Their Eyes Were Watching God

            Born in Alabama on January 7, 1891, Zora Neale Hurston collected folklore from the South, the Caribbean, and Latin American, as she spent her early adulthood studying at different universities. With the publishing of her novel "Mules and Men," she expressed these findings. Zora Neale Hurston played a big part in the Harlem Renaissance, and being this she rubbed shoulders with many of the famous writers apart of it. Hurston moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida, when she was still a toddler. Her writings reveal no recollection of her Alabama beginnings. For Hurston, Eatonville was always home. In her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the setting, in which was a black town, was the place where she grew up, Eatonville, Florida. Zora Neale Hurston is a 20th century American folklorist, anthropologist, and author. .
             Zora Neale was an anthropologist, and being this she wrote this novel based on her environment, human studies, and society. Zora Neale is most known for her novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God." This novel was written in the era of the 1920's an era in which was special to her because she was able to write about the reality of the world. She was harshly criticized about this novel from the black community. For this, she didn't make a lot of money for the novel and it wasn't until after her death that she received the glory that she deserved. "Their Eyes Where Watching God" is an inspiring and motivating piece of literature. This is as a result of Hurston's powerful use of symbolism and the use of the internal conflict of the protagonist to develop the character and the plot. She does this by having the character go through three marriages, all while finding who she truly is as a woman and she finds her true happiness. The character also undergoes abuse which, as she thinks she's getting closer to resolving and accomplishing her dream of finding love, brings her back to square, not knowing love.