JUST ROAMING- A DECONSTRUCTION: AN APPRAISAL OF ZORA NEALEHURTON’S NOVEL THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Abstract

Several literary theories from Feminism to deconstruction are what can be used to read Zora Neal Hurston’s novel, their Eyes Were Watching God. This research aims at using the theory and practice of deconstruction for thereadings and the understanding of the novel, however, it is necessary to attempt a definition of deconstruction. This is only an attempt because definitions according to Kenneth Burke in his, The Grammar of Motives, informs us that definitions always fail to carry us to the thing-ness of things. This is because definitions usually end up teasing us with similes, metaphors, allegories and even catachresis. But despite this dubious nature of definition, it is ideal to still attempt it for lack of a better option. Catherine Belsey in her book, Critical Practice, defines deconstruction as: The object of deconstructing a text to examine the process of its production, is not the private experience of the individual author, but the mode of production, the materials and their arrangements in the work.