The American Dream in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Abstract

Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God received a negative critical reception as a black novel lacking in politics and purpose at the time of its first publication. I argue that along with creating a historical and cultural imaginary of the Black people which connects them to a better future, afrofuturism rejects the totalizing narratives of feminism by breaking the stereotype of a black woman’s essentialized subjectivity and projecting the individuality of the character Janie through a redefinition of the American dream from a black woman’s perspective. The use of an afrofuturist lens to interpret this novel yields a far deeper insight into the afrofeminist underpinnings in this text. The character Janie asserts her individuality and freedom by countering the patriarchal, sexist as well as racist domination of both colours and genders. Afrofeminism establishes the specific histories and experiences of black women by creating a space for uncovering and accommodating the voices of black women about their own experiences. Janie’s dreams and desires for love and happiness are personal and can be paralleled with the American dream of pursuit of happiness in the post-civil war period. Her self-knowledge gives her a deeper insight into knowledge about people of her community and humanity in general. This study, by highlighting the individualist black feminist elements through the character Janie, places her dreams within the bigger picture of the American dream.