Abstract: Zora Neale Hurston, who is known as the mother of black female literature, is one of the important black female writers in twentieth century American literature, the unique black culture elements which she incorporates in Their Eyes Were Watching God, not only contribute greatly to shape the growth process of black women self-consciousness, but also reflect the gradual awakening of black culture awareness. This paper intends to analysis the black culture elements in this novel and make it better understood the way by which Zora Neale Hurston evokes black people to rediscover its value, to reaffirm the significance of culture heritage for black culture identity construction, the inheritance and development.

Key words: Hurston; Their Eyes Were Watching God; black culture elements; reconstruction; inheritance and development

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1.Introduction-1

1.1Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God-1

1.2Literature Review-3

1.3The Perspective and Contents-4

2. Hurston and Black Culture-6

2.1Black Culture-6

2.2Blacks in Hurston’s Time-7

3. Black Culture Elements in Their Eyes Were Watching God-9

3.1 Black Songs and Dances-9

3.2 Black Folk Stories-11

3.3Black Man and Woman--Gender Problem-13

4. The Value and Significance of Hurston’s View of Black Culture-15

4.1Reconstructing the Black Culture Identity-15

4.2 The Inheritance and Development of Black Culture-16

5. Conclusion-17

Reference-19