In a blog post, address the following question regarding Wednesday's Symposium:
How did Regina Marie Williams performance as Zora Neale Hurston in Jump at the Sun change your understanding of, appreciate for, or overall perspective on Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Remember to include your name in the body of the blog comment.
Due: Monday, May 18.
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Lessons in Literature.
One: Most things in literature are intentional. Even when this may not seem to be the case, it very well may be. That said, not all things mean more than what they initially seem. But again, it might. Sometimes water is just water. Other times, though, water is not just water, it's the Ocean of Notions, or the Dull Lake. Take Away: As readers, we must assume that writers are smart, know what they’re doing, and have done so with intention.
Three: Literature is full of contradictions, paradoxes, oxymorons, and ironies. So, too, is life. This doesn't make one thing right and the other thing wrong. Both can exist and be in simultaneous harmony and tension. Take away: Embrace multiple perspectives.
Four: Every interpretation is not correct. Without substantial textual support and a clearly articulated, rational analysis, an interpretation is only as good as a guess. Back up your opinion. Validate it. Take Away: Take us there--to the text, that is.
- Addendum A: Rain usually means something. Always. (But not always the same thing.)
- Addendum B: Names do, too. Like Esperanza, Tea Cake, Gatsby, and Daisy. Holden, too.
- Addendum C: Trees always mean things, especially ones bearing fruit.
- Addendum D: Mangoes and other exotic fruits always mean a very specific thing. But we’re not going to go there. Not yet…
Three: Literature is full of contradictions, paradoxes, oxymorons, and ironies. So, too, is life. This doesn't make one thing right and the other thing wrong. Both can exist and be in simultaneous harmony and tension. Take away: Embrace multiple perspectives.
Four: Every interpretation is not correct. Without substantial textual support and a clearly articulated, rational analysis, an interpretation is only as good as a guess. Back up your opinion. Validate it. Take Away: Take us there--to the text, that is.
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29 comments:
Regina Marie William's performance as Zora Neale Hurston changed my perspective on Hurston as a person. I thought that she was serious, or felt angst for not being seen as a great writer by the people of her time. I was surprised, then, to see a proud and funny character portrayed on the stage. I also was able to understand the writing more when she read it allowed for us as a performance.
-Sasha
Regina Marie Williams changed my perspective of Zora Neale Hurston by allowing me to see what she would be like as an individual in a relaxed environment. Instead of being worried by the lack of approval from the people of her time, Ms. Williams portrayed her as writing for her own sake and letting time be the judge of whose writing was better. It was good to get a new perspective on her writing and her life, as well as her opinions of herself and the characters in her book. It was a very interesting experience.
-Tyler Leslie
Regina Marie Williams' performance as Zora Neale Hurston allowed me to understand where this book was comming from, and learning how it tied back to her life was interesting. I also found it interesting that she collected stories and used them in her portrayals of her characters. I was under the impression it all came from her imagination, but knowing the realistic side to it broadened my understanding and appreciation for the book and author.
~Natalie Lee
I don't feel as though Regina Marie William's performance as Zora Neale Hurston in "Jump at the Sun" was particularly eye opening. Marie rather just confirmed my initial interpretations of what Zora would have been like back in her time. The most interesting thing that I learned from her performance was the way in which the language from the book was used. I could hardly understand the writing while reading the book a few weeks ago, but Marie greatly helped me understand how they spoke the language during her performance.
-Ford Traff
The performance we saw Wednesday, Jump at the Sun, helped me better understand Their Eyes Were Watching God significantly because I am a visual learner. Seeing visually how Zora reacted to certain happenings during the book (that were referenced to in the play) through action and tone of voice made it easier for me to understand the personality of Zora. I also enjoyed the theatrical aspects of the play. Regina Marie Williams was fantastic at switching roles on stage and seemed very comfortable on stage.
--Katie M
The performance by Regina Marie Williams helped me understand a lot about the characters and plot of the story. By hearing words directly from "Zora" it made the story seem more real and gave an understanding of who the characters were based off of. Although it would have been more helpful to see this performance before we were wrapped up in another novel, it still made me think back about Their Eyes Were Watching God. You got a lot of unsaid meanings from the performance that weren't in the book. Overall, it was a helpful addition to the novel.
--Allegra
Regina Marie Williams changed my perspective of Zora Neale Hurston by further advancing my knowledge of the era and time frame that Their Eyes Were Watching God took place in. The language and speech was so vital to the story and hearing Regina really allowed me to connect with differant characters and their positions in the dialouge.
-Megan Brenton
Regina Marie Williams did a fantastic portrayal of Zora Neale Hurston. Although the language was still hard to follow, her movements portrayed what she was saying very well. It was almost like we jumped into the book by the stories she told and how the diction of her voice reflected so accurately Zora Neale Hurston herself but also in "Their Eyes were Watching God". It was also very interesting, to find out after we saw her perform, how she collected all dialogue that Zora Neale Huston said and stories from her novel into this interacting dialogue.
~claire
I really loved Regina Williams portrayal of Zora Neale Hurston. I never really thought too much about her as a person, but seeing her as a person gave me more appreciation for her writing. I was also glad that we had read the book before hand, because we were really able to absorb ourselves into the performance as a whole.
`Dafina
Man this feels weird to be the only person so far to say that the performance didn't significantly impact my understanding of the book. I felt like a lot of the information presented there was just background we either already had or I could just find on wikipedia. There were some new things but they weren't significant enough to really change my understanding of the book. I went out thinking about the book the same way I went in. I don't want this to sound like a rant because it isn't because I thought the actress was great at acting but I didn't like the performance she did. I also didn't like how it was after we finished discussing the book because it was like being told stuff we already know for 45 min. I think this performance was more valuable to the freshmen who were there as opposed to us.
Regina Marie Williams performance just solidified the hardships that people faced at that time. Although my views didn't change, I still found it very interesting that she talked about small things that held her back in life, like her grandmother making fun of her stories, or her book not being a best seller until after Blacks were accepted in society. However, these things pushed her to succeed in life. I thought it was a great performance that showed me what it was like to live as an African American at that time.
~Mason
Emma W:
Regina Marie Williams' portrayal of Zora Neale Hurston helped to really bring the passages she read come alive and to make the dialogue seem more real (I could understand it in the book, though it was easier when she was saying it). Also, it was interesting to see who the different characters were based off of. That made me appreciate the book more.
In Ms. Williams performance, she didn't act out one of the characters of "Their Eyes Were Watching God", but the author. Her portrayal of Zora Neale Hurston helped me to believe that Hurston was writing this story and choosing the people she did, based on the environments and people she experienced in her own life. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" became more real in a way, more believable. While reading the book I thought that Hurston made up most of her characters and scenes. But Marie Williams displayed to us that this isn't true. I think this is good, in a sense that it can relate to the real world more. However I don't find Hurston as creative of a writer now, due to my misunderstanding that she had created everything in the book on her own.
-Pat Swearingen
Seeing Regina Marie Williams perform in Jump at the Sun helped me to appreciate Their Eyes Were Watching God and Zora Neale Hurston more. Before, I didn’t really understand who Hurston was and the meaning behind all of the characters. I didn’t know that Hurston was such a character herself or about her background of going to different places, making friends and learning songs and stories. Learning these things and seeing Williams portray Hurston gave a new meaning to the book by making it seem more real and more relatable. Listening to Williams during the Q&A and hearing the research she had done enhanced this appreciation because I felt closer to the story and to Hurston.
I went into the symposium thinking that Zora Neale Hurston was going to be portrayed as a very serious woman and talking about her book but Regina Marie Williams portrayed her as a very funny woman and showed that she had great personality. Also i thought it was very interesting that some of the characters in real life related to actual people Zora knew in real life. I was also suprised when Regina Williams was talking about how "She" (Zora) went to so many diffrent places and has all these experiences i never would have known that.
Ms. Williams performance made me realize that THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD really is of historical significance. While reading the book, I greatly enjoyed the story and the characters, but I was not convinced about how it could be so important to the history of African Americans in the United States as it was a fiction book. Ms. Williams performance was a realization that each of the characters in the book were based off of family of Hurston and the setting was based off of her childhood hometown. This increased my appreciation for the book and made me realize how important it is to tell this story to understand what the lives of some African Americans was like.
ellie
Regina Marie Williams performance as Zora Neale Hurston protrayed a relaxe Zora and how she got her inspiration to begin writing. Her perspective of her life in Eatonville came up in different points of the book THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD. For example, certain people in her life she used to protray certain characters. Ms. Williams was able to show us a different Zora than what we read in the author's note in the book or what we have talked about in class. Yes, she is shown as relax, but she is also shown with a "personality." It technically wasn't the real her, but it was a glimpse of her
-Sydney Perkins
"Jump at the Sun" gave me a reference point for Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God." As a person I did not know much about Hurston except for what we read about her. This performance emphasized the passion of Hurston. It also described Hurston's struggle which was helpful in bringing closure to the message of her book. Even though Hurston wasn't actually speaking I did notice a very Hurston-like "voice".
-Donald
The performance made me appreciate the themes within the book. Seeing through the eyes of Zora's perspective made me realize that there was much more depth in the making of the story and personal truths, which could be learned from, lived within the themes that we discussed. It suprized me that some of the character were directly related to people Zora knew in real life. It kinda makes me question how much of a fiction novel like this is really pure fiction
Alyssa Veil
Regina Marie Williams performance as Zora Neale Hurston made the audience further appreciate the love and passion that she has towards not only the all of the major themes in this book but especially for the struggle with African Americans in real life. It was also a lot easier to understand the dialouge that was present during the play, than in the novel.It is much easier to understand something when you are given a clear image and can see emotion within the person performing. During the play, I could see her true passion and the messages that she was trying to convey were a lot more understandable than merely reading in a novel can be.
maria
Regina Marie Williams performance as Zora Neale Hurston changed my perspective of the book, in a way that I didn't expect it would have. When I read the book it seemed to me very dry and dead as if it happened too long ago for me to comprehend. The performance though made the book more vivid and colorful. It gave me a sense of the reality of the situations in the book. I understood the passionate love between Tea Cake and Janie, and saw the connections between the metaphors and reality in the book with a much more apparent view.
After watching the play with Regina Williams I gained a much better understanding and respect for the novel Their Eyes were Watching God. I am going to be honest at first I absolutely despised the book but after watching some of the scenes read outloud and heard some about why they were written I felt a much better understanding about the book which, in turn, made me like the book more. I feel that the play should be shown before the book because it really helps one understand alot about the book. Also, the way the dialect was preformed it helped transport me back to the era and understand where the book was coming from.
Thomas E.
Regina Marie Williams gave me the sense that in a way Zora Neale Hurston was writing about herself in an indirect way in Their Eyes Were Watching God. She spoke about Hurston's family and especially her grandma and the entire time I was thinking of the characters in the book that in many ways relate to Hurston's life. I appreciate the book more now that I can infer that the characters were based off of real people and because I know a little more about Hurston's life. It also allowed me to understand more about the book and it has helped to change my opinion on it.
By seeing the play, my view on Zora was further shaped. I saw through her performance that rather than dwelling on the past and looking at her life negatively, she looked for hope and saw the positive and good in her life. She seemed more gitty and humorous; less negative and serious. By making her words come out of the book through performance, Zora's personality was further understood by the reader/watcher. She continued to stay happy and light-hearted. Although her personality in the performance was happy it was helpful for her to also teach her struggle and how far she has come.
Maddie
The performance by Regina Marie Williams helped me to better understand the circumstances of Hurston's childhood and how it influenced her writing. I had read in the back of the book about how her father had discouraged her from expressing herself through writing. However, I didn't know that her grandmother also felt that way, and was so adamant about about beating her if she wanted to write. Instead of stifling her creativity, though, and with her mother's influence, she managed to use her father and grandmother as basis for characters, rather than letting them control what she did.
Rafael A.
Seeing Regina Marie Williams perform as Zora Neale Hurston helped me to understand the woman behind the words. I was especially moved by Zora's childhood and learning about how she turned the people in her life into characters in her novels. The language, which I struggled with when reading Their Eyes Were Watching God, became much more clear when spoken aloud by an actress. It was a glimpse into the real woman behind Janie's story.
Jacqui
It changed my perspective about where Hurston was coming from as a writer and the experiences that she went through that influenced her writing. I actually really liked the book in the first place, and this deepened my likening for it. Williams' performance was very good, and it definetly added to the book in a positive way. The performance also gave us a more in depth view on Hurston's upbringing, which was very interesting because so many aspects of her childhood appeared in "Their Eyes Were Watching God".
-addie
I think that that seeing Jump at the Sun opened my eyes to the life of Zora Neale Hurston. I don't think it gave me more respect for the book, but rather the author. I thought it was great that Hurston used the book to get back at her mother; this is what I would do if I were an author. Also, the character (whether Regina Williams was making up the character traits or not) of the author was displayed in a manner that I could understand. The subtleties of the book now make a little bit more sense to me, as do the intricacies of literature, which is: not everything makes sense within the book itself, some of the actions may be explained by the Author's life or the real world.
-Toph dog
Jump at the Sun enable me to further delve into the vastly complex world of which Hurston wrote about. This performance helped to add an aspect of humanity to the literature which can sometimes be rather removed. It also helped to illustrate the descriptions of the place, setting, and people in the book. The performance was powerful and just real enough to all me to place myself in the world of Janie and Teacake for a short moment. Overall I think that my understanding of the book was greatly benefited b the performance.
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