Their Eyes Were Watching God | Book Review

hi everyone thank you for finding your way to psoriasis calm or finding your way to my youtube channel before we even get started comment like subscribe below I just want to apologize because it's been about I don't even need to get into how long it's been since I've made my last book review but it's been a while life's been crazy crazy good in all the right ways moving forward today I am reviewing their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston so I'm really excited to talk to you all about this book this book is a classic but anyone who is really interested in african-american literature or is studying it in any capacity whether they're being in school through research or personal endeavors they are going to come across there Eyes Were Watching God so I found out about the possibility I guess of reading the book when I came across it on YouTube as an audiobook and I was like wow this is an amazing book I listened to the first chapter it was great and I said I have to get the book so that I can read along cuz the dialect was interesting and the plot was deep and I'm like okay I have to read there I was watching guy and that is how it found its way to me I became familiar with their Eyes Were Watching God when the movie came out with Halle Berry that oprah published some years ago when I was younger and I saw the movie before I read the book that had to have been maybe 10 years ago so I kind of had an idea about the plot and the character development but reading the book was a completely different experience because you really get to live in this world that sorta Hurston has created and you feel like you're a part of it you feel like you're sitting on the porch you feel like you're watching neighbors you feel like you're observing this life of the main character as if you're in here in the world with them so my initial reaction of the book was that it pulled me in so deep you know by like the third or fourth page I was into it you know I was interested and moving forward I was interests getting through it because I was so excited about what was to come next and what was developing on the on the next page on the other side of that chapter Their Eyes Were Watching God is about a woman named Jamie Crawford who starts the book talking to an old neighbor she comes back into town and she's talking to an old neighbor about her life experiences the neighbors in the town are looking at her and they're like oh here she comes again so you get the idea right away that she has become outcasted from her community and she is in some way seen as a disgrace or a disappointment to what people would have wanted her to become and that automatically kind of sets the tone for how you understand Jamie and how you form a relationship with her the book is based in the early 20th century in Florida and at that time in the South blacks were still recovering slowly from the effects of slavery and many themes of slavery many dynamics social and racial dynamics in the South were still in place so it takes place in a town called eatonville and the community is small it's a community full of all different types of people all different types of personalities and the story is about the development of Jamie as a woman as she goes through these three relationships in her life I think this book is so dynamic because it introduces this woman who is not afraid to leave her husband who's not afraid to say that she's not happy and who's kind of just unapologetically herself and during those times during the early 20th century you know a lot of gender roles were in place in marriages and communities of women were expected to live up to a certain standard they were expected to give certain things in a relationship and to follow after certain rules put in their household usually by their husband and jamie is a woman who is continuously living her life for herself through the love that she has for herself and kind of seeking happiness at all costs no matter what sacrifices need to be made no matter what changes are occurring in her life she is prioritizing her happiness and her freedom because of this zora neale hurston gets to tell the story of the woman's role in a relationship and how she deserves respect and admiration and affection and a woman shouldn't have to decide between having a man who can provide for her but doesn't know how to love her or having a man who doesn't know how who knows how to love her but can't provide for her or who doesn't value her the way that she needs to be valued she's saying we can have it all and you women deserve to have it all and at the time this book was written that was that was a concept that people weren't even in touch with you know the idea that a woman should get to decide how she feels about her household and what kind of things she wants to live by in her household that was not supported it was not encouraged and it wasn't appreciated for a woman to have a voice that was loud you know that was strong that said this is what I want and this is what I'm going to do to get what I want and Janie Crawford in early 20th century literature emerged as that character who was who was just that who broke the barriers who was unapologetic and who said I am a woman hear me roar additional themes in the book include religion spirituality community development financial development for African Americans in the South in the early 20th century as a huge theme in the book the writing style of Their Eyes Were Watching God is extremely rich and delicate Zora Neale Hurston actual right in the Ebonics of the accents of the Floridians and she takes the culture and influences into the vocabulary the language style and subsequently her writing style so reading it is a little tricky I did read the book along with the audiobook which changed the experience for me because it gave me a chance to hear it and see it and feel it all at the same time which was great but it is a little difficult to read so if you find yourself having trouble getting through their eyes for watching God do to the dialect in the text I definitely encourage you to listen to the audiobook if you decide that you want to push through anyway and just get through the pages keep an open mind about it I rarely put this book down when I was reading it I got through it and I want to say maybe three or four days I was so in tune with the story and I was so excited about what was to come next and it really does keep you on your toes even the characters that are secondary components to the story they all have their own personality and they're all characteristics that make them special and so I know Hurston did an amazing job with character development in this story Jamie's three husbands who are completely different remind you in some way of somebody you know or somebody you've seen or even just a relationship that you've had towards something in the external world whether that be love or structure or respect or power all of those things in their eyes were watching God emerge through this idea of connection with others and really the relationship that you have to yourself what does power mean for you when you have to give it up for someone else what does love mean as a sacrifice rather than a gift you know affection intimacy things that we all look for in love in relationships what is a life like when those things are compromised because other things are prioritized and reading about those things in their eyes were watching God is like experiencing the journey of learning about love and not only learning about it but observing it from the outside seeing someone else experience love experience marriage experience commitment and and finding their way through it and I think that is why this story is so profound because Jamie is a reflection of all of us in some way her actions her connections her relationship to the people in her life she is a reflection of us in some way and we can identify some part of her experience that we feel connected to and I think that is what makes their eyes were watching God such an amazing story I definitely recommend that you read their Eyes Were Watching God like I said before this is a classic you have you must read their Eyes Were Watching God at some point in your life it is a amazing reflection of a black woman speaking about the life of another black woman and creating this rich story that's full of twists and turns and ups and downs and triumphs and trials so definitely pick up their Eyes Were Watching God and there is an amazing recording of the audio book by Ruby Dee on the internet so find it and listen to it engage with it and enjoy your experience stepping into the world that Hurston has created you can order their Eyes Were Watching God on Amazon I got mine from my local library I'm a library girl you can purchase the book anywhere it's everywhere and it is truly an American classic story thank you so much for watching I really enjoyed sharing there Eyes Were Watching God with you I gained from the book and I hope you will too please like comment and subscribe right away join this around says community don't wait another day and thank you so much for tuning in to psoriasis comm more videos will be coming soon I promise enjoy this beautiful day

Channel: Sarahn Says

Views: 3,719

Rating: 4.9166665 out of 5

Keywords: sarahnsays, life advice, inspire, instruct, influence, zora neale hurston, their eyes were watching god, book review, african american literature, sarahn says

Id: Atyg6-F57SY

Length: 10min 50sec (650 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 03 2018