How Does Zora Neale Hurston Use Imagery In Their Eyes Were Watching God

In this excerpt from “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, she used word choice, imagery and repetition to show that African Americans couldn’t be free around whites. The words she chose to use and the picture that’s being painted all bring a lot to the point the Hurston was trying to prove. Usually when an author say “the sun was gone” you’ll automatically think that that’s a bad thing, however Hurston is using it to show joy or happiness. During the day the black community always felt like they were being watched, and judged/oppressed by white people. So when the sun goes down, and nightfall they could finally be themselves. This also goes back to slavery time, how during night time a lot of slaves will try to escape. Or when the sun goes done they will meet up in the woods and sing Negro spirituals. She follows that sentence by saying “it was time to hear things and talk”, this shows that they could finally converse as they please. It also tells us that during the day when the sun was up they were really miserable because they couldn’t talk as they pleased. I think the wordplay that Zora used in this first sentence. When you first read it I think she wants the reader to start reading and automatically think it’s a bad thing that the sun is …show more content…
They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgement.” When Hurston says, “They became lords of sounds”, she is saying they were a lot more talkative, and they weren’t tongueless, earless, and eyeless anymore, “and lesser things” they aren’t being classified as animals anymore, they are all now looked at as humans now that the bossman and the sun is both gone. “They passed nations through their moths” she is saying they could talk about anything, and have good long conversations, no matter how big, because the sun was down. “They sat in judgement” they were finally in a position where they were free to have their own opinions and