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Questions and
Exercises
Selection
List:
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Death,
Immortality and Supreme Beings
In various traditional African belief
systems, death is rarely viewed as the termination of life
but rather, as its continuation in a different realm of
existence. Memory and the ability to invoke the spirits by
name are considered methods for retaining the deceased
amongst the "human family." These spirits are often thought
as coexisting with the living.
Assignment:
The presence of deceased
members in communities and families is deeply, yet often
times quietly felt, amongst members of the "human
family."
- Analyze the following characters and
consider how their "presence" or memories of them might
be deeply experienced by the living. Additionally, what
impact, if any, might these memories have on various
individuals and the community at large.
Their Eyes Were Watching
God:
Janie's memory of Tea
Cake.
Sula:
Helene Wright's memory of
Rochelle Sabat.
Nel's memory of Chicken Little.
Eva's memory of Chicken Little and
Sula.
Sula's memory of Hannah.
Meridian:
Meridian's memory of Wile
Chile.Meridian's memory of Native Americans.
- Throughout all three novels there
exists a tremendous sense of spirituality situated
outside of the traditional religious paradigms of "church
experience." Identify one or two passages from two of the
novels and explain how spirituality and the belief in a
"Supreme Being" or presence serves as a means of
orientation towards self-awareness for the protagonists.
What are the ontological implications for these
interpretations?
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