Spunk is a short story written by Zora Neale Hurston that was first published in 1925. The story is set in the rural south and follows the lives of a group of African American characters as they navigate their relationships and social dynamics.
At the heart of the story is a love triangle between Spunk, Joe, and Lena. Spunk is a charismatic and confident man who is admired by many of the community's women, including Lena. Joe, on the other hand, is Lena's husband and a jealous and possessive man. When Lena and Spunk begin a secret affair, Joe becomes increasingly angry and threatened, ultimately leading to a confrontation between the two men.
The story is notable for its depiction of African American life and culture in the rural south, as well as its themes of love, jealousy, and violence. Hurston's writing is known for its rich, expressive language and vivid depiction of characters and their emotions.
In addition to its literary merit, Spunk has also been recognized for its cultural significance. Hurston was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a movement that celebrated African American art and literature in the 1920s and 1930s. Spunk is considered a classic of African American literature and has been widely studied and admired for its portrayal of African American life and culture.
Overall, Spunk is a powerful and poignant short story that explores the complexities of love and jealousy, as well as the cultural and social dynamics of the rural south. It is a must-read for fans of African American literature and anyone interested in the rich cultural history of the United States.
“Spunk” by Zora Neale Hurston (1925)
Hurston satires the idea of second marriage and maybe worse — adultery, by showing the readers the outcome of this situation, where both men had died over an unfaithful woman. Her father was a :14—17,439—440 :8 When she was three, her family moved to :25 A few years later, her father was elected as mayor of the town in 1897. No one can see over the horizon and so it remains an ambiguous destination characterized only by the feeling of satisfaction. Hurston explains Janie 's family history by recounting how her black mother was raped by a white school teacher, leading to her biracial nature. Spunk, who works at the sawmill, is something of a hero to the men because he isn't afraid of anything. Sykes is her shiftless, abusive spouse. As an adult, Hurston often used Eatonville as a setting in her stories—it was a place where African Americans could live as they desired, independent of white society.
By using imagery and the themes of betrayal, Hurston successfully portrayed her view towards her own society. . The men protest at this assessment, but then one of them explains that he witnessed Spunk getting anxious when he was working on the machinery at the sawmill earlier that day. I do not choose to admit weakness. Zora Neale Hurston: a literary biography. In February 1930, Hurston headed north, settling in Westfield, New Jersey.
They then whisk Isis with them to the hotel so she can put on a dance show just them for them. Greatest of Hurston 's effort included her "Negro" description that were so honest to genuineness, that she was identified as an prodigious anthropologist, "Being an anthropologist and as an Black-American novelist amid the Harlem Revitalization, Hurston was surprisingly arranged to examine the basic imaginable consequences of minimalness. For the men, the laughter is playful and harmless, but for Joe, it has real, material consequences. She believed that might have been related to Dr. Three years later, she enrolled at Howard University and began her writing career.
He observed that she admitted to inventing dialogue for her book Mules and Men in a letter to Ruth Benedict and described fabricating the Mules and Men story of rival voodoo doctors as a child in her later autobiography. Hurston had to overcome numerous obstacles because of her gender, economic status, and racial identity. A Critical Companion to Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work New York: Facts on File, 2009. He was free to roam the woods again; he was free to return to Lena. Walter concludes that Joe was the braver, because even though he was frightened of Spunk and knew he had a gun, he still pursued him. If Joe was a passle of wile cats Spunk would tackle the job just the same. Due to this description, the audience now can see that Joe is lack of confidence and is weak; Joe was too small to even fit in his own overall.
Walter was the only guy that acted as if he knew Spunk for his whole life, sounded confident in his words before but what Spunk did was a surprise for him. Retrieved May 10, 2020. In Andrews, William L; Foster, Frances Smith; Harris, Trudier eds. Laura Lee also learns that the reason Mrs. Even more upsetting is that Mrs. Their Eyes Were Watching God, said: The sensory sweep of her novel carries no theme, no message, no thought. Walter criticizes Elijah for mocking Joe and taunting him to action.
I accept the challenge of responsibility. At that point, the maid brutally beat him. Life, as it is, does not frighten me, since I have made my peace with the universe as I find it, and bow to its laws. Her birth records have never been found, so the singular year of her birth has long been a dispute Bloom 7. In 1901, some northern schoolteachers had visited Eatonville and given Hurston several books that opened her mind to literature. Life, as it is, does not frighten me, since I have made my peace with the universe as I find it, and bow to its laws.
CONSCIENCE OF THE COURT Black Laura Lee Kimble is maid to white Mrs. Throughout the 1930s, Hurston continued to write both fiction and anthropological works, including Mules and Men, which documented Black folklore. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourown. However, the description that follows portrays Spunk as quite the opposite of charming; Elijah recounts how Spunk grabbed Lena by the arm and pulled her away. The exemplified relationship identifies all aspects regarding abuse, particularly verbal, physical, as well as the lasting effects of psychological abuse. At the beginning of the story, it is Joe who is afraid of Spunk, but he finally gathers the nerve to confront him.
Due to the fact that something happened opposite from what they believed, they shifted their point of view; seeing Spunka as coward and Joe as a hero. I am not materialistic. Retrieved February 2, 2016. Anybody could see that. Retrieved March 5, 2011. Overcoming many odds, Hurston graduated from Barnard college in 1927 with her Zora Neale Hurston Research Paper 1242 Words 5 Pages Biography of Zora Neale Hurston African American author, folklorist, anthropologist, and Harlem Renaissance figure, her works and contributions to the world of literature acknowledge her as one of the great writers of our American history. Through the symbolism of Sykes grinding Sweat Hurston Character Analysis 1101 Words 5 Pages Name: Lakisha Minnis Instructor: Mr.
