Hurston, Zora Neale: 1891-1960

Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937 - Thematic Parallels: Self-Realization

Hurston, Zora Neale: Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937
The novel has as its central topic the search for self-realization, love, and independence, particularly for Black women in the early 20th century South.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Chopin, Kate: The Awakening, 1899, ~200pp
  Central themes iof this novel nclude women’s independence, individuality, and Edna’s quest to define herself beyond the roles society imposes. It’s a classic narrative of personal awakening and autonomy.
  - Both novels center on a woman’s quest for selfhood in societies that define women primarily through marriage and domestic roles. They were ahead of their time and only later recognized as feminist classics. While Chopin’s ending is tragic and Hurston’s is more affirming, both works reveal the struggles and possibilities of female independence.
- Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, 2003, ~270pp
  This novel features a protagonist who, while grappling with personal and social challenges, embarks on a journey that leads to greater self-understanding.
  - Both novels are about finding independence, resisting external control, and redefining personal truth through distinctive narrative voices. Despite different contexts (modern Britain vs. 1930s African American South), they share a focus on how marginalized perspectives (autistic narrator, Black woman narrator) reshape what it means to tell one’s story.
- Mason, Bobbie Ann: In Country, 1985, ~240pp
  This novel also looks at a young woman’s discovery of her own identity through her family history and the backdrop of post-Vietnam America.
  - Both novels follow young women on journeys of self-discovery shaped by history, trauma, family, and place. They highlight how the past—whether personal (a father’s death in war) or generational (grandmother’s survival choices)—shapes women’s struggles to define themselves in a world that limits their freedom.
- Walker, Alice: The Color Purple, 1982, ~300pp
  This novel is a narrative of self-discovery, empowerment, and growth.
  - Both novels portray Black women’s struggles against oppression, their pursuit of love and independence, and the ways storytelling, sisterhood, and spirituality help them reclaim their voices. Walker’s "The Color Purple" can be seen as a spiritual descendant of Hurston’s "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Their stories are rooted in Black Southern life, showing how community and culture shape survival.
List of general discussion questions on Self-Realization (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Self-Realization (pdf)