Zora Neale Hurston and Their Eyes Were Watching God unique perspective on race. relationships, evident in his novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her experiences as an African-American feminist woman to create a story about Janie's magical transformation from an insecure young girl to a successful woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a fascinating character who takes readers as a companion on her journey to discover the mysteries and rewards that life has to offer. Zora Neale Hurston was the daughter of a Baptist minister and an educated scholar who still believed in the genius contained in the common southern black vernacular (Hook http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ Zora.html). She is a woman who has found her place, although precarious, in a typically male profession. Hurston was born on January 7, 1891, in Eatonville, Florida, the first fully incorporated black town in America. She found something special in this town, where she said, “…[I] grew like a gourd and screamed bass like an alligator” (Gale, 1). When Hurston was thirteen, she was taken out of school and sent to care for her brother's children. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, then found herself working as a maid for a white woman. This woman saw a spark waiting for fuel, so she arranged for Hurston to attend high school in Baltimore. She also attended Morgan Academy, now called Morgan State University, from which she graduated in June 1918. She then enrolled at Howard Prep School and then Howard University. In 1928, Hurston attended Barnard College where she studied anthropology under Franz Boas. After graduating, Zora returned to Eatonville to begin working in anthropology. Four years after Hurston received her bachelor's degree from Barnard, she enrolled at Columbia University to begin graduate studies (Discovering Authors, 2-4). Hurston's life seemed to be going well, but she would soon see the other side of reality. Hurston never stayed at work too long, constantly refusing the advances of male employers, which in part showed her strong feminist disposition. But Hurston was still searching for true love throughout his travels and studies. At Howard University, Hurston met Herburt Sheen whom she married on May 19, 1927 in St..