Hurston's Structure

   "So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead." (Hurston 1) Zora Neale Hurston introduces  Janie in the beginning of the novel, which we later find out is the just the end of her journey.  The novel starts out with a narrative, third person voice and later on shifts to Janie telling her story to Phoebe. Hurston goes from writing a story to using a character to tell it in a more omniscient light.
   Hurston's style in dialogue also contributes to setting the time period and the characters' personalities. This specific style in dialogue represents the level of education people had back in the earlier 1900s. It also adds a level of interest to the reader because they are able to imagine what these characters would sound like as they read words like "chillun" instead of children or "useter" rather than used to.  The reader gets a deeper insight into the characters and their culture. "Nigger, whuts yo baby doin wid gray eyes and yaller hair? She begin tuh slap mah jaws ever which a way." (Hurston 17) Hurston uses such a heavy style of Ebonics, almost making it hard to understand at first, making her novel stand out like the work of Shakespeare.
   The novel goes back and forth from narration to storytelling, emphasizing the fact that Janie was currently telling her story to Pheobe. It makes it seem as if we are there as Phoebe listens as well.  The novel goes on with Janie continuing her story of events which we wil later learn leads to what was the beginning of the novel, her return home.