Their Eyes Were Watching God

# Essay Prompt: *Their Eyes Were Watching God* by Zora Neale Hurston **Prompt:** In *Their Eyes Were Watching God*, Zora Neale Hurston explores Janie Crawford's experiences through three marriages to convey that authentic love, personal freedom, and self-discovery are essential for true selfhood and fulfillment, rather than mere social expectations or material stability. **Write a well-structured analytical essay where you argue how Hurston develops this theme throughout the novel.** In your essay, make sure to: - Identify and analyze **at least two significant relationships or stages** in Janie's journey (for instance, her marriages to Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and/or Tea Cake). - Examine how Hurston employs **literary devices** such as symbolism (for example, the pear tree, the horizon, Janie's hair), dialect, and narrative framing to strengthen your argument. - Discuss how Janie's **voice and silence** serve as reflections of her changing identity and autonomy. - Reflect on how the novel's **social and historical context** — including race, gender, and the Harlem Renaissance — influences the challenges Janie encounters and ultimately overcomes. **Your essay should clearly present a defensible thesis and support it with specific textual evidence.** --- *Suggested length: 4–6 paragraphs (approximately 800–1,200 words)*

ap_lit · common_core_ela · ib_lang_lit · harlem_renaissance_studies

# Essay Prompt: *Their Eyes Were Watching God* by Zora Neale Hurston **Prompt:** In *Their Eyes Were Watching God*, Zora Neale Hurston explores Janie Crawford's experiences through three marriages to suggest that genuine selfhood and fulfillment are only possible when one liberates themselves from societal and romantic expectations imposed by others. **Write a well-organized essay in which you defend, challenge, or qualify this claim.** Use specific textual evidence from the novel to back up your argument, and consider how Hurston uses literary devices like symbolism, narrative voice, and figurative language to illustrate Janie's developing sense of identity. --- **Guiding Questions to Consider:** - How does each of Janie's three marriages (Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake) symbolize a different phase in her journey of self-discovery? - What significance does the **horizon** hold as a symbol in shaping Janie's personal goals? - How does Hurston's use of **dialect and free indirect discourse** portray Janie's inner thoughts and independence? - In what ways do **gender and race** influence the limitations Janie must navigate? --- **Requirements:** - Minimum **5 paragraphs** (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion) - Include a **clear, arguable thesis** in your introduction - Cite **at least three specific passages** from the novel - Address **at least one counterargument**

ap_lit · common_core_ela · ib_lang_lit

# Essay Prompt: *Their Eyes Were Watching God* by Zora Neale Hurston **Prompt:** In *Their Eyes Were Watching God*, Zora Neale Hurston portrays Janie Crawford's experiences in three marriages to illustrate that genuine self-discovery comes from the ability to define oneself beyond societal expectations and external control. **Write a well-organized analytical essay in which you discuss how Hurston develops the theme of self-actualization through Janie's changing relationships and voice.** In your essay, be sure to: - Identify and analyze at least **two of Janie's three marriages** (to Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake) as key phases in her journey toward identity and independence. - Examine how **Hurston's narrative voice**—especially the transition between free indirect discourse and dialect—mirrors Janie's emerging sense of self. - Discuss how **symbols** (such as the pear tree, Janie's hair, and the horizon) reinforce the essay's main argument regarding freedom and selfhood. - Support your argument with **specific textual evidence** and a close reading of important passages. **Thesis Guidance:** Your thesis should present a debatable claim about *how* or *to what extent* Hurston employs Janie's relationships and voice to express a message about identity, autonomy, or womanhood—not just *that* she does.

ap_lit · common_core_ela · ib_lang_lit