Their Eyes Were Watching God

Discuss the different types of discourse in the novel. How do these versions of English add to characterization and play off each other?

Consider the novel’s structure. Why does Hurston relate Janie’s story in an embedded narrative? What does the narrative frame add to the reader’s experience of the novel?

Examine generational trauma in the novel. How does the impact of slavery, sexual abuse, and other atrocities on older generations affect their descendants?

Research the literature of the Harlem Renaissance. How does the novel participate in the concerns and expectations of this movement, and how does it subvert its ideas?

Discuss how the novel’s historical and cultural setting impacts its characters.

Discuss Hurston’s use of nature imagery in the novel. How do characters understand the natural world around them, and how do these perceptions affect their decision-making?

What does Janie mean when she says, “you got tuh go there tuh know there” (192), and how does Hurston use the plot of the novel to illustrate this belief?

Discuss the centrality of storytelling to the community and characters Hurston represents in the novel.