Their Eyes Were Watching God


             At the end of our discussions of Their Eyes Were Watching God, we went over Richard Wright’s criticism of the novel. It seemed nearly unanimous that Wright failed to read Hurston’s book for what it was and “missed the point.” However, one criticism seemed to warrant more discussion: the comparison of the novel’s depiction of life in the muck to a minstrel show.
            The most uncomfortable and “minstrel-y” part of the story may have been the view of work out on the farms. The characters are generally shown having a good time and goofing off when the boss isn’t looking. Hurston may seem to gloss over the challenges and hardships workers in this situation undoubtedly had to face. However, Wright’s criticism seemed to have an idea that the novel should have been entirely about the problems caused by white supremacy. Hurston, on the other hand, wrote a book depicting black culture independent of white supremacy. The story focuses on the positives of this culture and affirms that it is worth writing about.

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