Zora Neale Hurston

1. Zora Neale Hurston

3. Why should you care who she was? “I do not belong to that sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal." - Zora Neale Hurston

4. Why should you care who she was? • Zora was a flamboyant women who always made a scene • She never let anyone lessen her because she was “black” • She was the most significant black female writer during the 1930’s and 40’s

5. Childhood  • Born to John and Lucy Hurston on January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. She was the fifth of eight children. • However, she moved to Eatonville, Florida as a toddler.

6. Zora grew up in an 8 room house, on 5 acres of land • Zora’s mom always told her “Jump at de sun, you might not land on the sun, but at least you would get off the ground."

7. How did Zora Suffer?

8. Her Childhood Had an Abrupt Stop! • In 1904 when Zora was 13, her mother passed away.

9. After the death, John Hurston, Zora’s father had little time or money for his children. • He quickly remarried a young women, whom Zora almost murdered.

10. Things Continued to Look Down For Zora • After the fistfight with her stepmother, she was sent by her father to her brother’s household to clean, cook, and watch the children. To do so, Zora was taken out of school leaving her with an 8th grade education.

11. At the age of 16, a restless Zora left her brother’s household to join a traveling theater. • During this time she occasionally worked domestically for a white household.

12. What made Zora start to write? • The woman Zora worked for gave her her first book, which inspired Zora to start writing.

13. Those 10 years she lost were never restored. • From that point on, Zora Neale Hurston always claimed she was 10 years younger then she really was.

14. Zora went back to high school • When she was 26 years old, Zora lied about her age claming she was only 16 and enrolled in Morgan Academy and graduated from high school.

15. How did Zora get her success? • According to a friend Zora had the gift to walk into people’s hearts • Zora befriended people of great importance such as Langston Hughes and Ethel Waters. These people helped her get reconized as a writter.

16. After High School… • Zora graduated Barnard College in 1928. • During College Zora had published short stories, articles, and a novel called Jonah’s Gourd Vine.

17. The Harlem Renaissance • While Zora was in New York during college, The Harlem Renaissance was occurring. • This was a time when “Blacks” stood up for themselves • They found ways to express themselves through dance, music, writing, and art

19. Her Most Well Known Piece of Literature. • The highlight of Zora’s career was in the 1930’s and 1940’s. • In 1937 she published probably her most famous piece of work, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

20. Their Eyes were watching God • Her most memorable novel. • This book was about a girl named Janie who was a product of rape, and herself was raped. • The character grew up in Eastonville, Zora’s hometown.

21. This book was so fameous that Oprah Winfrey’s production Harpo created a movie after it starring Halle Berry.

22. Some other novels Zora published • 1938, Moses, Man of the Mountain • 1942, Dust tracks on the Road • 1948, Seraph on the Suwannee.

23. $$ Money Failure $$ Zora published many pieces of amazing literature, but never received proper pay.

24. The Burial Conflict • Zora Neale Hurston died on 1/28/1960 from a stroke. • Because Zora never recied proper pay, she had no money saved for her burial. She was buried in an unmarked grave until 1973.

25. Alice Walker • Alice Walker in the summer of 1973 flew to Eatonville, Florida to mark her hero’s grave with a headstone.

27. Links • http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5131/ • http://www.zoranealehurston.com/ • http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/hurston.html • http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/zhurston.html • http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-hurston-zora.asp • http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/pdf/amlit_lp_hurston.pdf • http://www.amazon.com/Dust-Tracks-Road-Neale-Hurston/dp/0060921684 • http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/hurston.htm#Hurston%20Biography • http://www.howard.edu/library/reference/guides/hurston/default.htm • http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/epstein2.html • http://dclibrary.org/blkren/bios/hurstonzn.html • http://www.enotes.com/feminism-literature/hurston-zora-neale • http://authors.aalbc.com/zoraneal.htm • http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_zora_neale_hurston.html • http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/hurston_z.htm • http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.adilahbarnes.com/char_hurston01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.adilahbarnes.com/onewomanshow.htm&h=375&w=295&sz=24&hl=en&start=15&um=1&tbnid=bQZRlmh0BbJSVM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dzora%2Bneale%2Bhurston%2527s%2Bparents%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff • http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.footstepsmagazine.com/readers/2004/12/2004-12-16d.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.footstepsmagazine.com/readers/readers.asp&h=388&w=300&sz=63&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=a3DV0Q5Th9Y0JM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dzora%2Bneale%2Bhurston%2527s%2Bparents%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff