Tips for Teaching the Novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, is my favorite book.  Why?  Hurston's mastery of poetic language, vernacular, metaphor and "telling a story, within a story" makes Their Eyes a delectable read.  I am teaching the novel to one of my English classes.  I have heard from several friends and relatives that Their Eyes was a difficult read for them because of the vernacular throughout the story.  The dialect, they cited, makes is hard to "get into" the story.  If you are not familiar with reading or teaching different dialects in literature, read on.

I have tips for educators interested in teaching Their Eyes Were Watching God so that it can be enjoyable for students to read again and again.  You cannot teach this novel without helping students understand the author's background and what inspired her to write.  Here are my suggestions.

1.  Share the cultural background of the author.  Zora Neale Hurston was an African American woman novelist, playwright and anthropologist. Students should read and study the author's background, including her childhood, cultural and artistic influences and background as an African American who sought to explore the lives of Blacks in the south. What makes Zora Neale Hurston so fascinating is that she lived her life, to create art and make herself happy, not to fit into society's mode of what a woman or African American woman should be.

2.  Include multi-media.  Students have varying learning styles.  Straight lecturing and discussion from reading does not engage students - whether they are in high school or college.  Show videos and images connect to Zora Neale Hurston's life, the lives of the artists and scholars she surrouned herself with and the people of Eatonville, FL - the setting for Their Eyes Were Watching God.

3.  Analytical writing tasks.  As students read chapters of the book, give them areas to focus on and analyze:  Hyperbole and characterization, Janie's identity and relationships, Mule talk and Signifyin' in the novel and feminism. You can also have students rewrite chapters from the perspective of a different character, instead of Janie.  How does the novel change then?  The Common Core State Standards call for students to study information text and write in a variety of genres.  The articles you find on Hurston's life and the town of Eatonville, FL can provide students with the opportunity to fully characterize the author and analyze her intent for Their Eyes Were Watching God.

4.  Critical thinking.  Have students create and pose their own questions for each other about the novel.  Have them debate amongst themselves about the choices Zora Neale Hurston made as an author.  Questions which can serve as the foundation for a debate include: Why did the author choose to make Janie a mulatto person? Why do you think Hurston did not allow Janie's mother to make an appearance and have a greater presence in the novel?  Students can give their perspective as to whether the questions point to a significant enough factor in the final outcome for Janie, the protagonist.

5.  Lastly, secondary students love to craft projects.  Have them create their own multi-media presentation, using video, audio, text and images to report on characterization and various literary elements in the novel.  Require the students to reveal the "Big Learning" they received from reading Their Eyes Were Watching God, and how what they learned from the novel may impact how they study future novels. 

To learn more about how to teach the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, including suggested resources, Contact English Educator, DuEwa Frazier, M.Ed., M.F.A. at duewa (dot) frazier (at) gmail (dot) com.  DuEwa will be a featured workshop facilitator at the 2012 Mosaic Literary Conference at Hostos Community College on Saturday, November 10th at 2pm.