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Their Eyes Were Watching God is a 1937 novel and the best known work by African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston .. Zora Neale Hurston. Zora Neale Hurston. 1937 in literature. The novel narrates main character Janie Crawford 's `` ripening from a vibrant , but voiceless , teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny . ''. As a young woman , who is fair-skinned with long hair , she expects more out of life , but comes to realize she has to find out about life ` fuh theyselves ' -LRB- for herself -RRB- , just as people can only go-to-God for themselves .. Set in central and southern Florida in the early 20th century , the novel was initially poorly received for its rejection of racial uplift literary prescriptions .. Today , it has come to be regarded as a seminal work in both African-American literature and women 's literature .. African-American literature. African-American literature. TIME included the novel in its 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923 .. TIME. Time ( magazine )