Looking for Zora

Alice Walker's search for Zora begins as her plane lands in Sanford, Florida. At the airport, she looks for Charlotte Hunt, her"companion on the Zora Hurston expedition". They begin their search at a "neat grey building" with two signs which read Eatonville Post Office and Eatonville City Hall. In there, they speak to a young lady, and Walker makes up an unnecessary lie to ensure she'll get the information she needs. They get pointed in the direction of Mrs. Mosely, who tells them Zora's grace isn't even in Sanford. They go to the mortuary that handled Zora's funeral and are given vague instructions to her grave. Before they leave, they learn Zora died of malnutrition. They buy Zora a tombstone and go find her grave. They eventually find Dr. Bentom, a man who personally knew Zora. Walker adds to her lie, even though she can tell it's not needed, and learns Zora actually died after a stroke. They travel to the welfare home Zora died in and speak to an old man who remembers Zora. They find out Zora was well liked and actually had a great funeral. Walker's quest ends with self-realization. All through her travels, she uses a lie that she is Zora's neice. This lie, although unnecessary at times, helps Walker get all the information she wants. It also makes the search for Zora personal, which in turn made it to where she couldn't give up. She learns about her heritage and herself at the same time. Walker is ultimately successful and leaves this experience with newfound knowledge.

Janie is so blue, she's full of sorrow, She's had it tough, growing up with no mom or dad. Janie looks forward to the morrow, She's had it rough, she hopes it won't be so bad. Maybe soon she'll escape the heartache, But deep down her heart will never do anything but break. Janie is so blue, she's often been abused, She's had a past and husbands that didn't last. Janie keeps going no matter what, She lives in a world where her dreams will never come to pass. Maybe one day life will be the way she wants it, But for now she'll hide her sadness in a closet. Janie's life is full of sadness. She grew up without parents and her grandmother died when she was only a teen. Growing up, her dream was too fall in love. She believed the only way to do this was to get married. This dream was crushed when she married Killicks. Their marriage was loveless and he mistreated her. Her current marriage with Starks didn't help at all either. She's given up on her dream and this has left her shattered and broken.

Juan speaks to Janie

When you grow up, you spend much of your time wondering how the world works. Where do babies come from? How do you spell cat? Much of the time you don't even notice yourself asking all these questions. These are your years of development, the years that you are still very dependent on your parents and naive to most of the world around you. As you grow, you experience more of the world. These experiences turn your years of asking questions to years of answering questions. You become responsible for your decisions and you are in charge of yourself. These years of answering will take up most of the rest of your life. Fin.