Their Eyes Were Watching God

E12718

Their Eyes Were Watching God is a seminal 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston that follows the life and self-discovery of Janie Crawford in the early 20th-century American South.


Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf novel
adaptation Their Eyes Were Watching God self-linksurface differs
surface form: Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005 film)
adaptationNetwork ABC
adaptationProducer Oprah Winfrey
adaptationType television film
author Zora Neale Hurston
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception initially mixed reviews
later acclaimed as a masterpiece
firstEditionFormat print
genre African-American literature
Bildungsroman
Feminist literature
Romance novel
Southern literature
hasDialogueStyle use of African-American Vernacular English
hasLiteraryForm prose
includedIn American literature canon
literaryMovement Harlem Renaissance
literarySignificance considered a classic of African-American literature
considered a landmark of Black feminist literature
mainCharacter Janie Crawford
Joe Starks
Logan Killicks
Tea Cake
motif horizon
hurricane
pear tree
narrativePointOfView frame narrative
third-person narration
openingLine Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.
originalLanguage English
pageCount approximately 286
publicationDate 1937
publisher J. B. Lippincott & Co.
settingPeriod early 20th century
settingPlace Eatonville, Florida, United States
surface form: Eatonville, Florida

Everglades National Park
surface form: Everglades, Florida

Florida
structure three marriages of Janie Crawford
subjectMatter life of a Black woman in the American South
taughtIn university literature courses
theme Black female autonomy
community and individuality
love and marriage
nature and spirituality
race and gender
voice and self-expression
titleOrigin derived from a line describing people facing a hurricane

Referenced by (18)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Their Eyes Were Watching God adaptation Their Eyes Were Watching God self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005 film)
Janie Crawford appearsIn Their Eyes Were Watching God
Joe Starks appearsIn Their Eyes Were Watching God
Logan Killicks appearsIn Their Eyes Were Watching God
Tea Cake appearsIn Their Eyes Were Watching God
Tea Cake fictionalUniverse Their Eyes Were Watching God
Joe Starks firstAppearance Their Eyes Were Watching God
this entity surface form: Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
Tea Cake firstAppearance Their Eyes Were Watching God
Janie Crawford firstPublicationContext Their Eyes Were Watching God
this entity surface form: Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937 novel)
American literature hasNotableWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston hasSignatureWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Time 100 best English-language novels list hasWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Eatonville, Florida, United States inspiredWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
subject surface form: Eatonville, Florida
this entity surface form: “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Harlem Renaissance notableWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Harpo Films notableWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston notableWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Dust Tracks on a Road relatedWork Their Eyes Were Watching God
Mules and Men relatedWork Their Eyes Were Watching God