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The last line of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby well describes the arctic journey of Robert Peary, who many suppose to be the first man to reach the North Pole. Desperate to reach the geographic North Pole before the end of his last expedition, Peary with great haste and “after determining his position … drove his dog team northward, only to be disappointed … [when] it became clear that he was northbound on a giant ice floe that was resolutely and rapidly drifting southward” (Maxwell).
Interestingly to me, this phenomenon of “beat[ing] on, boats against the current, [yet] borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald 121) seems similar to the idea of beautifully composing intricate novels with complex characters and incredibly realistic and captivating dialogue that ultimately ends in a mournful defeat. In this essay, I will explain why Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a better candidate for the title of Great American Novel than Fitzgerald’s Gatsby.
Before I commence to explain the ways in which Hurston’s work has the makings of a Great American Novel I find it necessary to explain why I am only defending Hurston’s work against one other book, namely The Great Gatsby.
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The choices I made in required reading were such that only Fitzgerald’s work and Hurston’s could be classified as novels. Had I read fewer nonfiction, poetry, novella, or dramatic works, I would have more eligible candidates, but that was not the case.
The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a ‘Great American Novel’ as a novel that successfully represents an important time in American history or tells a story typical of America (“The Great American Novel”).
Both Their Eyes and Gatsby succeed in meeting the first of these burdens. Fitzgerald’s work does this by portraying character’s that are responding to historical events of the time, such as bootlegging during the prohibition era or observing the degeneration of morals during the post-war roaring twenties. Hurston’s novel likewise involves character responses to historical stimuli, such as the creation of the first incorporated negro town of Eatonville and the lingering racist sentiments of the South that infected the minds light-skinned and dark-skinned alike.
Their Eyes Were Watching God also successfully juxtaposes the voice of the third person-omniscient narrator with the dialogue of the protagonist. The narrator’s prose is objective and jargon-free while the dialogue is mostly what Eileen Mattingly calls a folk language, an identifiable form of African American English (“Mattingly”). This juxtaposition represents a use of the concept first articulated by W.E.B. Du Bois in during the Harlem Renaissance era of American History known as double consciousness. Double consciousness refers to the experience of African-American’s of two identities that can sometimes be mutually exclusive, that of the Negro, and that of the American (“Johnson” 00:02:50-00:04:10). Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God both successfully represent important moments in American history.
However, when holistically examining the storyline’s of these books, and not just their component parts, it becomes clear that the consummate message of Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God more closely resembles the ultimate destiny of America than Fitzgerald’s Gatsby. At the end of Hurston’s novel we learn that the protagonist Janie Crawford-Killicks-Starks-Woods has ultimately gained the object of her desire. After successive failed attempts at finding a loving mate, Janie procures a harmonious romantic relationship with Vergible Woods (AKA Tea Cake). Her affections are reciprocated, and even with the death of her partner she feels, “he could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking” (Hurston 193)
Considering the title of Hurston’s work and the many biblical allusions found therein, it is easily inferred that Janie and the other characters in the book were, “steeped in the religious traditions of the South” (Stone). When considering the Christian doctrine of eternal life we can further infer that Janie feels that her hard-won happiness will extend past her mortal life and possibly even forever. Abraham Lincoln described one of the foundational documents of American government and identity, The Declaration of Independence in no uncertain terms as, “An abstract truth, applicable to all men and at all times … embalm[ed for] … all coming days [as] … a rebuke and a stumbling- block to … tyranny and oppression” (Lincoln). What both Lincoln and Hurston describe in their writings is the realistic hope of a happy victory that, though hard-won, will stand the test of time.
Conversely, overall message of The Great Gatsby is that the realization of the American Dream is unachievable, likened unto the boats aforementioned that were borne back. In meeting the first burden of a Great America Novel, Fitzgerald undoes the second. As protagonist Jay Gatsby speaks to his confidant, Nick Caraway (the narrator) regarding the hit-and run of which his beloved is guilty and of which Nick knows had deadly consequences, Gatsby’s displays tragically misprioritized concern, indicative of the declining morals of the post-war era. After Nick confirms to his fried that the accident was lethal, Gatsby comments, “She stood it pretty well” (Fitzgerald, 96). Shockingly, the ‘she’ Gatsby was concerned with was the woman behind the wheel, not the woman in front of the car. On considering the manner that this statement was uttered, Nick observes, “He spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered” (Fitzgerald 96). Nick’s chronicling of this scenario shows how showcasing self-interested characters, though a valid depiction of outlying time-period specific philosophies, eventually works against the overall ability of writing a story that typifies America.
Like explorer Robert Peary, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby builds momentum by captivating readers with complex and ambitious characters, an intricate plot rich with symbolism, and beautifully concise prose. However, the underlying message of the story, the tantalizing and unachievable American dream caused by a society that has abandoned personal morality, strands the potential of the work, and furthers it from reaching the culmination of becoming a Great American Novel. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, successfully meets both the burdens of a Great American Novel by using juxtaposition to reveal the double-consciousness experienced by the second generation of African Americans born outside of slavery while also presenting a story typical of America – finding independence, and subsequently realizing happiness.
Biblical Allusions and Styles of Telling Story in Literature. (2021, Dec 03). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/biblical-allusions-and-styles-of-telling-story-in-literature-essay
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