A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO

1 ZORA NEALE HURSTON S Their Eyes Were Watching God No book is more important to me than this one. Alice WalkerA TEACHER S GUIDE TOALIGNED TO THE COMMON A TEACHER S GUIDE TO ZORA NEALE HURSTON S THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 2 Table of ContentsCONTENTSNote to Teachers 3 Important Resources 3 Other Resources 3 Guided Reading Questions 4 Chapter One 4 Chapter Two 4 Chapter Three 5 Chapter Four 5 Chapter Five 6 Chapter Six 6 Chapter Seven 7 Chapter Eight 7 Chapter Nine 8 Chapter Ten 8 Chapter Eleven 8 Chapter Twelve 9 Chapter Thirteen 9 Chapter Fourteen 9 Chapter Fifteen 9 Chapter Sixteen 10 Chapter Seventeen 10 Chapter Eighteen 10 Chapter Nineteen 10 Chapter Twenty 11 Writing and Discussion Prompts 12 Argumentation Prompts 12 Explanatory Prompts 13 Narrative Prompts 14 Questions for Class Debate/Socratic Seminars 14 Research Topics 15 The Works of Zora Neale Hurston 16 Other Titles of Interest 16 About This GUIDE s Author 16 A TEACHER S GUIDE TO ZORA NEALE HURSTON S THEIR

2 EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 3 NOTE TO TEACHERSThe questions and activities in this teaching GUIDE were written to support standards-based instruction. Their Eyes Were Watching God meets the standard for Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity for grades 11-12. It is an excellent anchor text for courses in either American or Multicultural complete list of the Common Core State Standards can be found at This Teacher s GUIDE is divided into three sections. The first, Guided Reading Questions, will help students with reading comprehension and appreciation. These questions can be used as a GUIDE for annotating the text, journal responses, or discus-sion. A focus on analysis of Hurston s use of language is embedded within the questions. The second section, Writing and Discussion Prompts, consists of analytical writing and discussion prompts and is subdivided into genres based on the writing standards.

3 Consulting established literary criticism may be beneficial for advanced students, but it is not necessary. The third section, Research Topics, requires students to conduct and synthesize significant outside research on topics related to the novel. IMPORTANT has a special section for teachers where you ll find: A video of Lucy Anne Hurston reading the opening pages of her aunt s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God to help stu-dents hear and understand the beauty of the book s dialect. A biographical timeline of Zora Neale Hurston s life And much moreOTHER RESOURCESFor additional guides aligned to the common core, please visit A TEACHER S GUIDE TO ZORA NEALE HURSTON S THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 4 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

4 1. Examine the way that Hurston develops the exposition of the novel. How does she establish the setting of the book? How are the characters of Janie Turner and Tea Cake introduced? Whose voices do you hear first? Based on the first chapter, what do you think some of the conflicts in the novel are going to be? What do you think the themes might be? Cite evidence from the text to support your predictions. Describe the town s attitude towards Janie. Describe her attitude towards the town. How does the communal dialogue help establish the town as a character? On page 7, Janie tells Pheoby, Unless you see de fur, a mink skin ain t no different from a coon hide. Based on context clues, what do you think this saying means? Hurston frequently uses personification in her descriptions of the natural world. Find one example of personification from the first chapter. How does the use of figurative language impact the tone of the novel?

5 TWO1. Identify the simile that is used to describe the way that Janie views her life. Explain how this description might foreshad-ow Janie s future. In this chapter, what do you find out about Janie s parents and early childhood? What does watching the blossoming pear make Janie realize? What does she do in response to this awakening ? Why does her action upset her grandmother? Who does Nanny want Janie to marry? Why does she think this will be a good match? Why doesn t Janie agree? Janie s grandmother tells her that she wanted her to pick from a higher bush and a sweeter berry. What specific dream did Janie s grandmother have for her granddaughter? When contrasted with Janie s vision of her life as a tree, what is iron-ic about her grandmother s words? Describe Marse Robert s interaction with Nanny. What does the fact that his wife has to wait until her husband has left before she goes to see Nanny suggest about their relationship?

6 What name did Nanny give her daughter? What life did Nanny want for her daughter? What ended up happening to her? Hurston reveals the events of this chapter primarily through the use of dialogue. How does this choice impact the reader s experience of the chapter? Reading Questions A TEACHER S GUIDE TO ZORA NEALE HURSTON S THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 5 CHAPTER THREE1. What did Janie hope she would discover once she was married? When Nanny asks Janie if she is pregnant on page 22, Janie says, Ah m all right data way. Ah know tain t nothin dere. What does her response suggest about her marriage? Paraphrase Nanny s comments about foot kissin and mouf kissin on page 23. Do you agree with her view of courtship and marriage? 4. Contrast Janie and Nanny s views of love. How have their life experiences impacted their perspectives? Consider Hurston s observation, There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight.

7 Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings un-touched by thought. What do you think this means? Why do you think Hurston chose to use imagery related to water to describe thoughts and feelings? Examine the final paragraph of the chapter. What sorts of things does Janie instinctively know? Consider the last line of the chapter: Janie s first dream was dead, so she became a woman. How does this statement relate to Hurston s obser-vation on the first page of the novel, Now, women forget all those things they don t want to remember, and remember everything they don t want to forget. The dream is the truth ? FOUR1. Consider Janie s comment to her husband, Scuse my freezolity, Mist Killicks, but Ah don t mean to chop de first chip. What do you think the word freezolity means? What root words did Hurston combine to create this expression?

8 What makes this term particularly effective? What is Killick s nickname for Janie? What does this suggest about his attitude towards her? What does Janie call her hus-band? What does this suggest about her feelings towards him? Describe the circumstances of the first meeting between Janie and Joe Starks. What was Janie doing before she met him? Describe your first impression of him. Analyze the figurative language that Hurston uses on page 29 to describe Janie s feelings about Joe: Janie pulled back a long time because he did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon. What does this description suggest about the future of her relationship with Joe? The morning after Janie talks about leaving him, how does Logan treat Janie? Why do you think he behaves this way? How does Janie respond to him? Do you think he could have done anything that would have changed her decision to leave him?

9 Consider the following passage from page 32: The morning air was like a new dress. That made her feel the apron tied around her waist. She untied it and flung it on a low branch beside the road and walked on, picking flowers and making a bouquet. Explain why her actions are symbolic as well as literal. A TEACHER S GUIDE TO ZORA NEALE HURSTON S THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 6 CHAPTER FIVE1. Describe what Joe Jody Starks and Janie find when they arrive in Eatonville. How much land did Starks purchase? Describe what he plans to do in Eatonville. What is the first thing that Starks does to improve the town? Why is this important for the local economy? At the opening of the store, Tony makes a speech about Mr. and Mrs. Starks and is chided for not comparing them to Isaac and Rebecca at the well. Look up the story of Isaac and Rebecca and explain why this would or would not have been an appropriate comparison.

10 How does Joe respond when the townspeople ask Janie to make a little speech? What does his response suggest about his attitude towards Janie? Why is it symbolically significant that she views his response as taking the bloom off things ? After he opens the store, what is the second improvement Joe Starks makes in Eatonville? Why is this an important sym-bol for the town? How do Joe s remarks on page 45 demonstrate hubris? Explain why Janie s role as the wife of the mayor makes her feel cold and lonely ? How do the townspeople treat her? At the end of the chapter the narrator remarks that, The town had a basketful of feelings good and bad about Joe s po-sitions and possessions, but none had the temerity to challenge him. Explain the reasons behind both the good and bad feelings that the town holds regarding Joe. Which do you think he most deserves? Explain your answer. SIX1.