Identities in context : gender and race in William Faulkner's Light in august and Zora Neale Hurston's Their eyes were watching god

Abstract

This research is dedicated to the analysis of two fictional works, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston and Light in August (1932) by William Faulkner. The starting point of the analysis is the idea that identities are constructed according to specific discursive injunctions, which vary from context to context. The study is focused on the main characters of both novels, Janie Crawford, a black woman, and Joe Christmas, a man whose racial identity is unknown. The comparison between the two characters is based on how their identities are constructed in the novels in relation to their access to language and their possibility of articulating within it, and the context in which they are inserted.

Este trabalho é dedicado à análise de duas obras ficcionais, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, de Zora Neale Hurston, e “Light in August”, de William Faulkner. O ponto de partida da análise é a ideia que identidades são construídas de acordo com injunções discursivas específicas, que variam de contexto para contexto. Para tanto, foram analisados os dois personagens principais dos textos, Janie Crawford, uma mulher negra, e Joe Christmas, um homem cuja identidade racial é desconhecida. A comparação entre os dois se baseou na forma como ambas as identidades são construídas nos romances, em relação ao seu acesso à língua e a possibilidade de articulação dentro dela, e ao contexto no qual estão inseridos.