Zora Neale Hurston’s writing style is most definitely meritorious in that it provides beautiful and marvelous expressions. The way in which she contrives her sentences is redoubtable to me. She chooses the perfect words to convey her message to the reader without it being vapid, and she creates wondrous images for the reader.
Although her writing is stunning and is in no way, shape, or form prate, at times it can be circuitous in that it takes some time to extricate the meaning. But that is what I enjoy: discovering the implication and having to think and imagine. It all the more makes reading the novel more pleasurable. A sentence that contained a significance that wasn’t quite clear to me was, “But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. They became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgement” (Hurston, 1). I wasn’t exactly certain of whom Hurston was referring to. But it made me stop and think a bit, and led me to ponder different possibilities, and I was considering that the “bossman” was referring to God, but I am still unsure.
Yet there were several quotes that caught my attention, my eyes lingering over the letters, savoring the beauty they presented in a chain of words. Hurston creates exquisite sentences such as, “The sun was gone, but he had left footprints in the sky” (Hurston, 1), which is so simple, yet her choice of words is flawless. The word “footprints” brings the sentence alive and creates an image of sunset, the colors of pink, yellow, purple, and blue blending in the sky. “Footprints” could also insinuate two different interpretations. At first I assumed the footprints were colorful clouds floating behind in the sky, but once I began reflecting upon the sentence, I thought as the footprints as the stars, because the “sun was gone”. Thus, I connected the idea of light with the sun and stars. Hurston’s unique language leaves the readers to make their own inferences about her connotations.
Another line that caused a double take was, “So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty” (Hurston, 2). Writing is almost like a puzzle, where if one uses the correct words, they will match each other perfectly, and create a striking sentence. I cannot emphasize enough on how in love I am with her word choice. Just like they say on American Idol with singing, “It’s all about song choice”. With writing, “It’s all about word choice”. Some words just fit with one another immaculately, and Hurston does it so well. I aspire to write like her. The images she crafts with her words are phenomenal, and only cause the reader to want to read more!
So far, by only reading chapter one, there is nothing I can reprove about Hurston’s writing, and I can only say truthfully that she has inspired me, and she has encouraged me to begin experimenting with different words, patterns, choices, and structures to create wonderful illustrations as she does; and again, within only the first chapter.
Although her writing is stunning and is in no way, shape, or form prate, at times it can be circuitous in that it takes some time to extricate the meaning. But that is what I enjoy: discovering the implication and having to think and imagine. It all the more makes reading the novel more pleasurable. A sentence that contained a significance that wasn’t quite clear to me was, “But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. They became lords of sounds and lesser things. They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgement” (Hurston, 1). I wasn’t exactly certain of whom Hurston was referring to. But it made me stop and think a bit, and led me to ponder different possibilities, and I was considering that the “bossman” was referring to God, but I am still unsure.
Yet there were several quotes that caught my attention, my eyes lingering over the letters, savoring the beauty they presented in a chain of words. Hurston creates exquisite sentences such as, “The sun was gone, but he had left footprints in the sky” (Hurston, 1), which is so simple, yet her choice of words is flawless. The word “footprints” brings the sentence alive and creates an image of sunset, the colors of pink, yellow, purple, and blue blending in the sky. “Footprints” could also insinuate two different interpretations. At first I assumed the footprints were colorful clouds floating behind in the sky, but once I began reflecting upon the sentence, I thought as the footprints as the stars, because the “sun was gone”. Thus, I connected the idea of light with the sun and stars. Hurston’s unique language leaves the readers to make their own inferences about her connotations.
Another line that caused a double take was, “So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty” (Hurston, 2). Writing is almost like a puzzle, where if one uses the correct words, they will match each other perfectly, and create a striking sentence. I cannot emphasize enough on how in love I am with her word choice. Just like they say on American Idol with singing, “It’s all about song choice”. With writing, “It’s all about word choice”. Some words just fit with one another immaculately, and Hurston does it so well. I aspire to write like her. The images she crafts with her words are phenomenal, and only cause the reader to want to read more!
So far, by only reading chapter one, there is nothing I can reprove about Hurston’s writing, and I can only say truthfully that she has inspired me, and she has encouraged me to begin experimenting with different words, patterns, choices, and structures to create wonderful illustrations as she does; and again, within only the first chapter.
Bossman is a term (I think it was used by slaves originally) that means the boss, who keeps them working like "mules and other brutes" all day long. So it is once he is gone that they can be human again. At least, that is my take on the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteOOoooh!! gotcha, thank you so much barbara!
ReplyDeleteBarbara is correct, but to consider the concept of God in this instance is not too far of a stretch especially in when one takes the title into account. I too find Hurston's prose poetic. It seems as if many of her sentences should appear in a poem rather than in a paragraph. Make sure that you focus on using the vocabulary words to assist you in making your point. Do not construct a point merely to fit many vocabulary words into your post. Not that I am implying anything.
ReplyDelete