Final blog

I feel that studying the Harlem Renaissance in the 21^st century is extremely relevant and important. Even though most of the themes of the Harlem Renaissance dealt with race, many of the issues are relevant to people in the 21^st century. Almost all of the poems, essays, and especially the novels that we read in this class are relatable in some way to us today. The Harlem Renaissance focused on themes including passing, exploring African roots, and trying to find identities.

Passing was a common theme in much of the literature of the Harlem Renaissance. Even though this was a concept that dealt with African Americans who were so light skinned that they could pass as white, it is also a concept that dealt with the repercussions of changing one’s identity. I think that we have all tried to pass as something that we are not at some point in our lives. Just as in Larsen’s novel, Passing we have had to deal with the consequences of our decisions and we have had to make difficult choices from this, much like the characters in Passing.

Another theme in the literature of the Harlem Renaissance was the need to explore one’s own identity. Much of this literature focused on African American characters who sought to find their identities amongst the discrimination that they faced. Ultimately, the characters were able to appreciate and understand their own identities. Probably the best example that we had in the literature that we read in class was the character of Janie in Larsen’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie needed to explore the relationships in her life and find her strength in order to find her own “voice”. This is a theme in which most people today can relate. It is important for people to find their own confidence in who they are and what they stand for. We can all learn from the ways in which African Americans were able to find themselves despite the great odds that they faced.

Much of the writing of the Harlem Renaissance focused on trying to preserve the African heritage of African Americans. Claude McKay and Jean Toomer were very interested in exploring the roots of African Americans in order to better understand the position that African Americans were in at that time. Most people today can relate to the idea of valuing and preserving their own roots. It is very easy for people today to become wrapped up in the busyness of their own lives. We can learn from this theme from the Harlem Renaissance by understanding the need for and the importance of understanding where you come from. It seems to be too easy to forget sometimes.

I think that we can all admire and learn from the determination of the writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Many of these writers had to overcome hardships including racial and gender discrimination as well as financial barriers. I think that it shows a lot of courage by the way that Black writers broke out of the stereotypes imposed upon them by white society and the demands that were placed upon them to write for white audiences. Despite these odds, African American writers were able to produce high quality literature. Today, we are able to look back at this period in our history and appreciate African Americans’ willingness to take risks to represent their race accurately and creatively. They worked hard to gain the opportunities to express themselves freely. I think that everyone can recognize and learn from the ways in which African Americans bettered their lives and ultimately the lives of all African Americans today.

End of Their Eyes Were Watching God

The ending to this novel was very dramatic and fast-paced. Hurston crammed a lot of action into a few chapters. I was very shocked by the ending. I never expected this novel to go from Janie exploring her own identify and the relationships to having the characters battling a natural disaster. I thought it was very interesting how Tea Cake and Janie chose to stay in town with the hurricane approaching. Most of the town as well as the local Native Americans were leaving and warning them to get out of town. Some of their friends even offered them a ride to leave. Tea Cake wanted to stay and make more money by working in the bean fields. I don’t understand why staying was so important to him when Janie had enough money to support them during the hurricane. It was strange because all he seemed to be gaining was a few extra days of work. He didn’t want to believe that they were in any real danger until they were knee deep in water.

I think that this hurricane really showed the extent that Tea Cake and Janie would go to be with each other and to keep each other safe. I think that Tea Cake especially took care of Janie during the hurricane. He carried her when she became exhausted from running and he fought with a mad dog to save her from being bitten or drowning. I really think that Janie owes her life to Tea Cake. He essentially gave up his own life to save her. This is why it was so ironic that Janie was the one that had to kill Tea Cake for her own safety. It was just so unfortunate the way that things ended.

When Tea Cake became sick and needed medicine, I thought for sure that they were going to get it in time. Janie had barely touched her money that she got when Joe died and sold the store. I thought that Janie was going to be able to use that money to buy the medicine to save Tea Cake.

When the doctor told Janie that she should put Tea Cake in a hospital so that he doesn’t get violent, I got the feeling that Tea Cake would eventually try to hurt her from his illness. This seemed like major foreshadowing about what was to come. I think that it was Janie’s strength and confidence in herself that allowed her to stay rational and calm throughout Tea Cake’s illness. Janie was able to figure out that Tea Cake had a pistol and she took the initiative to make sure that it would shoot blanks for the first two shots. This didn’t mean that Janie loved Tea Cake any less because she took measures to protect herself. I saw this as one of the most courageous and self assured acts that Janie did throughout the novel.