English Language Arts9-12+
Narrative Voice and Dialect in Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Orglenda L.
A graphic organizer for 11th grade and up that has students compare the formal, lyrical narrator of Chapter 1 with the oral storytelling style of Janie and Pheoby in Zora Neale Hurston's novel. Students build close-reading skills by selecting two direct quotes as textual evidence and mapping how each voice shapes tone, imagery, and characterization.
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Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 45-minute reading-companion activity after students finish Chapter 1 of Their Eyes Were Watching God, or as a small-group task before a whole-class discussion of narrative voice.
- Discussion question: How does Hurston's shift between the narrator's formal diction and the characters' dialect shape the reader's sense of Eatonville as a community?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pair them with a partner and have them first identify one phonetic spelling or colloquialism in Pheoby's dialogue before comparing it to a formal phrase from the narrator.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to analyze how the two voices work together to frame Janie's inner life, and to draft a thesis connecting dialect to the novel's broader themes of voice and self-expression.
English Language Arts9-12+
Narrative Voice and Dialect in Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Orglenda L.
A graphic organizer for 11th grade and up that has students compare the formal, lyrical narrator of Chapter 1 with the oral storytelling style of Janie and Pheoby in Zora Neale Hurston's novel. Students build close-reading skills by selecting two direct quotes as textual evidence and mapping how each voice shapes tone, imagery, and characterization.
Customize for your classroom
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use as a 45-minute reading-companion activity after students finish Chapter 1 of Their Eyes Were Watching God, or as a small-group task before a whole-class discussion of narrative voice.
- Discussion question: How does Hurston's shift between the narrator's formal diction and the characters' dialect shape the reader's sense of Eatonville as a community?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: Pair them with a partner and have them first identify one phonetic spelling or colloquialism in Pheoby's dialogue before comparing it to a formal phrase from the narrator.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to analyze how the two voices work together to frame Janie's inner life, and to draft a thesis connecting dialect to the novel's broader themes of voice and self-expression.