So I’m a little wary of writing in first person because I’ve always been told to never write anything for school in first person. It’s like the golden rule for teachers, but I have decided it’s time. This blog will be shorter than my others which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. So here it is, my first blog written in first person! Enjoy!

 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is often renowned for Hurston’s distinctive use of language, predominantly her mastery of rural Southern black dialect. She uses a remarkable narrative structure throughout the novel. She splits the presentation of the story between extraordinary literary narration and native dialogue. Her long passages of dialogue celebrate the traditionally rich black voices of Janie’s world. These voices are matchless in American literature and their distinctive vocabulary, grammar and tone mark their individuality.

Janie’s quest to find her voice parallels that of Hurston’s use of language. This novel deals greatly with find one’s voice. Jody suppresses Janie’ speech when he stops her from talking after he was named mayor. I believe her hatred for him comes from him silencing her individuality. On the other hand, Tea Cake welcomes her speech by talking with her and putting each of them on equal terms. Her love for him stems from his respect for her individuality. Tea Cake and Jody are similar in that they both have strong personalities and I believe both loved her but in different ways for different reasons. Tea Cake’s love for her build her up, gave her confidence and the foundation to find her true self, whereas Judy knocked her down, keeping her quiet and constantly in his shadow. She was never alone be her own person with Judy, Tea Cake picked her up and set her on level ground with himself.

Now that she has regained her self-worth, she discovers her ability to define herself through her speech and communication with others. She also finds that silence can be a source of empowerment and she learns to control her voice instead of others being in control. I think this concept is best seen when the both the narrator and Janie are silent, neither revealing why Janie isn’t upset with Tea Cake’s actions at the trail. Throughout this whole novel, Hurston lays a massive amount of emphasis on the control of language as a source of identity and empowerment.