17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
-
Erik Redling
Abstract
Zora Neale Hurston is generally known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and the frequently anthologized short story “Sweat” (1926) which both support the dominant interpretive practice of reading Hurston’s work through the dual lens of race and gender. The two rarely examined short prose texts selected for the “Closed Reading” section, however, depart from the prevailing conventional explanatory pattern of Hurston’s oeuvre. While her first published short story, “John Redding Goes to Sea,” focuses on a young artist’s discovery of the resources of imagination, the second episodic text, “The Eatonville Anthology” (1926), consisting of fourteen very short humorous stories, participates in the Classical literary tradition of character sketches established by Theophrastus’s book Characters. Both short prose texts support readings that transcend the dominant interpretive pattern that limits her work to interpretations along the lines of identity categories. Both can suggest a broadened view of Hurston as a citizen of a global republic of letters.
Abstract
Zora Neale Hurston is generally known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and the frequently anthologized short story “Sweat” (1926) which both support the dominant interpretive practice of reading Hurston’s work through the dual lens of race and gender. The two rarely examined short prose texts selected for the “Closed Reading” section, however, depart from the prevailing conventional explanatory pattern of Hurston’s oeuvre. While her first published short story, “John Redding Goes to Sea,” focuses on a young artist’s discovery of the resources of imagination, the second episodic text, “The Eatonville Anthology” (1926), consisting of fourteen very short humorous stories, participates in the Classical literary tradition of character sketches established by Theophrastus’s book Characters. Both short prose texts support readings that transcend the dominant interpretive pattern that limits her work to interpretations along the lines of identity categories. Both can suggest a broadened view of Hurston as a citizen of a global republic of letters.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0 Introduction: The American Short Story – Past and Present 1
-
Part I: Systematic Questions
- 1 Of Sketches, Tales, and Stories: Theoretical Reflections on the Genre of the Short Story 19
- 2 Canon Formation and the American Short Story 39
- 3 Current Approaches to the American Short Story 55
- 4 Textual Materiality, Magazine Culture, and the American Short Story 73
-
Part II: Close Readings
- 5 Washington Irving (1783–1859) 103
- 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) 119
- 7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) 133
- 8 Herman Melville (1819–1891) 153
- 9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910) 171
- 10 Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) 197
- 11 Kate Chopin (1850–1904) 209
- 12 Henry James (1843–1916) 227
- 13 Jack London (1876–1916) 249
- 14 Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) 269
- 15 Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) 289
- 16 Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) 305
- 17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) 319
- 18 William Faulkner (1897–1962) 343
- 19 Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) 361
- 20 James Baldwin (1924–1987) 385
- 21 Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) 403
- 22 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) 425
- 23 Grace Paley (1922–2007) 445
- 24 Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) 461
- 25 Tim O’Brien (1946–) 477
- 26 Raymond Carver (1938–1988) 493
- 27 Alice Walker (1944–) 513
- 28 Leslie Marmon Silko (1948–) 533
- 29 Sandra Cisneros (1954–) 555
- 30 Louise Erdrich (1954–) 573
- 31 Lydia Davis (1947–) 593
- 32 George Saunders (1958–) 613
- 33 Junot Díaz (1968–) 627
- 34 Yiyun Li (1972–) 643
- 35 N.K. Jemisin (1972–) 661
- Index of Names 683
- Index of Subjects 691
- List of Contributors 699
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0 Introduction: The American Short Story – Past and Present 1
-
Part I: Systematic Questions
- 1 Of Sketches, Tales, and Stories: Theoretical Reflections on the Genre of the Short Story 19
- 2 Canon Formation and the American Short Story 39
- 3 Current Approaches to the American Short Story 55
- 4 Textual Materiality, Magazine Culture, and the American Short Story 73
-
Part II: Close Readings
- 5 Washington Irving (1783–1859) 103
- 6 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) 119
- 7 Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) 133
- 8 Herman Melville (1819–1891) 153
- 9 Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens, 1835–1910) 171
- 10 Charles W. Chesnutt (1858–1932) 197
- 11 Kate Chopin (1850–1904) 209
- 12 Henry James (1843–1916) 227
- 13 Jack London (1876–1916) 249
- 14 Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) 269
- 15 Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) 289
- 16 Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) 305
- 17 Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) 319
- 18 William Faulkner (1897–1962) 343
- 19 Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) 361
- 20 James Baldwin (1924–1987) 385
- 21 Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) 403
- 22 Bernard Malamud (1914–1986) 425
- 23 Grace Paley (1922–2007) 445
- 24 Donald Barthelme (1931–1989) 461
- 25 Tim O’Brien (1946–) 477
- 26 Raymond Carver (1938–1988) 493
- 27 Alice Walker (1944–) 513
- 28 Leslie Marmon Silko (1948–) 533
- 29 Sandra Cisneros (1954–) 555
- 30 Louise Erdrich (1954–) 573
- 31 Lydia Davis (1947–) 593
- 32 George Saunders (1958–) 613
- 33 Junot Díaz (1968–) 627
- 34 Yiyun Li (1972–) 643
- 35 N.K. Jemisin (1972–) 661
- Index of Names 683
- Index of Subjects 691
- List of Contributors 699