Download The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance
Harlem = Primarily African American neighborhood in NYC
Renaissance = rebirth or revival
About Modernism: 1914-1939
WWI shatters faith in the American Dream
 People migrating to the cities/overcrowding
 Women gain more social/political power
 Prohibition in full swing
 Great period of prosperity, followed by the
Great Depression
 The Harlem Renaissance is considered part
of the Modern literature movement
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Read the information provided about the Harlem
Renaissance and Zora Neale Hurston. Answer the following
questions once you have completed your notes.
1)
What was happening culturally and
economically in the 1920’s that allowed the
Harlem Renaissance to flourish?
2)
How did the Harlem Renaissance change
or influence American culture?
3)
List the 5 most interesting facts from
Hurston’s biography.
About the Harlem Renaissance
Rise in African American cultural
expression in NYC from 1920 – 1939
 Celebrated the African American
experience in music, art and literature
 Created exciting new forms of music (jazz;
more syncopated rhythms, scat)
 Ended when the Great Depression
depleted the financial support available to
young artists

Harlem Renaissance Literature
Literature focused on black life
 Departure from the slave literature that
previously dominated black writing
 Addressed issues of race, class, religion,
and gender
 Affirmation that black dialects were as
legitimate as standard English
 Struggled with keeping authentic voice
while making their work commercial

Harlem Newspaper
Harlem Journal
Portrait of Langston Hughes
Harlem Renaissance Writers
Countee Cullen (poet who was influenced
by the English Romantic writers)
 Langston Hughes (poet who used
unconventional forms, free verse, and the
rhythms of jazz in his work)
 Zora Neale Hurston (wrote fiction, folklore,
and musical revues on black culture, and
inspired the work of Alice Walker and Toni
Morrison.)

Romare Beardon
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)
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Born to poor family; began
supporting herself as a young
teen
Published first story at 20;
moved to NYC to attend
Barnard College.
Developed interest in folklore
and anthropology
Criticized for celebrating life of
African Americans
Died broke in a Florida
welfare home
More on Their Eyes…
Written in three different voices:
poetic voice, narrator’s voice and
Janie’s voice
2. Frame Story: Begins at the end
1.
Their Eyes Were Watching
God
Novel Structure’s 4 units:
• Janie’s early years with grandmother
• Nanny’s story, Janie’s loss of
childhood, and brief 1st marriage.
• Marriage to Joe Starks (mule incident)
• Tea Cake and the Everglades.
Their Eyes Were Watching
God
Eatonville:
• Actual town 5 miles north of Orlando
• Oldest surviving municipality in U.S.
• Over 100 black towns founded
between 1865-1900; 12 remain
including Eatonville.
Their Eyes Were Watching
God
The Book…
• Opens with a focus on judgment.
• Novel is about Janie’s search for
unconditional love.
• Search results in her independence.
Their Eyes Were Watching
God
Watch for references to…
•
Sun
•
Horizon
•
Mules
•
Time
•
Death
•
Dreams
•
Pear tree and blossoms