Analysis of Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk Essay

Zora Neale Hurstons use of language in her pithy recital hood allows the ratifier to become part of the community in which this report card takes place. The story is told from the localize of look on of the characters, and Hurston writes the dialogue in their broken English dialect. Although the language is somewhat difficult to understand initially, it adds to the mystique of the story. centre is a story about a man that steals another mans married woman, kills the womans husband and then he ends up dying from an accident at the saw mill. Spunk believed that it was Lenas husband, Joe Kanty, who shoved him into the circular saw, and the people in the village agreed that Joe Kanty had come dorsum to get revenge. The language use by the characters helps to establish the setting of the story and gives the reader an understanding of why voodoo is a credible explanation for the outcome. Looka theah clanses is what Elijah Mosley states to the others in the store. This is the fir st indication that the characters in this short story are not the roughly educated, and are probably from some small backwoods town.We quickly get confirmation of this when we learn that he is alerting them that Spunk Banks, a giant, brown-skinned man, who aint skeered of nothin on Gods green footstool, is sauntering up the iodine street in the village, with a small pretty woman clinging lovingly to his arm. Clearly, the store is where people cite out, and everyone experiences that the woman with Spunk is Lena Kanty, Joes wife. Coming from a large city, I would not expect everyone to know each other, so seeing a couple walking down the street would not be significant to me. In this context however, I understand that something is not right and trouble is coming. When Joe walked in to the store, the lecture ceased the men looked at each other and winked. Say, Joe, hows everything up yo way? Hows yo wife? asked Elijah. speak like a friend, just it is clear that he is trying to s tart some mess. Aw Lige, you oughtnt to do nothin like that Walter grumbled. This dialogue makes the conflict between Spunk and Joe very clear. Not only does Joe know that his wife is going out with Spunk, but everybody in the town knows.This is a brilliant way to draw the reader into the story we feel bad for Joe. His pride is at stake and he has no alternative but to take some action against Spunk. Joe knows that his razor is no match for Spunks gun, but his back is against the wall. He is the laughing stock of the town because Spunk has made a fool of him. Well, Spunk inform calmly, Joe come out there wida meatax an made me kill him. The men glared at Elijah, accusingly. His words had pushed Joe to do something and Spunk had killed him. Now that Joe was dead, the expectation would be for Spunk and Lena to move forward with their relationship. Joes death was a clear case of self defense, the trial was a short one, and Spunk walked out of the court tolerate to freedom again. Spun k was free, but now the excitement begins. Zora Neale Hurston uses symbolism to introduce the reader to the piece of voodoo. Hurston had visited Haiti and Jamaica in the 1930s and had become very interested in the practice of voodoo. Elijah tells us in the story that Spunk sees a black bob-cat that looked him in the eye, an howled right at him.The thing got Spunk so nervoused up he couldnt shoot. Spunk says it was Joe done sneaked back from Hell Later in the story, Elijah tells us that Spunk dies from being cut by the saw and Spunk believed that Joe had pushed him in the back. Elijah believed it too. Revenge is a powerful feeling and in this story, it is the best explanation for Spunks death. Based on the dynamics of the town, everyone believed it to be accomplishable that Joe caused Spunks death. Because they believed it, I believed it. It is their world. Zora Neal Hurston was noviceized by other African American writers for her use of dialect and folk speech. Richard Wright wa s one of her harshest critics and likened Hurstons technique to that of a minstrel show designed to appease a unclouded audience (www.pbs.org).Given the time frame, the Harlem Renaissance, it is understandable that Zora Neale Hurston may be criticized.The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement which redefined how America, and the world, viewed African Americans, so her folk speech could be seen as perpetuating main stream societys view of African Americans as ignorant and incapable of speaking in complete sentences. However, others, such as philosopher and critic Alain Locke, praised her. He considered Hurstons gift for poetic phrase and rare dialect, a welcome replacement for so much faulty local color fiction about Negroes (www.pbs.org). The language in this short story allowed the reader to enter this community and gain an understanding of their world.