Spunk
A Short story
Written by
Zena Neale Hurston
Analysis Written
By
Jacqueline Baker
Summary
Written in June of 1925, Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston portrays a man who did what he wanted to do and bullied his way around town. This story, set in a small town in Florida is about Spunk Banks, the main character, who took Joe Kanty's wife. The author depicts Spunk to be brash, condescending and literally daring Joe to take his wife back. When the writer showed Joe taking him up on that dare it resulted in his death. The author reveals in the story that there was a trial to no avail. Spunk was not punished for his wrong doing and walked free, or so some thought. Spunk was haunted by Joe in the form of animal and ghost. As a result of Spunk's fear and belief system he killed himself at work on some type of saw machine that many man dared use except for Spunk.
Zora Neale Hurston, American author. Deutsch: Zora...
Figure 1
Figure 2In his dying words he stated "It was Joe, 'Lige-the dirty sneak shoved meâ¦he didn't dare come to mah faceâ¦but Ah'll git the son-of-wood louse soon's Ah get there an' make hell too hot for himâ¦Ah felt him shove meâ¦.!" Then he died. �
Analysis
To analyze what the author's message is; one would have to question her belief system. I find that her belief system of ghosts coming back to life interesting, because it not only discussed the character, Joe coming back to life but also showed how Karma can be a part of this as well. In this story the main character Spunk Banks did what he wanted to do without any consequences and continued this way even after murdering a man.
It is debatable whether or not there were any human consequences for...