Zora Neale Hurston Quotes, Sourced and Sorted by Theme
Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) was a novelist, anthropologist and folklorist, and a major figure of the Harlem Renaissance. Her most quoted line is probably “There are years that ask questions and years that answer,” from her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. The Zora Neale Hurston quotes below are grouped by theme, each with the work it comes from.
Every quote here is traced to a specific book or essay. Several lines that circulate online under her name have no clear source, so they are left out.
Who Zora Neale Hurston was
Hurston grew up in Eatonville, Florida, one of the first incorporated all-Black towns in the United States. She studied anthropology at Barnard College and collected African American and Caribbean folklore across the South, Jamaica and Haiti.
She published four novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography and many essays and stories. She died in poverty in 1960, largely forgotten. Alice Walker’s 1975 essay “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston” helped bring her work back into print and into classrooms.
Quotes from Their Eyes Were Watching God
The novel follows Janie Crawford through three marriages as she looks for a life and a love of her own. It is Hurston’s best-known book and the one most often assigned in school.
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.” — the novel’s opening line.
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
“An envious heart makes a treacherous ear.”
“Some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships.”
“They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.” — the line that gives the novel its title, from the hurricane chapter.
The opening lines set up the book’s contrast between men, who watch their dreams from a distance, and women, who act on what they choose to remember. If you are writing about Janie’s growth, those first two paragraphs are worth quoting.
Quotes on identity and self-respect
These come from “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” a short essay Hurston published in 1928. It is often taught alongside the novel because it shows her refusing to be defined by other people’s pity.
“I am not tragically colored.”
“I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.”
“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company?”
“I belong to no race nor time.”
The oyster knife line plays on the old saying “the world is your oyster.” Just before it, Hurston writes that she has seen “the world is to the strong.” It is her way of saying she is too busy getting on with life to mourn it.
Quotes on learning and curiosity
Hurston was trained as an anthropologist under Franz Boas, and her writing about research is some of her most quoted by teachers.
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” — Dust Tracks on a Road, 1942.
“Once you wake up thought in a man, you can never put it to sleep again.” — Moses, Man of the Mountain, 1939.
“Learning without wisdom is a load of books on a donkey’s back.” — Moses, Man of the Mountain, 1939.
The research line works well on a science classroom wall or at the top of a research project handout. For more lines in this vein, see our quotes about curiosity and learning.
Quotes on ambition and hardship
These come from Dust Tracks on a Road, Hurston’s 1942 autobiography, and from her 1934 novel Jonah’s Gourd Vine.
Hurston writes that her mother urged her children at every opportunity to “jump at de sun.” Her explanation follows: “We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.” — Dust Tracks on a Road.
“I want a busy life, a just mind, and a timely death.” — Dust Tracks on a Road.
“I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots.” — Jonah’s Gourd Vine. The line continues with an image of standing on a mountain “wrapped in rainbows,” so it is about having known both the worst and the best.
Quotes on love
“Love is like the sea. It’s a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.” — Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie says this to her friend Pheoby near the end of the novel.
“Love, I find is like singing. Everybody can do enough to satisfy themselves, though it may not impress the neighbors as being very much.” — Dust Tracks on a Road.
A note on misattributed Hurston quotes
Some popular lines credited to Hurston online don’t appear in any of her published works that we could verify. If a quote shows up only on image sites or quote aggregators with no book title attached, treat it with caution.
For an essay, cite the book or essay and, where possible, the chapter. Hurston wrote much of her dialogue in dialect, so copy spellings exactly as they appear in your edition. Our guide on how to quote a book in an essay covers the format.
If you are building a Black History Month display or reading list, our posts on Black history quotes on education and James Baldwin quotes on education follow the same sourcing rules.
FAQ
What is Zora Neale Hurston’s most famous quote?
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer” and the title line of Their Eyes Were Watching God are the most widely quoted.
What is the first line of Their Eyes Were Watching God?
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.”
Where does “research is formalized curiosity” come from?
Hurston’s 1942 autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road.
What did Hurston mean by “sharpening my oyster knife”?
That she saw the world as something to be opened and enjoyed, and was too busy doing that to feel sorry for herself. The line is from her 1928 essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.”