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston uses race relations to portray a deeper message. She describes Mrs. Turner, a black woman with "white" features who is hateful towards blacks, with pity and
Through her somewhat cruel diatribe at the dying Jody she begins to find her voice and to express herself fully. It is the presence of these eternal staples of the human condition that create a forever endearing quality to both works. Janie's decision to save herself rather than yield her life to the already dying Tea Cake points to her increasing sense of self and demonstrates that Janie is not dependent on Tea Cake for happiness, but that ultimately she finds happiness and security within herself. She endures it so that she may experience the fullness of life and the good that comes with the bad. At the end of her journey, Janie returns to Eatonville a strong and proud woman, but at the beginning of her story, she is unsure of who she is or how she wants to live. Immersed in the dull and pragmatic marriage with Logan Killicks "[is] desecrating the pear tree" (14), and Janie's first dream of a loving marriage is dead. sympathy because she is so embittered with her hate. The subtle satire of Turner's vision of paradise, "a heaven of straight-haired, thin-lipped, high-nose boned white seraphs" (145) is a device to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to judge people by the way they look. Throughout the story, Colonel Sartoris is torn between family loyalty and individual morality. "Barn Burning" is actually more centralized on Colonel Sartoris's maturation than Abner's destruction. Through these realistic characters and honest themes southern writing shines through at its best, and human nature at its truest. Similarly, Janie's trip to independence requires her to suffer at the hands of two husbands, shoot the only man she ever loved, and brave a ferocious hurricane. However, as Sarty gains strength to stand up on his own against his father, he discovers that individual morality is more important than "your own blood".
Common topics in this essay:
Watching God,
Colonel Sartoris,
God Hurston,
Neale Hurston,
Barn Burning,
Sarty Janie,
Tea Cake,
Similarly Janie's,
Unfortunately Janie,
Similarly Janie,
barn burning,
eyes watching,
tea cake,
eyes watching god,
watching god,
coming age,
own identity,
sarty janie,
pear tree,
zora neale hurston,
burning eyes,
william faulkner,
faulkner zora neale,
burning eyes watching,
barn burning eyes,
|
Acceptance Essays
