Cannery Row

A detailed Summary of Cannery Row

Were whites truly the suppressive force in the Harlem Renaissance? In the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston accurately portrays the hardships endured by the black race, despite the disreputable thoughts and writings of critics who felt the story did not truly convey the severe misery of the times. On the contrary, this novel reaches a brave, bold way of thinking, by depicting blacks who suppress themselves through their own racism, and self-pity. This book does show hardships of the time and thoroughly details black suppression; therefore, this book belongs in the Harlem Renaissance.

By taking Janie, the main character, through her experiences of mental and physical abuse the author reveals how she in fact does experience true pain and suffering. The incidences of her being abused are rarely referenced too, however the reader is lead to infer on her continuous suffering. One such time her abuse was referred to directly was when Mrs. Turner invited a potential husband to meet Janie, who was already married to Tea-cake whom she loved. In retaliation "before the week was over he had whipped Janie"(147), to sho

"Janie, I'm pretty sure that was a mad dawg bit yo' husband. It's too late to get hold of de dawg's head. But de symptoms is all there. It's a mighty bad dat it's gone on so long. Some shots rights after it happened would have fixed him right up."

A novel that deals with love being a central conflict is not appealing to the eyes of critics who are looking to express the physical suppression of blacks suffering under white mans power. Critics also believe Janie as well as the black community does not endure enough physical pain and misery to earn this books classification as a Harlem Renaissance novel. This is because life seemingly comes easily due to the lack of a white society oppressing, and the abundance of money in the ghetto. Supporting this idea is Joe, when he simply "saved up some money-round three hundred dollars"(28) by working for the white folks. Where as In reality blacks were whipped, chained, and forced to work and were paid very little or nothing.

Tea-cake is taken to the doctor after his wound form the dog bight worsens. Janie learns of his fatal decease with the doctor.

Although Janie did not under go an

Some common words found in the essay are:
Harlem Renaissance, Janie I'm, Neale Hurston, , harlem renaissance, he's liable, pain suffering, physical abuse, bad choices,

Approximate Word count = 765
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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