of the African-American woman as a heroine, thus stirring Wright's bitterest and deepest aversion and condemnation, is African-American female, Zora Neale Hurston. Like Wright, Hurston, also his contemporary, was a prolific artist, yet in a strikingly different style, and with drastically different thematic messages, she strayed from the tradition of bitterness and rage embraced by Wright. The study of African-American protest literature is useful in comprehending the depth of the racial plight in America. Richard Wright (1908-1960) and Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), two African-American authors sharing the same literary era, then, might be expected to produce similar works, if not in plot, then perhaps, and probably more likely, in theme. Typical African-American literature of this time period, especially that of Black males, carries strong messages of the injustice of racism, oppression and inequality in all facets of society. Zora Neale Hurston, however, chose an inherently different path. In the words of Missy Dehn Kubitschek, "Their Eyes Were Watching God provides an emblem of Hurston's withdrawal from political concerns in favor of personal relationships" (19). This course of action has warranted the intense criticism of Black males, among the harshest of whom was Richard Wright. In a review of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Wright contends that "Miss Hurston can write; but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression." A major divergence of literary style is discovered when comparing both Hurston's and Wright's representations of female characters in their major novels, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Native Son, respectively. This deviation is almost entirely specific to the authors' portrayal of African-American women. While a female is the central character of Hurston's novel, Wright consistently portrays women as hindrances to the ability of the African-American male to succeed despite the...
