I'm sorry for not posting earlier! I just got home from the meet and was hoping (in vain) that someone would have posted for me (I guess it was silly to think that someone might read my mind!)
What is Walker's argument? How does she make it? What kind of appeal does she use? Why? Is it effective? Who is her audience? Don't feel obligated to answer all of this... what I am hoping this discussion will become is essentially: what is Walker saying and how, why and who is she saying it to?
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I was actually in the process of making a post because i wanted to now, ha ha anyways...
ReplyDeleteI think that Walker is trying to argue the ignorance and lack of respect and acknowledgment there is for Hurston. Walker believes Hurston to be one of the most amazing and great writers of her time, having on her tombstone "Zora Neale Hurston/ 'A Genius of the South'/ Novelist Folklorist/ Anthropologist" engraved (107). As well she begins this piece "Looking For Zora" by early on saying "Zora Neale Hurston is one of the most significant unread authors in America...", immediately stating that she believes that Zora is first off and amazing and talented writer, and also completely ignored and never given the complete respect and praise/acknowledgment she deserves.
What stuck out to me most was around the time when Walker was looking for Zora's grave and questioning about her death. I immediately took notice the the fact that the lady at the funeral home claimed that she thought the cause of Zora's death was "malnutrition" (102). Walker's complete shock and confused repetition stopped me, and I could not believe that malnutrition could be the cause of Zora's death. Food is such an important part of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and Zora seems to have such an apparent love for food. When it is revealed later by Zora's friend Dr. Benton that she indeed did not die of malnutrition but "She had a stroke and she died in the welfare home" and later reinforced her love for food, "Zora loved to eat" the argument of ignorance because quite clear (110-111). Walker shows the shocking reality that most people, even someone of the African American race who should be looking up to Zora for her great achievements, are so completely ignorant to both Zora; her writing and her life as a whole. The fact that the women had no facts on Zora, or that she didn't even know enough to realize the ridiculous idea that Zora Neale Hurston would ever die of malnutrition, when it is so apparent in her life and writing that food is a much needed and important part of her, shows how Walker is trying to bring back Zora and introduce her to the people when she never should have been ignored in such a way in the first place.
sorry run-ons hope that made sense..!
I feel that a significant aspect of Walker's argument was making a statement about the way in which people are judged based on appearance. this is so important as we know that race is such an important aspect of "their eyes were watching God." Through walker's essay, she emphasizes the fact that Hurston did not necessarily identify with one race, white or black, in particular and did not even have a good relationship with her own family. I believe that Walker's argument had to do with Zora's admiral ability to identify with cultures besides what many thought should have been her own, black community. "she...was able to go among the people and never act as if she had been to school at all...Zora used to stop anyone whose head looked interesting, and measure it." I felt that this directly relates to the way in which Hurston tried to eliminate the importance of color from her life, although it was an enormous influence on everything she did.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that Walker uses color to describe the appearance of each person she encounters, from the "neat old lady in a purple dress and with white hair" driving a "black and white Buick," Mrs. Moseley, to the "handsome red-haired" Mrs. Sarah Peek Patterson, and again to the " steady brown eyed, white haired Dr. Benton. I feel that Walker's use of imagery in creating a specific color to be associated with each individual we encounter throughout her essay is vital to her message. However direct her description might be, i feel that it is irrelevant to the true meaning of the "surface level" reading of the story. However, more deeply this seemingly superfluous inclusion of color description of the people i think really enhances Walker's purpose in that it shows the presence of color, yet the fact that it should not matter, which is why it seems excessive. Although Hurston was not necessarily an advocate for integration, she did not believe in segregation either. her seemingly careless attitude towards racial issues, i think, shows the fact that she didn't believe color mattered one way or another. Overall, i feel that Walker's use of colors, imagery and description in her essay makes her argument that Hurston's race played a role in her career as an author, for better or for worse, and that Hurston, though, believed that race or color should not matter.
I feel that Walker is telling her audience that Zora Hurston was, in essence, a God to the African American society.
ReplyDeleteI see this in the way that Walker never actually uses Zora's full name, only referring to her as "Zora", just as the Bible never truly names the deity of which it is speaking, only labeling Him as "God". Even in the title: one does not simply "Look for" a dead person, yet there is common phrase along the lines of "Looking for God".
Additionally, the way that Walker presents the information implies that no one truly knows who Hurston was: "'Zora Hurston was born in 1901, 1902, or 1903 - depending on how old she felt herself to be at the time someone asked'" (Walker 96); "'I don't think anyone really knew where she was,'" (100).
Instead, Hurston became something of a mythical figure, like God is often considered as, whose actions and descriptions have been misinterpreted and forgotten over the years. Just as God is pictured differently in every person's eyes, so was Hurston to this town. Examples of this include the manner of her death (where one said "malnutrition" and the other said "stroke") and how Dr. Benton reveals the shocking secret that Hurston was fat that conflicted with other preconceived notions - "'What! Zora was fat! She wasn't, in Van Vechten's pictures!'" (111).
But, despite all the myriad conflicting impressions people had of her, Hurston managed to encourage a huge following, just as we may not know exactly what God did or what He looked like, we (collectively) still follow Him as a source of love. For Zora, though some hated her (Moseley) and others loved her (Dr. Benton), they all respected her - albeit begrudgingly - and "'everybody around [t]here loved Zora,'" (112) in their own way.
Additionally, Walker displays Zora as not merely another writer, or a superior, but almost as if she was perfect and beyond the grasp of average humans. "'Her English was beautiful'...Zora herself didn't speak the 'black English',"(111) and "It looks as majestic as Zora herself must have been when she was learning voodoo from those root doctors down in New Orleans," (106).
In the end, Walker seems to be making the point that Hurston was beyond "my aunt - and that of all black people as well," (102), but a "Savior" of sorts and a God to the black people.
Molly, i agree that another one of Walker's arguments was to show the lack of appreciation people exhibited for her...It was really interesting how Walker discovered that all of these people who had known her, and even Dr. Benton who had been friends with her, had abandoned her writing. I feel that this is important because it shows that people valued her for her personality rather than her writing, which is strange to me. Shouldn't her personality have been portrayed through her writing? I don't know why i'm having trouble finding the quote (help please!!), but there was the part of the article where Walker is interviewing someone who said that Hurston's voice in real life was not like the voice she used in her writing. I thought this was interesting along with the fact that Hurston was such a lost and unknown author. Perhaps this expression of a different self, if you will, of Hurston is representative of, as i said in my other post, her inability and lack of desire to identify with a particular color.
ReplyDeleteThe article “Looking for Zora” by Alice Walker argues that the writer’s undignified and unfamiliar resting place is far less important than the memories and influence she has left behind. The main appeal Walker uses is pathos, to evoke empathy in the audience. “She lies today in an unmarked grave in a segregated cemetery in Fort Pierce, Florida, a resting place generally symbolic of the black writer’s fate in America” (Walker 93). Walker proposes that Hurston was never fully recognized as the great writer she was, and was eventually abandoned. On a quest to find Zora’s final resting place, Walker finds details on her life and influence toward others along the way. “Because of Zora’s books, I feel I know something about her, at least I know what the town she grew up in was like years before she was born” (95). It seems as though the narrator knew Hurston better in her imagination by reading her stories, and appreciated her more than many people who lived in the same vicinity as her. Walker found that many people did not like Hurston during her lifetime, because they felt she misrepresented her race, or did not hold traditional or proper morals. “Many of the church people around here, as I understand it…thought Zora was pretty loose. I don’t think they appreciated her writing about them” (95). Many people Walker encountered on her quest either did not acknowledge anything they knew about Hurston, or never knew who she was, such as the people who live across the street from Hurston’s old home.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Hurston was never fully recognized for her work by all, Walker finds it difficult and unnecessary to feel grief for their loss. “It was impossible for me to cry when I saw the field full of weeds where Zora is…it is because there is a point at which even grief feels absurd. And at this point, laughter gushes up to retrieve sanity” (115). Because nothing can be gained from grief, Walker believes it to be in her best interest to recognize the comedy in grief, which seems like an oxymoron. “...Such moments rob us of both youth and vanity. But perhaps they are also times when greater disciplines are born” (116). This statement claims that maturity is reached when a person can see the light in the most painful situations, such as the general population being incapable to appreciate Zora Hurston.
I agree with Molly....
ReplyDeleteI also believe, and certainly correct me if I'm wrong, that Walker is trying to say something perhaps less specific to Zora, and more about writers as a whole. Walker explains how she is able to truly know Hurston through Hurston's works, while Walker never actually, physically knew her. It appears that others who did actually know Hurston, may have never truly known who she was at all.
Walker explains toward the end that, "I have [She has] come to know Zora through her books" (Walker 115). Throughout her essay she shows this to be true. Her reference to Hurston as her Aunt seems to be more than just a way to get information. Even when admitting her lie to the Doctor, she continues to refer to Hurston as "Aunt Zora" (Walker 109). She feels close to her - a deep connection. When she talks to the reader, she also uses Hurston's first name rather than her last - showing a sense of familiarity between Hurston and herself. Charlotte shares this closeness to Hurston when we see her eager to send Hurston's books to uninformed townspeoples. Walker agrees exclaiming, "That's real kind of you" (115).
This deep connection appears to be much deeper than that between Zora and many of those in the towns where she had lived. In fact, as Molly stated, there is a great disregard for the importance of Zora Neale Hurston's existence even. Mrs. Moseley of Eatonville seems more concerned with her own achievements than Hurston's and when she does bring herself to disuss Hurston's life, her facts are wrong or missing. She doesn't know where Zora was born, or exactly where she was buried. Later, we find that even the funeral home which dealt with Hurston's funeral had many of their facts wrong - such as believing she had died of malnutrition. Even other people who at the time lived on the same street Hurston, "had no idea Zora ever lived, let alone that she lived across the street" (Walker, 115).
Only the Doctor and the man on the street seem to show any regard for her existence.
In this way Walker explains her exasperation with those who are ignorant and have no regard for important literary figures. However, mixed in with that idea is another idea - perhaps more universal. The idea that an author can be almost fully known through their works. As Walker 'knew' Zora, we can know other authors. If Aquiantence is not defined by a meeting or a factual knowledge of existence, but rather by the knowledge of ones morals and beliefs, then Hurston was certianly and aquintence of Walker.
George i noticed that too...the only thing i questioned though was why did her family have such a poor relationship with her then? I feel that they could not have respected her because they did not even purchase a grave or tomb stone for her...thatwas the only thing that i was confused about regarding that idea.
ReplyDeleteOh and that also reminds me of the quote on pg. 102, "just when you go in the gate there's a circle, and she's buried right in the middle of it. Here is teh only grave in that circle- because people don't bury in that cemetery any more." This central feeling reminds me of God, and the way in which she has been isolated in her death, unknown or disputed, as George said, in her appearance and known differently from one person to the next, just as God can be interpreted differently, yet still she has an affect on those around her whether they know it or not.
I'm sorry Parrish, but the response I just spent the better part of an hour writing just got deleted by my computer and I do not have the patience or time to rewrite what I wrote before, so I am simply going to bullet my ideas.
ReplyDeleteWalker's argument (as established by earlier posts) is irrelevant because she lacks any form of credibility.
At the beginning of the essay, Walker shows herself to rely on the knowledge of others (namely Charlotte) and demonstrates ignorance towards Zora's life.
Later on, she accepts contracting accounts concerning the whereabouts of Zora's grave, then proceeds to blunder around blindly in a snake infested field until she finds something which may or may not be Zora's grave, which she accepts to be the grave in actuality.
Throughout the essay, Walker is shown to be a pathological liar who cannot be trusted as she depicts herself as Zora's niece and says "lies come with perfect naturalness to my lips" (102).
Once again, I am sorry for the brevity of my response - my original post provided a more thorough analysis of Walker's ethos and an undeniable debunking of the essay's validity.
I agree with Molly and Anna, but I also noticed Walker's argument that Hurston is a maternal figure (or at least family) to the entire black community. Throughout the text Walker speaks and writes as if she knew Hurston, even though she also repeats many times that she never met her. "Besides, as far as I'm concerned, she is my aunt- and that of all black people as well" (102). This reminded me of The Secret Life of Bees, and the black Mary being the mother of everyone, included Lily- except that Lily is white and Alice Walker speaks only of blacks....interesting. Sorry that was kind of random but it seemed relevant. Anyway, Walker then calls out to Hurston while searching for her grave in a way that suggest they are old friends. She also makes remarks such as "It is pale and ordinary, not at all like Zora" (107) and later explains "...I have come to know Zora through her books..." (115). These statements support the view that Hurston was a great, incredibly influencial woman whose novels played a important role in the lives of blacks. After all, Walker did say "There is no book more important to me than this one" about Their Eyes Were Watching God. Her percieved understanding of and connection with Hurston is a testament to how powerful a writer she was. Is she speaking to all races? Like Anna said, Hurston did not think taht race or color mattered, yet Walker seems to be arguing that she plays the role of a maternal figure to the black community through her writing. In "looking for Zora" she is, in a way, looking for answers about herself "Such moments rob us of both youth and vanity. But perhaps they are also times when greater disciplines are born" (116).
ReplyDeleteI feel as though Walker is saying that no matter who you are and where you're from, you'll always be able to live your life however you want to and still get satisfaction from it.
ReplyDeleteZora was obviously not very well-known in her day; her old neighbors even said that they "had no idea Zora ever lived, let alone that she lived across the street," showing how much of a private person she chose to be (Walker 115). However, that doesn't mean she was never happy. Dr. Benton, an old friend of Zora's, describes her as, "an incredible woman," and one who was "well read, well traveled...and always had her own idea about what was going on," showing that contrary to the beliefs of her old neighbors, she did in fact live (110). And she wasn't an outcast in Eatonville; as Dr. Benton says, "Everybody around [Eatonville] loved Zora," showing that she did seem to fit in (112). So if this is the case, then why was her grave to hard for Walker to find, and why did she have so much trouble finding local information about her? Zora was someone who had very good control of her life, and it's possible to believe that she directed her livelihood towards specific people instead of everything, and chose to fit in where she wanted to fit in. The image of Zora that Dr. Benton gives us is one that I feel fits the image of Janie at the end of Their Eyes Were Watching God. She tells Phoebe that she's "back home agin" and that she's "satisfied" to be there, despite the place being one of unhappiness for her (Hurston 191). She was married to two controlling husbands back home and she was never able to live the life she truly wanted. So why is she happy? While Tea Cake was a much better and devoted husband than Janie's previous ones, Tea Cake was just as controlling. Her love for him was emphasized even more so because of her past experiences, and because of that she felt she could never leave his side, and it's her decision to keep him close to her that brings about his downfall, for she is forced to shoot him when he turns rabid. In this moment, she not only kills what she loves, but what is truly holding her back, for by the end of the novel, she really does seem to be much freer than she ever was with anyone.
whooops sorry for the double post!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anna that Walker’s use of colors portrayed the significance of race in Hurston’s life - for better or for worse. Although race should not play a part in the way people interact with one another, it was a major issue during Hurston’s life. This problem is demonstrated in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”. Janie, who is light-skinned, is often criticized or alienated from her community for not being the same as everyone else. I also agree with Beth’s idea that in order to have an acquaintance with an author, it is not necessary to actually meet him or her, or know their personal information. Perhaps Walker argues that the most crucial aspect of any writer is their literature, and it is irrelevant whether or not people accepted the author as a person.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I see that a lot of people in here seem to have a negative view of Walker's essay. I still feel as though she makes the point I stated above, but indirectly; in truth, she probably has no idea that her essay shows it. The mere fact that she forces herself to accept what little info she has about Zora to completely sum Zora up shows the reasoning behind Zora's life, one in which she let those who she wanted into her life. In retrospect, Zora seems to be doing this beyond the grave in Walker's essay; she's preventing those of no importance to her from gaining entrance to her life.
ReplyDeleteTaylor I was thinking along those same lines as to the validity of Hurston’s argument (although I’m not sure I would call her a pathological liar because I find it natural to get carried away with the things you love, I understand how you feel). Early in her account, Walker says “Eatonville had lived for such a long time in my imagination that I can hardly believe it will be found existing in its own right” (94) and I think this applies to Walker’s view of Hurston in its entirety. I feel like Walker doesn’t allow Zora to exist in her own right, but rather relies on her reverence towards Hurston’s work to create a beautiful portrait of Hurston as a person that Walker enjoys just as much as Hurston’s writing. So while I appreciate Walker’s pilgrimage to the birthplace and resting place of a writer who she found so inspiring, I think Walker unjustly determines and muddles who Hurston must have been as a person from her body of work.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Walker's central argument was that people like Zora Hurston who were brilliant and influential deserve reverence from the current generation, no matter what the cost. The entire story is essentially a recount of the struggle for Walker to pay her respects to a woman that she greatly respected and felt she knew through her writing. Walker had to go to great lengths to do this, talking to a variety of people along the way, and going far out of her way to do something that, quite frankly, would not have much of an effect on the town because as she said, the location of the grave was dangerous and hard to reach, "A snake could be lying six inches from my big toe and I wouldn't see it... There are things crackling and hissing in the grass. Sandspurs are sticking to the inside of my skirt. Sand ants cover my feet" (104). Despite these awful conditions and obstacles that Walker had to overcome, she braved them anyways in order to simply put a headstone on Zora's grave. Why would she do such a thing, when it is clear by the grave's location that hardly anybody, if that, will visit? It is really the principle of the act that Walker is portraying to her audience, who as far as I can tell and going with what Molly said, is anyone who will listen. She clearly believes that Zora was a huge influence on her life and an important figure to her, and thus she feels it is the right thing to do to return the favor with her respect.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that the fact she put a headstone on the grave is significant. By labeling Zora's resting place, Walker feels that she if bringing Zora out of the obscurity she always lived in into the light of day where she can be realized and respected by all. Overall, the main argument is that it is the thought that counts, and in the case of Zora, it was only right to go beyond the limits to show reverence.
Also, George, do you think that maybe Hurston was referred to as "Zora" not because she was seen as "Godlike" but because Walker felt personally connected to her? She says, "Besides, as far as I'm concerned, she is my aunt--and that of all black people as well" (102), and I think that maybe by addressing her by her first name she felt more comfortable because it was very informal and friendly.
I agree especially with what Anna and Molly said (first 2 comments), but to make that more concise for my own understanding, I think that Walker s suggesting that what is apparent on the outside is not always true on the inside; in other words, while someone or something may seem perfect on the outside, they may be struggling internally at the same time (such as the United States during the Gilded Age-APUSH connection!) Anyways.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Walker uses lots of pathos to more directly connect with the thoughts and feelings of the reader, in order to evoke our emotions when reading about her trial and error in the journey of finding out about her "aunt's" death and the aftermath. Someone mentioned this before, but Zora's love for food, present in the novel was certainly present in her actual life as well. However, later in the article, Dr. Benton mentions, "Sometimes she would run out of groceries-after she got sick-and she'd call me. 'Come over here and see 'bout me,' she'd say. And I'd take her shopping and buy her groceries" (111). This made me think the the character in the book, I forget her name! but the woman who went to Jody and asked for meat for herself and her children, and Jody always helped her out.
Another instance of appearance mentioned is in the description of the garden. Walker describes it really well, and there is certainly no question regarding its uncleanliness and unkempt appearance. "...looks more like an abandoned field. Tall weeds choke the dirt road and scrape against the sides of the car" and "Some of them are quite pretty, with tiny yellow flowers. They are thick and healthy, but dead weeds under them have formed a thick gray carpet on the ground" (104). This passage is described with such distaste, that it is surprising that the graveyard, shall you call it that, is called, "Garden of the Heavenly Rest" (103), which when reading the name, you would think that it would be a beautiful and perfect burial site.
One last idea, the appearance of Zora herself is different throughout the article. "Zora was fat! She wasn't, in Van Vechten's pictures!" (111). While a picture may hold a thousand words, this picture was inaccurate due to a passage of time, and created a false image of Zora. She was actually "...a big woman, erect......she weighed about two hundred pounds. Probably more. she..." (110-111). Walker's preconceived notions about Zora seem to overpower reality at points during the article, distorting the true image of Hurston.
Taylor and Maggie, I agree with everything you both said. The reason why this argument is invalid is because it is completely subjective, I don't think that this essay reads as trying to speak to an audience at all, but more as Walker writing with the purpose of speaking for herself and the role that the subjective and her tainted vision of Zora, who she never knew, played in her life.
ReplyDeleteLarissa you made a really good point, that Walker's response, "Zora was fat!", is a great example of the skewed meaning that Walker has projected onto Zora, as oppossed to just accepting the physical reality of Zora as a person. George, I disagree with your point that "In the end, Walker seems to be making the point that Hurston was beyond "my aunt - and that of all black people as well," (102), but a "Savior" of sorts and a God to the black people". From Walker's picture, I don't think that Zora tried to be, or was, the "god of black people" for the reasons that Anna pointed out- that Hurston was not trying to prove anything about her race, and moreover that Hurston did not "necessarily identify with one specific race" , but only sought justice. I think it is only Walker herself who is trying, to project Zora as this "Black God": -as seen in her efforts to send so many people Zora's books (who didn’t want them). Just as Zora was unknown to so many people other than Walker, she is Walker's "savior", hence the tone of the essay. Whether or not Walker is trying to convince us (in this invalid argument!) that Zora is a "savior" for black women is up for debate.
Overall, I thought the essay read more like a documentation of Zora for Walker's own sake. I found her subjectivity to be very alienating; the conclusion of the essay seems particularly invalid- now, this Zora (who Walker is the expert on and does not share much but an ambiguous and indefinite explanation of her life)-after her grave that might not actually be her grave is labeled-is no longer a "pain" that is a "direct threat to one's [walker's] own existence". To me, this essay is about Walker's voice only, and marking her grave resolved something in her that the reader will never understand in the same way, no “true image” (Larissa!) of Hurston is ever conveyed, or can be.
Sorry that this is so late, honestly I have no good excuse that would be believable so here it goes. I agree with much of what has been said before me, and since I am trying to submit this as close to 10:00 as possible I don’t have time to read ALL of the responses, so I am very sorry if I repeat someone’s idea.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, as much as this story on the surface seems to pertain specifically to Zora, I think that walker is saying something much more profound regarding the writing body as a whole. The utter lack of information about Zora (as Beth said), shows the disconnect between a writer and their work. Walker demonstrates her misconceived connection with Zora in granting herself the title “Hurston’s niece”. In doing this, Walker demonstrates to the reader her phony familial connection with Hurston, rather then the one which truly only exists through literature. I almost feel like this misconceived identity is one that most readers take on after reading a book, thinking that that specific piece of literature mirrors the author’s emotions and thoughts exactly.
What is interesting is that it is only the reader who shares these imaginary ties to the author. For example, Hurston surely does not consider herself “Aunt Zora” to anyone who has ever picked up any of her books. Hurston writes for herself, not for the reader, as do most authors. “What did it matter what the white folks must have thought about her” (101). Hurston, in writing for herself, did not disregard the effects her works had on readers, but rather thought more about the benefits they had on herself.
In short, simply because a writer exposes something in a book or work of some sort, does not mean that a reader of that same work has a personal connection with the author.
Since a lot of posts before mine already state Walker's argument I thought I would just skip over that and to the "how".
ReplyDeleteI would just like to throw out there that I did think that Walker did write a nice essay, although there are obviously many who disagree... Walker's passion translates into the text and I found it easy to read her story. It was in this aspect of her writing that I believed to be the key factor in being a successful piece of writing. Walker's admiration for Hurston's story telling mimicks itself in her own writing, whcih almost in itself proves Walker's point (that Hurston does not recieve the credit she should due to her political views). Langston Hughes said "In her youth she was always getting scholarships and things from wealthy white people, some of whom simply paid her just to sit around and represent the Negro race for them, she did it in such a racy fashion. She was full of sidesplitting anecdotes, humorous tales, and tragicomic stories, remembered out of her life in the Soth as a daghter of a traveling minister of God. She could make you lagh one minute and cry the next" (100). This quote demonstrates her apparent ability of storytelling and Walker accents that fact by telling her story of discovering Zora through a almost "folk-lore" way (proven in the small inclusions of lies like her being Zora's "illegitimate niece"). Like Walker says, black folk tales are "lies" (98). I'm not sure where I am going with this idea but I believe that Walker strengthens her argument through the reminder of a good story. Walker brings her readers back to these simpler times, to the time period that all would sit on the porch and share stories, so that we are reminded of the differences in society at the time. We are able to forgive her political views that many disagree with in this way, and look beyond that and into the writing itself.
By the way, personally, I'm confused why so much attention is brought to the "legitimacy" of this essay? It may not be subjective, but it is a story, and like all "fictional" (if you have to say) stories we read we trust the reader? Why do we find it so hard to trust Walker now? Just because it has the label essay and that she is trying to argue something? But then again aren't all stories (fictional or not) trying to formulate an argument? And why does it matter that she never knew Zora? Her personal connection with the author through her writing is strong and does the physical matter more than the emotional in "discovery"?
ReplyDeleteI know it's late but those were just my last thoughts....
Emma I dont think its so much that we have a hard time trusting Walker herself, but rather her sources. There is much controversy concerning the cause of Zoras death, and the way she interacted with the people of her town and her own physical health. I think the audience automatically blames Walker for this discrepancy because she is the author, but it is really the fault of the witnesses and the people Walker interviews. I also find it interesting that Walker is so interested in Zoras life and writing even though they had never met and were never colleagues. I think Walker looks up to Hurston, and used her as a mentor for her own novel The Color Purple. The two women write about similar themes and issues, and Walker clearly values Hurston’s technique and style. I feel like this writing is very genuine, and Walker’s exploration of Zoras life brings her to a higher level of understanding and acceptance. The line that best describes Walker’s higher level of understanding is the last one,
ReplyDelete“There are times-finding Zora Hurston’s grave was one of them-when normal responses of grief, horror, and so on do not make sense because they bear no real relation to the depth of the emotion one feels. I have come to know Zora through her books…and there is a point at which even grief feels absurd. And at this point, laughter gushes up to retrieve sanity. It is only later. When the pain is not so direct a threat to ones own existence, that what was learned in that moment of comical lunacy is understood.
**Such moments rob us of both youth and vanity. But perhaps they are also times when greater disciplines are born.**
This quote, especially the last sentence, embodies Walkers realization of the benefit and impact Hurston has had on her life and writing, and moves onto her “higher discipline” that was “born” through Hurston’s influence.