Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Dialect in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page paper which examines how dialect is used in the novel as part of self-representation. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGtewgdial.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
more powerfully portrayed than in Zora Neale Hurstons African-American masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God, a novel that was first published in 1937. Following in the footsteps of famed
raconteur turned writer Mark Twain, Hurston features regional dialect in order to tell her story and fully develop her characterizations. Dialect involves vocabulary, word selections, and grammar. In
Hurstons novel, the dialect each character employs breathes life into the words contained on the written page. Interestingly, although they are poor black men and women living in Florida
during the Great Depression, the dialect is not predominantly African-American phraseology. Instead, it is a hodgepodge of African-American phrasing interspersed with southern colloquialisms, which serves to emphasize Uncle Sams
cultural melting pot. The average reader will probably struggle with the "Ah" substituted for "I" or "yall" for "you all." But once a comfort level is established, the
outsider will feel at home with the characters, and even though the dialect itself might at first appear to be consistent throughout, distinctive patterns begin to emerge. Folktales are the
cornerstone of the African-American slave experience, and this is most evident in the novels protagonist, Janie Crawford. Hers is a storytellers dialect, plain speaking, and easily conversational (Bloom 95).
The subject of local gossips whispers, the thrice-married Janie confides in her close friend, Pheoby Watson, "Pheoby, we been kissin-friends for twenty years, so Ah depend on you for
a good thought. And Ahm talking to you from that standpoint" (Hurston 6-7). Here, she is also addressing the readers and taking them into her confidence. Janies
dialect is reminiscent of Nanny Crawford, the grandmother who raised her. For Nanny, the slave experience is a wound that never completely heals, and has colored her perspective and
...