Eyewitness to the flood
(Martha Daniel of Daniel Design. Provided by Oral Histories of the American South, Documenting the American South, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. More about the photograph)
This lesson looks at actions and reactions of those who have been affected by hurricanes and floods by contrasting what happens to Janie in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God with personal accounts from North Carolinians who were flooded out of their homes by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Students will compare and contrast the elements in these narratives, and discuss the common themes of how people respond to and reflect upon life-and-death situations. This lesson includes teacher's guides as well as the oral history audio excerpts and transcripts.