Students gain much in enjoying literature by finding quotations and citing the text. The next few exercises are planned with this sort of pleasure in mind. I suggest giving page numbers, unless you are teaching an advanced class, because I have noticed that too much concentration and attention is lost by students leafing through books and feeling overly frustrated.
OBJECTIVE:
To find a factual autobiographical basis for the plot of
Their Eyes Were Watching God
. Write on the board: Make a connection between the life of Zora Neale Hurston and the people and places in
Their Eyes Were Watching God
.
ACTIVITY 1:
Read Chapter I “Birthplace” from autobiography
Dust Tracks on the Road
. Topic is (What do I know I can prove about Eatonville.) See page 10 for summary.
List at least 5 facts.
1.
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In August 15, 1886 the Negro town, Eatonville, after Captain Eaton received charter from Florida.
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2.
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Eatonville made history by becoming the first Black Town of its kind in America.
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3.
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It was an experiment in self government for Negroes.
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4.
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It was settled in Lake country and ‘sprouted with life’-mostly Northerners.
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5.
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The founders were people who had risked their lives ‘that Negroes might be free.’
1
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ACTIVITY 2:
Read Chapter II, “My Folks”, from
Dust Tracks
to find out about Zora’s parents. Note especially the information we are about her father on page 15.
“It was after his marriage that my father began to want things...He left his wife and three children behind and went to seek and see.
Months later he pitched into the hurly-burly of South Florida. So he heard about folks building a town all out of colored people. It seemed like a good place to go. Later on, he was to be elected Mayor of Eatonville for three terms, and to write the local laws. The village of Eatonville is still governed by the laws formulated by my father.” (DT 15)
ACTIVITY 3:
Read Chapter V, “Figure and Fancy” in order to list facts found about Joe Clark’s store and the talk and life of the people on the porch of the store. See especially pages 61, 62, 63 and 69 in
Dust Tracks on the Road
.