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essay in MLA format discussing one of the questions below that address various concepts in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.  This essay is a literary analysis, which means you will be analyzing themes rather than reporting on summary.  Be sure to use 5 scholarly outside sources and the essay, citations, and Works Cited page all conform to MLA standards. Choose one of the following topics.   1. Discuss the role of conversation in Their Eyes Were Watching God. In particular, discuss the effect of Hurston’s narrative technique of alternating between highly figurative narration and colloquial dialogue.   2. Explain the significance of the book’s title. How does it relate to Janie’s quest and the rest of the book? To whom does “Their” refer in the title? Janie and Teacake?  African Americans?   Migrant, low class individuals, etc?   3. In 1937, Richard Wright reviewed Their Eyes Were Watching God and wrote: “The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. In the main, her novel is not addressed to the Negro, but to a white audience whose chauvinistic tastes she knows how to satisfy.” In particular, Wright objected to the novel’s discussion of race and use of black dialect. Why might Wright have objected to Their Eyes Were Watching God? Do you agree or disagree with Wright’s interpretation of the novel?   4. Compare and contrast Janie’s three marriages. What initially pulls her to each of the three men? How do they differ from one another? What does she learn from each experience?   5. In her marriage to Jody, Janie is dominated by his power. At several points, however, it is obvious that he feels threatened by her. Why does Jody need to be in control of everyone around him? How does Janie threaten Jody and his sense of control?     6. Their Eyes Were Watching God is concerned with issues of speech and how speech is both a mechanism of control and a vehicle of liberation. Yet Janie remains silent during key moments in her life. Discuss the role of silence in the book and how that role changes throughout the novel.   7. Throughout Janie’s life, she searches for true, unconditional love. In her search, she experiences different kinds of love. Describe the types of love she experiences. Which type of love has the most impact on her life? In the end, has Janie experienced true love, and, if so, has it changed her?   8. The pear trees, bees, and the horizon occur in several instances in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Discuss the significance of these symbols and metaphors in the novel.   9. What is the role of the porch sitters in Their Eyes Were Watching God? How do they contribute to the novel? How does the porch work as a personified symbol? Trace its use throughout the novel.     10. How does the mule’s treatment in Eatonville reflect the condition of the black female? Does Joe’s gesture of buying him have symbolic value?     11. How is race generally linked to class in this novel? Do white people occupy a higher class than black people? Which characters provide exceptions to the general rule?     12. Why is Janie happy living with the lowest of the low social classes – the migrant workers in the Everglades? What do they have that the higher social classes lack?   13. Provide a feminist reading of the novel.  In what ways is Their Eyes Were Watching God a feminist manifesto for Janie?  For Hurston?   14. Their Eyes Were Watching God is written by a prominent African American writer of the Harlem Renaissance, but few would classify this novel as reflective of that booming time of literary and artistic expression among African Americans.  Why does this novel not meet the criteria for the Harlem Renaissance?  What were the requirements, especially for women during this time?  How does Hurston exceed those expectations and requirements?   OR 15. you may create a topic of your own, but it must be approved by me and it must discuss some portion of the novel.

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