THE QUEST OF SELF-AWARENESS IN THE BLACK WOMEN’S IDENTITIES: THE ANALYSIS OF ZORA NEALE HURSTON’S THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Year 2023, Issue: 9, 1 - 11, 29.12.2023

Gamze Ar

https://doi.org/10.59577/belgu.1358802

Abstract

African American literature establishes a great artistic field with diverse cultural and thematic experiences. Throughout history, African Americans have experienced many troubles, such as segregation and discrimination in various areas. However, their literature shows a significant resistance to all the troubles in history. Numerous writers and artists explore themes such as African American culture, racism, religion, slavery, and a sense of homelessness, one of whom is Zora Neale Hurston. Besides her race, she is also a woman, so she is both a woman and a colored person at the bottom of the social ladder. Thus, Their Eyes Were Watching God is not only a source of race but also gender. This paper sheds light on the importance of Zora Neale Hurston in African American literature, and the study will be supported by other famous Afro-American writers’ articles and statements. Why is she so important? From which perspectives did she contribute to African American literature? Why was her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God mostly criticized? This novel, being important in the field of Black Feminism, concerns the hardships of black women racially and sexually. This study will answer these questions with examples from Zora Neale Hurston’s autobiographical novel Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography (1984), Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), and Alice Walker’s article “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston” (1975).

Keywords

African American literature, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, race, gender, identity

Siyahi Kadın Kimliklerinde Kendi Farkındalık Arayışı: Zora Neale Hurston'ın Gözleri Tanrıyı Seyrediyordu Adlı Eserinin Analizi

Abstract

Afrikalı Amerikalı edebiyatı, farklı kültürel ve tematik deneyimlerle büyük bir sanatsal alan oluşturmaktadır. Tarih boyunca Afrikalı Amerikalılar, çeşitli alanlarda ırkçılık ve ayrımcılık gibi birçok sorunla karşı karşıya kalmıştır. Ancak edebiyatları, tarih boyunca yaşadıkları tüm sorunlara karşı önemli bir direniş göstermiştir. Pek çok farklı yazar ırkçılık, din, kölelik ve aidiyetlik gibi temaları eserlerinde kaleme almıştır. Bu yazarlardan biri de Zora Neale Hurston'dır. Hurston siyah bir kadındır ve hem ırk hem de cinsiyet açısından sosyal statüde en alt tabakada bulunur. Bu bakımdan, romanı ırkın yanı sıra siyah feminist hareketini de desteklemektedir. Bu çalışma, Hurston'ın edebiyattaki önemini ortaya koyacak ve diğer ünlü Afrikalı Amerikan yazarların makaleleri ve açıklamalarıyla desteklenecektir. Bahsedilen roman neden bu kadar önemlidir? Afrikalı Amerikalı edebiyatına hangi perspektiflerden katkıda bulunmuştur? Neden Hurston’ın romanı Gözleri Tanrıyı Seyrediyordu çoğunlukla eleştirilmiştir? Siyah feminizm alanında önemli bir yere sahip olan bu roman, siyah kadınların hem ırk hem de cinsiyet eşitsizlikleriyle dolu hayatını incelemiştir. Bu çalışma, Zora Neale Hurston’ın otobiyografik romanı Dust Tracks on a Road An Autobiography (1984), Gözleri Tanrıyı Seyrediyordu (1937) ve Alice Walker’ın “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston”(1975) makalesinden örneklerle bu soruları cevaplamaya çalışmaktadır.

Keywords

Afrikalı Amerikalı Edebiyatı, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, ırk, cinsiyet, kimlik

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