St. Louis Public Schools



Novak – African American LiteratureZora Neale Hurston was born in Alabama in 1891. She moved to Harlem, New York in the 1920s. There, she became good friends with poets Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Together, they started a literary magazine called Fire!! She was an anthropologist and Civil Rights Activist. During her time in Harlem, she began to write short stories, and eventually, she composed novels and plays. She wrote the short story Spunk in 1925, the short story Sweat in 1926, and the novel Their Eyes were Watching God in 1937. Her writing received a lot of pushback during the Harlem Renaissance. Her writing became particularly popular after her death in 1960. She is known for her wit, irreverence, and folk writing style.You will read two of Hurston’s short stories, answer the following questions, and complete the activities at the end. This will be due upon my return after Thanksgiving break.Sweat (in textbook)Spunk (PDF online)Sweat Questions: What does Delia do on Sundays?Why does Delia want Sykes to leave?What do the men on the porch start to eat? What do they do when Sykes comes up to them?Who is Bertha? Why do the men on the porch think Sykes likes her?Where does Delia find the snake after it’s not in the box outside?What part of Sykes is swollen after the snake bites him?Why do you think Delia stays with Sykes?What is the significance of Delia’s profession? Why might Hurston have chosen this?How does faith help Delia in this story? Would she have survived without her religion?What is the purpose of having the village men in the story? What does their dialogue say about them? About society?What is the theme (underlying moral/message) of this story? How do you know? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.People often think of Hurston as a feminist author – how does this story fit with this description of her? Cite specific evidence from the text.Spunk Questions:Why is Lena cheating on Joe?What happens at the fight? Does Spunk fight fair? Why or why not?Why do the people’s opinion of Joe change? How do you know?What happens to Spunk? What is Lena going to do now?How does Hurston use language to create the tone of the story? What is the tone?Who’s the narrator? Are they reliable? What impact does the reliability of the narrator have on the story?Choose one of the following activities in response to the story Spunk. This can be done as a notebook entry.Write a town newspaper/newsletter telling about what happened to the characters in SpunkWrite a love poem from Spunk to Lena or from Joe to LenaWrite a journal entry from Lena’s perspective recalling what happened in the storyBoth stories: Use a Venn diagram or T chart to compare these two short stories. Pay close attention to setting, plot, themes, and characters.Consider the concept of the “New Negro” and how the Harlem Renaissance served as a time for African Americans to create a new identity for themselves. Does Zora Neale Hurston’s work help create this new identity? How does she help create a new identity for African Americans, while also staying true to the “old” identity? Reference specific parts of her stories to support your answer. ................
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