Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston’s use of vernacular language is a pertinent aspect in order to thoroughly understand the novel. However, critics argue the Southern Black Dialect is written sloppily, and contributes to the book lacking a theme and message. Moreover, critics felt mastery of the Southern Black Dialect was not displayed but necessary in order to successfully appease readers.
It is invalid to say the Vernacular Language used throughout the novel is written sloppily. Although the dialogue exchanged between characters might not be comparable to how people converse today, it plays a crucial role in thoroughly understanding the message Zora Neale Hurston wants to convey. It may have been a challenge to comprehend the dialogue at first, but in no way does that make the writing sloppy. For example, most students have difficulty immediately …show more content…
In an opinion piece published by the New Republic, writer and critic Otis Ferguson claims there was no mastery displayed. This argument is also invalid considering Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville, an all black community in Florida. Hurston uses Southern Black Dialect throughout the novel, which is the same colloquial speech used in Eatonville. Because she grew up not only listening but also speaking this dialect, it is presumable she is capable of writing it. Although the arguments are thoughtful and clear, they are invalid. Zora Neale Hurston’s use of Vernacular Language only added a dynamic to her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God that brought the characters to life and made the message of the book more powerful. The dialogue could be a challenge to understand at times, yes, but that doesn’t make the writing sloppy by any means. Without the use of Vernacular Language, the entire message of the story would have been misconstrued and more difficult to
It is invalid to say the Vernacular Language used throughout the novel is written sloppily. Although the dialogue exchanged between characters might not be comparable to how people converse today, it plays a crucial role in thoroughly understanding the message Zora Neale Hurston wants to convey. It may have been a challenge to comprehend the dialogue at first, but in no way does that make the writing sloppy. For example, most students have difficulty immediately …show more content…
In an opinion piece published by the New Republic, writer and critic Otis Ferguson claims there was no mastery displayed. This argument is also invalid considering Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville, an all black community in Florida. Hurston uses Southern Black Dialect throughout the novel, which is the same colloquial speech used in Eatonville. Because she grew up not only listening but also speaking this dialect, it is presumable she is capable of writing it. Although the arguments are thoughtful and clear, they are invalid. Zora Neale Hurston’s use of Vernacular Language only added a dynamic to her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God that brought the characters to life and made the message of the book more powerful. The dialogue could be a challenge to understand at times, yes, but that doesn’t make the writing sloppy by any means. Without the use of Vernacular Language, the entire message of the story would have been misconstrued and more difficult to