英文--黑人文艺复兴

Zora Neale Hurston and Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance refers to the flowering of African American cultural and intellectual life during the 1920s and 1930s. At that time, it was known as the “New Negro Movement”.It happened in Harlem which is a district neighborhood of New York City for black people. Harlem Renaissance encouraged black people to improve their level of literature. It had a profound impact on development of black people’s undertakings. In the end of 19 century, many black people who lived in South America went toward to North America. It is a golden period for black people. Because of many black people did not have skills to make a living, most of them can not adapt to these North cities. At this time, black people had to face to discrimination by white people and more and more serious apartheid. Black people were crowded out to Harlem which was to be the biggest agglomeration for black people. With the development of economy after the First World War, many educated black people an d artists went to Harlem which leaded it to be the “cultural capital” for black people. Harlem Renaissance was a turning point in the history of black people and it has impact on them until the Second World War. This movement made entire world, especially white people have a new impression on black people. Many outstanding poets and writers emerged during this period. Among them, Zora Neale Hurston is an outstanding representative in Harlem Renaissance.

Zora Neale Hurston was a folklorist, anthropologist and author. If people want to analyze the reason why Zora Neale Hurston became to be the representative writer in Harlem Renaissance, it is necessary to know her experience. Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama on January 7, 1891. She did not experience racial discrimination in her childhood. However, when she was nine years old, her mother’s death ended her happy time. She had to leave her home and lived with her relatives. She began to know the hardship as a black girl. After she graduated from college, her thought was forming. Her heart and experiences urged her to write some literary which can inspire black people especially black women.

One of Harlem Renaissance’s characteristics is that the literary works deny the image of “uncle Tom” and they want to set the new image of black people. During period of Harlem Renaissance, black women writers’ aim was to correct the image of black people, especially black women in the past literature. Zora Neale Hurston had the same creation purpose. She wanted to make white people or society have a right impression on black people, especially the black women through her novels. In early time, American white writer like to describe black women in their novels. There black women were often nanny and shameless which wrote to serve as a foil for white women. And in black writers’ novel, black woman is a foil for men. Hurston paid her attention to black people’s true life. She stated that as all human beings in the world, black people also have their emotions and spiritual world. She put her