Posted by Cynthia Daniels Should all today's musical artists pick the same type of music to perform? I think the world is large enough that each artist can decide how they choose to display their talent. I wouldn't want everyone to use today's buzzwords when writing, sing about controversal subjects or only paint about today's clammering political climate just because it's topical.
on 9/21/2005, 4:03 am
202.156.2.58
Why would a world void of white people be puzzling to anyone? Would this criticism stand if we were discussing Steinbeck's lack of acknowledging blacks in Oklahoma in "The Grapes of Wrath"? What would be added to the book by including white characters in the story? I'm suggesting that it is possible that some blacks lived without the existance of contact with white people. Even in the 1930's it was possible to live in communities where there were no whites, say for instance, Boley, OK. Just because everyone else was writing about race relations doesn't warrant the criticsm of Hurston's decision not to address it in this work.
I say it's okay for Ms. Hurston to write as she did and be believable. I understand how it's easy to second guess her now, but I'm sure she was capable of writing about the lives of all people. However she chose to gift us with a glimpse of a different world. I think she deliberately decided to write the opposite of what everyone else was writing. Every author invites us into a world of their creation where we must accept the perameters of their making. As readers, we are asked to stretch all the time to indulge the author in setting up the story. I'm willing to buy in to be entertained. Let me know what you think.
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