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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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For the television film adaptation, see Their Eyes Were Watching God (film).
Their Eyes Were Watching God
First edition
Author
Zora Neale Hurston
Country
United States
Language
English
Publisher
J. B. Lippincott
Publication date
September 18, 1937
OCLC
46429736
Their Eyes Were Watching God is a 1937 novel and the best known work by African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. 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."[1] As a young woman, who is fair-skinned with long hair, she expects more out of life, but comes to realize that people must learn about life 'fuh theyselves' (for themselves), 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, but today, it has come to be regarded as a seminal work in both African-American literature and women's literature.[2] TIME included the novel in its 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923.[3]
Contents
1 Historical context
1.1 Racial Climate in the Early 1900s
1.2 Hurston, Racial Uplift, and the Harlem Renaissance
2 Plot synopsis
3 Themes
3.1 Gender Roles
3.2 Liberated Woman
3.3 Value of Women in a Relationship
3.4 Voice and Language
3.5 Race
4 Inspirations and influences
5 Reception
5.1 Initial reception
5.2 Rediscovery
6 Critical Analysis
7 Adaptations for theater, film and radio
8 Notes
9 External links
Historical context[edit]
Racial Climate in the Early 1900s[edit]
With legislation like the Jim Crow laws, enacted from 1890 to 1910, many African-Americans were disfranchised. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized black citizens, leading to the steady decline of African-American political representation. Tenant farming and sharecropping systems constituted the de facto re-enslavement of African Americans in the South, where Hurston's novel is based.[4]
Racism was gaining legitimacy in the decades leading up to Hurston's writing of Their Eyes Were Watching God. Baptist preacher Thomas Dixon, Jr. wrote The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden in 1902, asserting white supremacy amidst supposed African-American evil and corruption. The book was so popular that Dixon wrote a trilogy. His second novel, The Clansman, was adapted for the silent film The Birth of a Nation, portraying African-American men in an unintelligent, sexually aggressive light (1915).[4] During the Harlem Renaissance, African-American writers were urged to write toward an Uplift program, to improve the image of African-Americans in society.[5]
Hurston, Racial Uplift, and the Harlem Renaissance[edit]
Where many of her fellow writers were participating first in W. E. B. Du Bois' Uplift agenda and, later, in the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston refused to comply. The renaissance was meant to be a liberating response to the restrictive standards of the Racial Uplift program, encouraging writers and artists to expose racist oppression in American society. In an essay by Nick Aaron Ford, Hurston is quoted to have to said, "Many Negroes criticise my book, because I did not make it a lecture on the race problem."[6] When asked why she chose not to comment on the race problem in her novel, Hurston replied, "Because I was writing a novel and not a treatise on sociology. [...] I have ceased to think in terms of race; I think only in terms of individuals. I am interested in you now, not as a Negro man but as a man. I am not interested in the race problem, but I am interested in the problems of individuals, white ones and black ones."[6]
Similar to Hurston, Wallace Thurman rejected both the traditional Uplift politics and the agenda of the "New Negro".[7] He organized a group of authors including Hurston to create their own magazine, FIRE!!, that would publish the African-American experience without any filters or censors. Hurston's contributions, like Their Eyes Were Watching God, used vernacular southern African-American English. Hurston viewed her work as distinct from the work of fellow Harlem Renaissance writers she described as the "sobbing school of Negrohood" that portrayed the lives of black people as constantly miserable, downtrodden and deprived.[8] Instead, Hurston celebrated the rural, southern African-American communities as she found them. In addition, Hurston refused to censor women's sexuality, writing in beautiful innuendo to embrace the physical dimension of her main character's romances. Completely rejecting the Uplift agenda, the magazine also included homoerotic work as well as portrayals of prostitution.[9] Foreshadowing the African-American community's response to Their Eyes Were Watching God, FIRE!! sold very poorly and was condemned as maligning the image of the community. A Baltimore Afro-American reviewer wrote that he "just tossed the first issue of FIRE!! into the fire".[10]
Plot synopsis[edit]
The main character Janie Crawford, an African-American woman in her early forties, tells the story of her life to her best friend Pheoby Watson through an extended flashback. Readers receive the story of her life in three major periods corresponding to her marriages to three very different men.
The flashback in the book begins with Janie's sexual awakening which she compares to a pear blossom in spring. Not long after, Janie allows a local boy, Johnny Taylor, to kiss her, which Janie's grandmother, Nanny, witnesses.
Nanny is an elderly woman who, as a slave, was raped by her owner and gave birth to a mixed-race daughter Leafy. Nanny escaped from her jealous mistress and found a good home after the end of the American Civil War. Nanny tried to create a good life for her daughter, but Leafy was raped by her school teacher and became pregnant with Janie. Shortly after Janie's birth, Leafy began to drink and stay out at night. Eventually, she ran away, leaving her daughter Janie with Nanny.
Nanny, afraid Janie's life may follow Leafy's or her own, transfers all the hopes she had for Leafy to Janie and arranges for Janie to marry Logan Killicks, an older farmer looking for a wife. Although Janie is not interested in either Logan or marriage, her grandmother wants her to have the stability she never had; legal marriage to Killicks, Nanny believes, will give Janie opportunities. Nanny feels that Janie will be unable to take care of herself, so she must marry a man who will take care of her.[11] Janie marries Logan Killicks.
Janie's image of the pear tree causes her to imagine that marriage must involve love—in Janie's pear tree scene, she sees bees pollinating a pear tree and believes that marriage is the human equivalent to this natural process. However, Killicks wants a domestic helper rather than a lover or partner; he thinks Janie does not do enough around the farm and that she is ungrateful. Janie speaks to Nanny about how she feels, but Nanny, too, accuses her of being spoiled. And so, Janie's idea of the pear tree is tarnished. Soon afterward, Nanny dies.
Unhappy, disillusioned, and lonely, Janie chooses to leave Killicks and runs off with the glib Jody (Joe) Starks, who takes her to Eatonville, Florida. Finding the small town residents unambitious, Starks arranges to buy more land, establishes a general store which he has built by local residents, and is soon elected as mayor of the town. Janie soon realises that Starks wants her as a trophy wife, to reinforce his powerful position in town. He asks her to run the store, but forbids her from participating in the substantial social life that occurs on the store's front porch. He treats her as his property, controlling what she wears and says, and criticizes her mistakes. He also begins to strike her occasionally. As time passes, he teases her in public about being old, even though she is only in her thirties.
Eventually, she cannot bear it and snaps back at Joe to look at himself. Starks hits her as hard as he can. Later, he gets sick, and refuses to let Janie see him. He does not realize that he has a failing kidney, a likely fatal illness. When Janie learns that he might die, she goes to talk to him. She tells him who she really is and says that he never knew because he would not let her be free.
After Starks dies, Janie becomes financially independent through his estate. She is beset with suitors, some of whom are men of some means or have prestigious occupations, and all of whom she turns down. She meets a young drifter and gambler named Vergible Woods who goes by the name "Tea Cake". Tea Cake plays the guitar for her and initially treats her with kindness and respect. At first Janie is doubtful of his affections, as she is older and has wealth, but eventually falls in love with him.
Deciding to run away with him, Janie has a friend look after the store, and the two head to Jacksonville to marry. They move to the Everglades region ("the muck") where they find work planting and harvesting beans. While their relationship has its ups and downs, including mutual bouts of jealousy and an episode in which Tea Cake whips Janie in order to demonstrate his possession of her, Janie realizes she now has the marriage with love that she's always wanted; her image of the pear tree blossom is revived.
However, the area is hit by the great Okeechobee hurricane, and in the chaos of surviving, Tea Cake is bitten by a rabid dog while saving Janie from drowning, and he contracts the disease. While the disease runs its course, he becomes increasingly jealous and unpredictable despite Janie's best efforts. He ultimately tries to shoot Janie with his pistol, and she is forced to shoot him first with a rifle in self-defense. She is charged with murder.
At the trial, Tea Cake's black male friends show up to oppose her, but a group of local white women arrive to support Janie. The all-white jury acquits Janie, and she gives Tea Cake a lavish funeral. Tea Cake's friends are apologetic and forgive her, wanting her to remain in the Everglades. However, she decides to return to Eatonville.
As she expected, the residents gossip about her when she arrives back in town. The story ends where it started, and Janie finishes telling her story to Pheoby.
Themes[edit]
Gender Roles[edit]
The novel explores traditional gender roles and the relationship between men and women. Nanny believes that Janie should marry a man not for love but for 'protection'.[12] Janie's first two husbands: Logan Killicks and Jody Starks both believe Janie should be defined by her marriage to them. Both men want her to be domesticated and silent. Her speech, or silence, is defined by her physical locations, most often. For example, Joe forces her silence in the store, a public—and therefore, male—space. Joe says, "...Muh wife don't know nothin' bout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home."[13] Janie is also forbidden from socialising with the men on the porch. Her place is seen as in the home and not out on the porch, a public space which can be defined as male. Tea Cake is Janie's last husband who treats her as more of an equal than Killicks and Starks did, by talking to her and playing checkers with her. Despite his equal treatment in the beginning, Tea Cake does hit Janie in order to show his possession over her. Thus, Janie's life seems defined by her relation to male-centric spaces.
Liberated Woman[edit]
Janie is searching for her own identity throughout the novel. Throughout the book, Janie is often without a voice when it comes to her husbands as she will not fight back. She is seen as separated from the other women in the novel who follow the traditions in place and do not find a life independent of men. Janie's womanliness is a source of jealousy for both Starks and Tea Cake who shame her for her looks. Starks orders Janie to cover her hair as other men found it a source of attraction. Similarly, Tea Cake is conscious of Janie's lighter skin and her appeal to Mrs. Turner's brother. Janie finds her independence as a woman after the death of Tea Cake. She returns to Eatonville with her hair down and she sits on her own porch chatting with her friend Pheoby. She has overcome the traditional roles of a woman by the end of the novel, thereby cultivating an image of the "liberated black woman."1[14]
Value of Women in a Relationship[edit]
Throughout the novel, Hurston vividly displays how African American women are valued, or devalued, in their marital relationships. By doing so, she takes the reader on a journey through Janie's life and her marriages. Janie formed her initial idea of marriage off the image of unity she witnessed between a pear tree and a bee. This image and expectation sets Janie up for disappointment when it finally came time to marry. From her marriage to Logan Killicks to Tea Cake, Janie was forced to acknowledge where she stood as a female in her relationship.
Starting with her marriage to Logan, Janie was put in a place where she was expected to work. On top of all the physical labor expected from her, Janie endured physical beatings from her male counterpart. Hoping for more value, Janie decides to leave Logan and run off with Joe Starks. However, in reaction to this decision, she's only faced with more beating and devaluement. Joe expected her stay in the home, work in the kitchen, and when she was in public, Janie was expected to cover her hair and avoid conversation with the locals. With one last hope, Janie engaged in a marriage with Tea Cake, a much younger soul, and things finally seemed to look up for her, even though she was still expected to help in the fields and tend to her womanly duties. Overall, throughout her marriages, Janie experienced the hardships that most African American women went through at that time. From the physical labor to the physical beatings, Janie was presented with the life that a woman was expected to live. [See detailed argument and synopsis in Addison Gayle, Jr.'s article, "The Outsider"[15]]
Voice and Language[edit]
Janie is the narrator and protagonist of her own story. She spends the novel seeking a voice for herself which she achieves in the end of her story. Later in her life, Janie is able to sit on her own porch and chat just like the men. Throughout the novel, there is a strong use of dialect and colloquial language which reiterates that this is a story of a black woman from the South.
Race[edit]
While the novel is written about black people in the South, it is not primarily a book about racism. Nanny is the first character to mention the notion of slavery. "Ah was born back due in slavery so it wasn't for me to fulfil my dreams of whut a woman oughta be and to do. Dat's one of de hold-backs of slavery."[16] The novel, while mentioning the issue of racism between the white and black communities, depicts the treatment of minorities within the black community. Starks is compared to as the master of the plantation due to his huge house in the centre of the town. "The rest of town looked like servants' quarters surrounding the 'big house'.[17] Starks becomes a figure of authority in the town due to his access to money and his determination to create the first black town. However his plans of creating a town in which blacks can live as equals creates a hierarchy between the townsfolk. "Us talks about de white man keepin' us down! Shucks! He don't have tuh. Us keeps our own selves down."[18] The divide between the black community is not only seen in Eatonville. When Janie marries Tea Cake and moves to the Everglades she becomes friendly with a woman named Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner compliments Janie on her light skin and her Caucasian features. She disagrees with Janie's marriage to Tea Cake, since he is darker skinned with more African features. Mrs. Turner tries to get Janie to leave Tea Cake and marry her brother, Mr. Turner. This results in Tea Cake's jealousy and distrust of Mrs. and Mr. Turner.
Inspirations and influences[edit]
Perhaps the strongest inspiration for Hurston's writing of Their Eyes Were Watching God was her former lover Percival Punter.[19] Hurston writes in her autobiography that the romance between Janie and Tea Cake was inspired by a tumultuous love affair. She described falling in love with the man as "a parachute jump".[20] Like Janie in the novel, Hurston was significantly older than her lover. Like Tea Cake, Punter was sexually dominant and sometimes violent.[21] Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God three weeks after the tumultuous conclusion of her relationship with Punter. She wrote in her autobiography that she had "tried to embalm all the tenderness of [her] passion for him."[22] With this emotional inspiration, Hurston went on to paint the picture of Their Eyes Were Watching God using her personal experience and research as a template.
In 1927, a decade before writing Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston traveled south to collect folk songs and folk tales through an anthropological research fellowship arranged by her Barnard College mentor Franz Boas.[23] The all-black Eatonville of Their Eyes Were Watching God is based on the all-black town of the same name in which Hurston grew up. The town's weekly announced in 1889, "Colored People of the United States: Solve the great race problem by securing a home in Eatonville, Florida, a Negro city governed by negroes."[24] The hurricane that symbolizes the climax of Hurston's story also has an historical inspiration; in 1928, "a hurricane ravaged both coastal and inland areas of Florida, bringing torrential rains that broke the dikes of Lake Okeechobee".[25] Scholars of the African diaspora note the cultural practices common to the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States in Their Eyes Were Watching God.[26]
Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God while on a Guggenheim Fellowship in Haiti to research Obeah practices in the West Indies.[27]
Reception[edit]
Initial reception[edit]
Hurston's political views in Their Eyes Were Watching God were met with resistance from several leading Harlem Renaissance authors.
Novelist and essayist Richard Wright condemned Their Eyes Were Watching God, writing in a review for New Masses (1935):
Miss Hurston seems to have no desire whatsoever to move in the direction of serious fiction… [She] can write; but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression since the days of Phyllis Wheatley... Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.[28]
Ralph Ellison said the book contained a "blight of calculated burlesque."[29]
Alain Locke writes in a review: "when will the Negro novelist of maturity, who knows how to tell a story convincingly—which is Miss Hurston's cradle gift, come to grips with motive fiction and social document fiction?"[30]
The New Republic's Otis Ferguson wrote: "it isn't that this novel is bad, but that it deserves to be better". But he went on to praise the work for depicting "Negro life in its naturally creative and unselfconscious grace".[31]
Not all African-American critics had negative things to say about Hurston's work. Carter G. Woodson, founder of The Journal of Negro History wrote, "Their Eyes Were Watching God is a gripping story... the author deserves great praise for the skill and effectiveness shown in the writing of this book." The critic noted Hurston's anthropological approach to writing, "She studied them until she thoroughly understood the working of their minds, learned to speak their language".[32]
Meanwhile, reviews of Hurston's book in the mainstream white press were largely positive, although they did not translate into significant retail sales. Writing for The New York Times, Ralph Thompson states: "the normal life of Negroes in the South today—the life with its holdovers from slave times, its social difficulties, childish excitements, and endless exuberances... compared to this sort of story, the ordinary narratives of Negroes in Harlem or Birmingham seem ordinary indeed."[33]
For the New York Herald Tribune, Sheila Hibben described Hurston as writing "with her head as with her heart" creating a "warm, vibrant touch". She praised Their Eyes Were Watching God as filled with "a flashing, gleaming riot of black people, with a limitless sense of humor, and a wild, strange sadness".[34]
New York Times critic Lucille Tompkins described Their Eyes Were Watching God: "It is about Negroes... but really it is about every one, or at least every one who isn't so civilized that he has lost the capacity for glory."[35]
Rediscovery[edit]
As universities across the country developed Black Studies programs in the 1970s and 1980s, they created greater space for Black literature and academia. Several prominent academics, including Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Addison Gayle, Jr., established a new "Black Aesthetic" that "placed the sources of contemporary black literature and culture in the communal music and oral folk tradition".[36] This new respect coupled with a growing Black feminism led by Mary Helen Washington, Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, and others would create the space for the rediscovery of Hurston.[36]
Hurston first achieved a level of mainstream institutional support in the 1970s. Walker published an essay, "Looking for Zora," in Ms. magazine in 1975. In that work, she described how the Black community's general rejection of Hurston was like "throwing away a genius". The National Endowment for the Humanities went on to award Robert Hemenway two grants for his work to write Hurston's biography.[37] The 1977 biography was followed in 1978 by the re-issue of Their Eyes Were Watching God.
In 1975, the Modern Language Association held a special seminar focusing on Hurston.[37] In 1981 professor Ruth Sheffey of Baltimore's Morgan State University founded the Zora Neale Hurston Society. Hurston had attended the school, then known as Morgan Academy, in 1917.[38]
In 1978, Harper and Row leased its rights to Their Eyes Were Watching God to the University of Illinois Press. However, the printing was so profitable that Harper and Row refused to renew the leasing contract and instead reprinted its own new edition.[37] This new edition sold its total print of 75,000 in less than a month.[39]
The New York Times's Virginia Heffernan explains that the book's "narrative technique, which is heavy on free-indirect discourse, lent itself to poststructuralist analysis".[40] With so many new disciplines especially open to the themes and content of Hurston's work, Their Eyes Were Watching God achieved growing prominence in the last several decades. It is now firmly established in the literary canon.[36]
Critical Analysis[edit]
In Maria J. Johnson's article "'The World in a Jug and the Stopper in [Her] Hand': Their Eyes Were Watching God as Blues Performance," she states that Hurston's novel takes a similar structure and aesthetic to blues culture. Johnson also shows how the contrast of Hurston's images, such as the pleasure and pain dynamic of the bee, can be seen in songs by singers like Bessie Smith.[41]
The article "The Cognitive Construction of the Self in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God", by Patrick S. Bernard,[42] highlights the connection between the construction of self and cognition in Hurston's novel. According to Bernard, cognition is the inner essence of an individual that embodies the idea of "thinking, seeing, speaking, and knowing", but is often determined by one's exterior environment. Janie, the protagonist, uses her cognitive skills in order to find her identity and throughout the novel develops her cognition further. While Janie is living in a sexist society, she continues to rise above her opposition, specifically that of her three husbands. Bernard demonstrates this,
In a conversation with Jody, Janie defends 'womenfolk,' disagreeing with the sexist claim that God made men "different" because they turn "out so smart" (70). When she states that men "don't know half as much as you think you do," Jody interrupts her saying, 'you getting too moufy Janie... Go fetch me de checker-board and de checkers' (70-71) so that he and the other men could play (Bernard 9).
The comment from Jody, Janie's second husband, attempts to suppress her voice and manipulate her thoughts. Rather than acting submissive to Jody, Janie for a brief moment contends with Jody by telling him how men misunderstand women. Jody fears that Janie's thinking will lead to her gaining more knowledge and naturally to speaking her mind, eventually leading to Janie achieving the power of knowledge to recognize and change the mistreatment and unfairness she has been receiving. Bernard proposes the idea that Jody's relationship with Janie represents society's assumption that women are of limited cognition. This assumption positions women in subservient roles that limit their ways of thinking, speaking, and seeing.
In addition to bringing up Janie's relationship with Jody, Bernard emphasizes how her relationships with her other husbands influenced her cognition. He points out the fact that Logan Killicks, Janie's first husband, mistreated her by severing any beginning form of self-construction by treating her as an infant. Bernard also brings forth the idea that Janie's construction of selfhood blossoms when Tea Cake, her third husband, allows her to participate in experiences unimaginable to her. While Logan Killicks gives her no opportunity of expressing herself, Jody overpowers her expressive voice; Tea Cake allows her construction of self to mature link between self construction and cognition. Bernard's main point therefore is that self-construction is influenced by cognition, that is, knowing, thinking, seeing and speaking are important to the construction of self in Zora Neale Hurston's novel.
In "The Hierarchy Itself: Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Sacrifice of Narrative Authority," Ryan Simmons argues that Hurston made a statement against models of authority that supplant an oppressive system with other oppressive systems and offered an alternative. By models of authority, Simmons means the narrative voice of the author and Janie's narrative voice. Hurston represented the different ideologies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois through the characters of Logan Killicks and Joe ("Jody") Starks. Like Washington, Logan models the path of "gradual progress" that would not threaten the white-dominated sphere of power and Hurston presents his practices as a tradeoff between liberty and modest prosperity. Joe models the path advocated by Du Bois, which is one of assertion of dignity and less compromise. However, the issue shown by Joe's eventual isolation from the community dialogue he helped establish and Janie's overpowering of him through a usurpation of authority, Hurston shows that the weakness with Joe's approach is that it mirrors that of white suppression.
Instead, Hurston introduces a third way of achieving self-autonomy through Tea Cake. He represents an independence from reliance on communal validation, and instead serves as a mirror for Janie to discover her narrative power. In relation to the author's narrative power, Tea Cake is the epitome of a good reader, one that is receptive to the transformative message of the text. Language is the understanding and sharpening of one's identity while communication comes second. In Hurston's innovative narrative, she is attempting to fulfill the "ideal narrative", which is one that nurtures and changes both the reader and the author.[43]
Adaptations for theater, film and radio[edit]
In 1983, the graduate repertory Hilberry Theater at Wayne State University produced To Gleam It Around, To Show My Shine, which is based on Their Eyes Were Watching God. The play was written by Bonnie Lee Moss Rattner and directed by Von Washington.[citation needed]
In 1988, To Gleam It Around, To Show My Shine was produced by the Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The production was enhanced by an award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Fund for New American Plays. Denise Nicholas played Janie, Novella Nelson played Pheoby. Rick Khan directed. Writing in The New York Times on October 16, 1988, in a review entitled "Luminous' Drama On Black Woman's Struggle", Alvin Klein said, of "the dialogue that is so pure and lyrical, it positively sings and pierces the heart. Out of an unutterably beautiful book, a luminous play has evolved."[citation needed]
In 2003, To Gleam It Around, To Show My Shine a.k.a. Eatonville was to have opened at the ATA (American Theatre for Actors) in co-production with Amas Musical Theatre and Sage Hill Productions, with a score composed by Wynton Marsalis. (see "Wynton Marsalis Pens Music for Rattner's 'Eatonville'", Playbill, August 21, 2003.)
In 2012, the new artistic director of the State Theater of Maryland, the Centerstage in Baltimore, chose to produce "Gleam" a.k.a. "To Gleam It Around, To Show My Shine" written by Bonnie Lee Moss Rattner. The play was directed by Marion McClinton. The production was enhanced by a grant of $55,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts. Writing in "DC Theatre Scene," Debbie Jackson says "Gleam hits a glorious stride at the Centerstage in Baltimore mainly because of the well-tuned script by Bonnie Lee Moss Rattner in the capable hands of director Marion McClinton."[January 18, 2012] Andrea Appleton writing in the "Citypaper" on 1/20/2012, wrote a headline that states "Gleam: A classic novel comes to breathtaking life." Donna Owen writing in Grio [1/18/2012] says GLEAM "practically leaps off the stage with power, witty dialect, and poignancy."
Oprah Winfrey served as executive producer of the made-for-TV adaptation Their Eyes Were Watching God in 2005. Harpo Productions sponsored the film directed by Darnell Martin and with a screenplay written by Suzan-Lori Parks, Misan Sagay, and Bobby Smith, Jr. The show was broadcast on ABC on March 6, 2005, at 9 pm. Catering to its TV audience, the film largely avoided the more controversial themes of race, gender, and power. Karen Valby of Entertainment Weekly comments, "While the book chews on meaty questions of race and identity, the movie largely resigns itself to the realm of sudsy romance."[44] New York Times critic Virginia Heffernan writes, "the film is less a literary tribute than a visual fix of Harlequin Romance: Black Southern Series—all sensual soft-core scenes and contemporary, accessible language."[45]
In 2011, the novel was adapted into a radio play for BBC World Drama, dramatized by Patricia Cumper. The play first aired on February 19, 2011.[46]
In 2012, a live radio play performance of Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Arthur Yorinks was broadcast on February 29 and March 1 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the book's publication.[47]
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ National Endowment for the Arts website.
Jump up ^ Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Zora Neale Hurston: Critical Perspectives Past and Present (New York: Amistad, 1993), p. xi.
Jump up ^ "All Time 100 Novels". Time. October 16, 2005.
^ Jump up to: a b ↑ King. The Cambridge Introduction to Zora Neale Hurston, p. 20.
Jump up ^ The Crisis, Vol. 32, October 1926: pp. 290–297.
^ Jump up to: a b Bloom, Harold (1986). Modern Critical Views: Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 8. ISBN 0-87754-627-4.
Jump up ^ King. The Cambridge Introduction to Zora Neale Hurston. p. 28.
Jump up ^ Bray, Rosemary L. "Renaissance for a Pioneer of Black Pride". New York Times, 02 09, 1990.
Jump up ^ King. The Cambridge Introduction to Zora Neale Hurston. p. 29.
Jump up ^ Baltimore Afro-American review, cited in Harris, E. "Renaissance Men." The Advocate, 07 11, 2008.
Jump up ^ "Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston". Plot Summary, Book Notes, Summary. BookRags.com. 18 Aug 2010.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Zora (1937). Their Eyes Were Watching God. USA: University of Illinois Press. pp. Page 20.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Zora (1937). Their Eyes Were Watching God. USA: University of Illinois Press. pp. Page 53.
Jump up ^ Bloom, Harold (1986). Modern Critical Views: Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. pp. 29–33, 40. ISBN 0-87754-627-4.
Jump up ^ Bloom, Harold (1986). Modern Critical Views: Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. pp. 35–46. ISBN 0-87754-627-4.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Zora (1937). Their Eyes Were Watching God. USA: University of Illinois Press. pp. Page 21.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Zora (1937). Their Eyes Were Watching God. USA: University of Illinois Press. pp. Page 58.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Zora (1937). Their Eyes Were Watching God. USA: University of Illinois Press. pp. Page 48.
Jump up ^ King. The Cambridge Introduction to Zora Neale Hurston. p. 25.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Zora. Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1942, p. 205. as cited in Bloom, Harrold. Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009, p. 15.
Jump up ^ Bloom, Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, p. 15.
Jump up ^ Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road, p. 188. as cited in Bloom, Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, p. 15.
Jump up ^ King, The Cambridge Introduction to Zora Neale Hurston. p. 7.
Jump up ^ The Eatonville Speaker, 1889. cited in Lester, Neal. Understanding Their Eyes Were Watching God. London: The Greenwood Press, 1999, p. 148.
Jump up ^ Bloom, Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. p. 14.
Jump up ^ Wall, Cheryl A. Their Eyes Were Watching God - A Casebook. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 6.
Jump up ^ Miles, Diana. "Diana Miles on Female Identity and Rebirth". Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Edited by Harrold Bloom. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009, p. 66.
Jump up ^ Wright, Richard. Review in New Masses, October 5, 1935. cited in Bloom, Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, p. 15.
Jump up ^ Ellison, Ralph. As cited in Burt, Daniel. The Novel 100. Checkmark Books, 2003, p. 366.
Jump up ^ Locke, Alain. Opportunity, 06 01, 1938. (accessed April 18, 2012).
Jump up ^ Ferguson, Otis. The New Republic, 13 October 1937. (accessed April 18, 2012).
Jump up ^ Forrest, Ethel. "Book Reviews" The Journal of Negro History. January 1, 1938. (Accessed April 12, 2012).
Jump up ^ Thompson, Ralph. "Books of the Times." The New York Times. October 6, 1937. accessed March 30, 2012.
Jump up ^ Hibben, Sheila. "Book Review". New York Herald Tribune, 09-26, 1937. As cited in Bloom, Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. p. 16.
Jump up ^ Tompkins, Lucille. "Book Review." The New York Times. September 26, 1937. As cited in King, The Cambridge Introduction to Zora Neale Hurston. p. 113.
^ Jump up to: a b c Spencer, Stephen. "On Hurston's Contribution to the Canon." Bloom's Guides - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Edited by Harrold Bloom. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009, p. 87.
^ Jump up to: a b c Carby, Hazel. "The Politics of Fiction, Anthropology, and the Folk: Zora Neale Hurston." Bloom's Interpretations - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Edited by Harrold Bloom. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008, p. 23.
Jump up ^ Bray, Rosemary L. "Renaissance for a Pioneer of Black Pride." The New York Times, 02 09, 1990.
Jump up ^ Carby, Hazel. "The Politics of Fiction, Anthropology, and the Folk: Zora Neale Hurston." Bloom's Interpretations - Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Edited by Harrold Bloom. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008, p. 24.
Jump up ^ Heffernan, Virginia. "A Woman on a Quest, via Hurston and Oprah." The New York Times. March 5, 2005. (accessed April 3, 2012).
Jump up ^ Johnson, Maria J. "'The World in a Jug and the Stopper in [Her] Hand': Their Eyes Were Watching God as Blues Performance". African American Review, 32(3) 1998: 401-414. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. October 23, 2012.
Jump up ^ Bernard', Patrick. "The Cognitive Construction of the Self in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God". Purdue University.
Jump up ^ Simmons, Ryan. "The Hierarchy Itself: Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Sacrifice of Narrative Authority". African American Review 36.2 (Summer 2002): 181-93. Print.
Jump up ^ Valby, Karen. "Review of film Their Eyes Were Watching God." Entertainment Weekly. November 25, 2005. (accessed March 28, 2012).
Jump up ^ Heffernan, Virginia. "A Woman on a Quest, via Hurston and Oprah" The New York Times. March 4, 2005. (accessed April 5, 2012).
Jump up ^ "Their Eyes Were Watching God". BBC World Drama. BBC World Service. 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
Jump up ^ Itzkoff, Dave. "Radio Play of 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' Is Set" The New York Times, February 8, 2012. (accessed March 25, 2012).
External links[edit]
Describes Hurston's participation in the Harlem Renaissance; also summary, analysis, themes, and essays from "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Folk Speech and Figurative Language
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Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939)
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"How It Feels To Be Colored Me" (1928)
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Uncle Ben
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the Spider-Man comic book character. For the food brand, see Uncle Ben's.
Uncle Ben
Publication information
Publisher
Marvel Comics
First appearance
Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962)
Created by
Stan Lee (writer)
Steve Ditko (artist)
In-story information
Full name
Benjamin Parker
Supporting character of
Spider-Man
Benjamin "Ben" Parker, usually called Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Uncle Ben first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Modeled after American founding father Benjamin Franklin, the character plays an influential role in the Spider-Man comic books.
Contents
[hide]
1 Publication history
1.1 Notability of death
2 Fictional character biography
3 Other versions
3.1 Trouble
3.2 Bullet Points
3.3 House of M
3.4 Marvel Noir
3.5 Spider-Verse
3.6 Ultimate Marvel
3.7 What If?
3.8 Derailed Alt-Ben Parker
4 "With great power comes great responsibility"
5 In other media
5.1 Television
5.2 Film
5.3 Video games
6 Franklin Richards' Uncle Ben
7 Son of Spider-Man
8 The Other Uncle Ben
9 References
10 External links
Publication history[edit]
Uncle Ben first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) and was killed in the very same issue. Although his history as a supporting character was very brief, Uncle Ben is an overshadowing figure in Spider-Man's life, often appearing in flashbacks.
Notability of death[edit]
The murder of Uncle Ben is notable as one of the few comic book deaths (along with the death of Gwen Stacy, although she has been recently revived) that has never been reversed in terms of official continuity. He was a member of the "Big Three", referring also to Jason Todd (an associate of Batman) and Bucky (an associate of Captain America) whose notable deaths, along with Ben's, gave rise to the phrase: "No one in comics stays dead except for Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben". Later, the revivals of both Bucky and Jason in 2005 led to the amendment, "No one in comics stays dead except Uncle Ben". The violent killing of Uncle Ben, done by a common street criminal, also shares multiple similarities to the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, the parents of Batman, which sometimes is included in the saying.[1]
There have been examples of Uncle Ben remaining alive in alternative timelines, including stories featured in Marvel's What If (one of which he forces Peter to unmask in front of J. Jonah Jameson), and a storyline of the 1994 Spider-Man animated series featured a universe where Uncle Ben had never died, and Peter Parker became a successful industrialist, having never really bothered to use his powers responsibly as everything always seemed to work out for him. This fact is used to defeat the rampaging Spider-Carnage by exposing him to the one person he will trust and listen to: the Uncle Ben of that reality.[volume & issue needed]
A story-line in the official series Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man seemingly suggested that Ben may be alive. This Ben, however, was actually from a parallel universe where Aunt May died in a random accident, leaving him to raise Peter. This alternate Ben came to the planet Earth of regular Marvel comics (the 616 reality) as part of an evil plan devised by the Hobgoblin of 2211 to defeat the Spider-Men of different eras.[volume & issue needed]
During the Clone Conspiracy storyline, when Peter's clone Ben Reilly who named himself after Uncle Ben and Aunt May, taking Ben's first name and May's last to differentiate himself from Peter used the Jackal's technology to revive various old enemies and allies of Peter Parker, he offered to bring Uncle Ben back to life while trying to win Peter to his point of view,[2] but although tempted at the offer, Peter concluded that the reason Ben had not brought 'their' uncle back on his own was that he knew that Uncle Ben would disapprove of his "nephew's actions", as Ben's plan would see everyone on Earth granted immortality while dependent on him to supply the medication needed to stabilize their cloned bodies.[3]
Fictional character biography[edit]
Ben Parker was born in Brooklyn, New York. He trained to be a military police officer,[4] and also spent time as a singer in a band. He had known his future wife, May Reilly since their high school days, but she in turn was naively interested in a boy who was involved in criminal activities. When he came to her one night and proposed to her on the spot, Ben was there to expose him as a murderer, and to comfort the heart-broken May when the boy was arrested. Their relationship evolved into love, and they enjoyed a happily married life. When Ben's younger brother Richard Parker and his wife Mary were killed in a plane crash, Ben and May took in their orphaned son Peter and raised him as their own.[5]
Ben was very protective of Peter, going as far as fighting some of the bullies that tormented young Parker. Peter became friends with Charlie Weiderman in high school, a teen even more unpopular than he was. However, Charlie often provoked the trouble with the other teens. One day, he was chased to the Parker home by a group of bullies led by Rich and Ben intervened. Ben told them that if they wanted Charlie, they would have to go through him. Rich tried to, but was surprised by Ben's army training. As soon as the bullies were gone, he told the boy that he was not welcome at the house or with Peter because of his provoking the bullies and not being able to tell the truth.[6]
In high school, a radioactive spider bite gave Peter superhuman powers. Creating the costumed identity of Spider-Man for himself, Peter sought first to exploit his newfound powers as a masked wrestler and then as a television star. Coming from a television appearance, Spider-Man saw a burglar[7] being chased by a security guard. The guard called for Spider-Man to stop the thief, but the nascent Spidey refused on the grounds that catching criminals was not his job. The robber got away.[8]
When Peter later returned home, he was informed by a police officer that his beloved Uncle Ben had been killed by a burglar. Outraged, he donned his Spider-Man costume and captured the man only to realize to his horror that it was the same burglar whom he could have effortlessly captured earlier at the studio. As a result, Peter considered himself morally responsible for Ben's death and resolved to fight crime as a superhero — realizing that with great power comes great responsibility — and vowing never to let another innocent person come to harm if he could help it.[8]
Ben Parker's death was truly avenged when the burglar returned for the money once more, threatening Aunt May. The burglar died from a heart attack upon beholding his old nemesis Spider-Man once again and learning that Spider-Man and Peter Parker were one and the same person.[9]
In Amazing Spider-Man Family #7, May relates to Peter her account of meeting Ben for the first time.
Ben briefly appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #500; after Spider-Man played a vital role in preventing the resurrection of Dormammu, an unidentified higher power provided Doctor Strange with a small box that he felt he had to give to Spider-Man as a reward for his role in events. When Peter opened the box on the roof of his apartment building, it contained a note saying "You have five minutes. Spend them as you will", followed by Ben appearing on the roof. It was revealed that this Ben - whether a ghost or Ben having been temporally relocated from the moment before his death - remembered being out for the walk that resulted in him getting shot but nothing afterwards, although he concluded that the events leading to him being on that roof were not important. In their talk Ben said that the only thing that would disappoint him about Peter is if Peter ever settled for less because he was afraid of reaching for more. This helps Peter to see that he had a good life for all its hardships, recognizing that he has always used what he has, and Ben assures Peter that he is proud of him before he vanishes.[10]
During the 2008–2009 "Dark Reign" storyline, Uncle Ben makes an appearance in the Underworld when Hercules attends the trial of Zeus, directing Amadeus Cho as he attempted to find his parents in the afterlife.[11] In the "Amazing Grace" storyline, Ben appears as an apparition to Spider-Man while battling a horde of demons and gargoyles, telling him that his death is not Peter's or anyone's fault. However, one enemy notices him and attacked only to disappear. This left Spider-Man puzzled if he was imagining Ben or he was really talking to his ghost.[12]
When Ben Reilly adopted the identity of the Jackal and set up an elaborate plan to use Warren's new cloning process to make the world immortal, he attempted to win Peter's allegiance by showing him Ben's coffin and offering to bring Ben back to life.[2] However, although tempted by the idea, Peter realized that Ben never intended to bring 'their' uncle back to life because he would have done it already, coldly informing his clone that Uncle Ben would tell him that he was wrong.[3] At the conclusion of the crisis, Peter takes a moment beside the coffin containing Ben's corpse, acknowledging that Reilly's actions were wrong but wishing that he was there regardless.[13]
Other versions[edit]
Trouble[edit]
A version of Ben appeared in the Mark Millar, Terry Dodson 2003 limited series, "Trouble", with his brother Richie, who were involved with teenagers, May and Mary.[volume & issue needed]
None of the characters' last names were revealed. The story did not become canon because of its negative reception.[volume & issue needed]
Bullet Points[edit]
In this alternate reality, a young Ben Parker is working as a military policeman. He is assigned to security for Doctor Erskine, a scientist for the Captain America program. An assassination attempt on Erskine succeeds, killing Ben in the process. Later on, May still attempts to raise Peter on her own, but without the influence of Ben, Peter grows up to be angry, cynical and mean-spirited, going on to become the Hulk of this reality when he sneaks onto the test site that Rick Jones sneaked onto in the original version of events.[14]
House of M[edit]
In the House of M reality, Ben Parker is alive and, like the rest of the world, is aware that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. After recovering Peter's journal, with entries detailing that the world is not how it should be, Ben discovers that he is killed shortly after Peter gains his powers. He later helps Peter fake his death, photographing Spider-Man apparently hanging himself.[15]
Marvel Noir[edit]
In the Marvel Noir reality, Ben Parker is a social activist who was murdered by Norman Osborne's enforcers. He had previously been a decorated pilot and veteran of World War I, but he did not take pride in his service, believing that no just cause was fought for. His nephew Peter dons his old aviator uniform and wields his service revolver during his activities as Spider-Man.[16]
Spider-Verse[edit]
A version of Peter Parker named Patton Parnell lives with his abusive Uncle Ted on an unknown Earth. After the bite of an irradiated spider mutates him into an arachnid monstrosity, Patton infects his Uncle Ted with his offspring while declaring he taught him that "With great power comes a great appetite".[17]
An alternate Uncle Ben from an unknown reality appears in a flashback along with the version's Aunt May. In this reality they are portrayed as scientists. They informed Peni Parker that she was the only person able to carry on the project (after her father, the original SP//dr, died in battle), and accepted the responsibly, allowing the radioactive spider that formed the other half of SP//dr's CPU to bite her.[18]
In an unknown reality, Uncle Ben and Aunt May are with their nephew Peter at the hospital after he suffers an allergic reaction to the radioactive spider bite, leaving him in a coma. Because of this, they are out of their house when is burgled by the thief that killed Ben in the main universe. Peter transforms into Man-Spider and attacks Uncle Ben and Aunt May, but is thwarted by Spider-Man Noir. Six-Armed Spider-Man creates a cure for Peter, allowing him to live a normal life with Ben and May.[19]
The Earth-3145 version of Ben Parker was isolated in Ezekiel's bunker after Earth is decimated by nuclear fallout. Ben is later found by Silk, Spider-Man and the other Spider-Men when arrive while fleeing from the Inheritors.[20] Ben received his powers when he accompanied Peter to the science demonstration and was bitten by the spider instead of his nephew. Ben retired out of grief after his foe the Emerald Elf discovered his identity and killed his May and Peter. After entering Ezekiel's bunker upon being told about the Inheritors, his Earth was decimated when a nuclear blackmail plot by Otto Octavius went wrong. Although he initially declines to join the other Spiders in their final attack on the Inheritors, Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man convince him to do so by arguing that he has only failed if he gives up, Peter in particular affirming that the advice of his own Uncle Ben has saved his world and made a difference every day.[21] He subsequently works with Spider-Ham to rescue Benjy Parker - the baby brother of Spider-Girl - and take him to another dimension for safety.[22] When the crisis is concluded, Ben accompanies Spider-Girl back to her home dimension, and decides to remain so that he can be the great-uncle that no other Ben Parker has had the chance to become.[23]
Ultimate Marvel[edit]
Ben Parker in Ultimate Spider-Man differs slightly from the original Ben Parker. In the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, Ben Parker is younger than his original counterpart. He is also a former hippie who wears his hair in a ponytail and teaches Peter to be nonviolent. Ben also reminisces about the period he lived on a commune. After Peter Parker went out for a walk, he came home and learned from a police officer that Uncle Ben was murdered.[24] Uncle Ben is seen one last time meeting Peter in the afterlife after his death.
What If?[edit]
Uncle Ben was featured in various issues of What If.
In one reality where May was killed by the burglar instead of Ben, Peter immediately went after the burglar, but accidentally pushed him out of the window of a warehouse during the fight, resulting in Ben taking the blame for the crime to save his nephew. Lacking the moral influence of Ben or the need to stay secret for his aunt, Peter broke out of the orphanage he was sent to and began to defeat criminals for the reward money, matters coming to a head when he nearly killed the Green Goblin in a fight. Attempting to break Ben out of prison, Ben nevertheless convinced him that he had to accept responsibility for his actions, prompting Peter to return to school and form a relationship with Mary Jane after Anna Watson took him in, culminating in Ben helping Peter in his crime-fighting activities after he was released from prison.[volume & issue needed]
In the first "What If" story regarding Spider-Man (named "classic"), it was Aunt May who went downstairs after hearing a noise, not wanting to wake up Ben. The same storyline plays out, with the burglar shooting May and Spider-Man apprehending him in the warehouse. In this story, Ben finds out about Peter's activities as Spider-Man relatively soon, and talks to him about it. Peter explains to him when he donned the costume and why, even telling him about letting the would-be murderer go that very same night he robbed the wrestling register. Peter breaks down, saying how everything was his fault. Ben responds with anger at himself, being weak in not being able to protect "his May". After Peter tells him he did not know and could not have possibly done anything, Ben instantly calms down and tells Peter to follow his own advice. He further inspires Peter to keep being Spider-Man, not because of regret or penance, but to protect and help all those who are weak and in need of help. Ben and Peter form an even closer relationship with Ben offering his support in many of Spider-Man's future battles. Eventually Ben becomes outraged at Jameson's constant smearing of Spider-Man's name, considering it an insult to May's memory. He eventually lets Jameson in on Spider-Man's identity, forcing Jameson in a position he is uncomfortable in as a journalist. He cannot expose Spider-Man without endangering Ben Parker, yet he also does not wish to support vigilantism. Eventually, he finds a middle road and unofficially employs Spider-Man so he can gain inside scoops on crimes being solved in the city. The story eventually ends with Spider-Man saving Bennett Brant and Betty Brant from Doctor Octopus, as well as fighting a Green Goblin who kidnapped Jameson to find out Spider-Man's real identity (having correctly surmised there was a reason Jameson had those inside scoops). At the end of it all, Peter and Ben shake hands with Ben saying they will face all dangers and the future together.[25]
Derailed Alt-Ben Parker[edit]
In an alternate reality shown in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, an alternate reality was witnessed where May died in a random accident, prompting Peter to go into show business with Ben as his agent to make money. Peter's focus on his career prompts him to eventually leave home, simply paying Ben a percentage out of respect for their old relationship rather than any actual concern. This Ben was eventually 'derailed' into the 616 reality by the Hobgoblin of 2211 as part of her plan against the Spider-Men of various eras, leaving him shocked when he witnessed his destroyed house and the still-living May Parker. Confronting her, he ended up in a fight with Jarvis, with whom she at the time has a relationship with, but wandered away in confusion. Lacking direction, Ben wandered into an alleyway where he encountered a shadowy figure who offered him a gun, telling Ben that any action he takes would simply create another universe where he took the opposite action, so he might as well do what felt good. After this Hobgoblin was erased from history by a Retcon Bomb of her own invention, the Spider-Man of 2211 met with what he presumed to be the same Ben Parker to take him back to his own timeline. In a surprise twist, deciding he rather wanted to "stick around for a while", this Ben Parker shoots this future Spider-Man. At the same time, another Ben Parker was shown dead in the alley, meaning one Ben Parker had killed the other and taken his place.[26]
It was revealed that the Ben Parker who had died in the alleyway was the Uncle Ben of the alternate reality, while the Ben Parker who killed Spider-Man 2211 was, in fact, the Chameleon of 2211; the Chameleon had attempted to convince Ben to resort to murder, but Spider-Man correctly guessed that there were no circumstances under which Ben would do such a thing.[volume & issue needed]
"With great power comes great responsibility"[edit]
The thematic and often-quoted (including by the Supreme Court of the United States) Spider-Man phrase with great power comes great responsibility is widely attributed to Uncle Ben. However, in Amazing Fantasy #15, where it first appears, it is not spoken by any character. In fact, Ben has only two lines in the entire comic. The original version of the phrase appears in a narrative caption of the comic's last panel, rather than as spoken dialogue. It reads, "...with great power there must also come -- great responsibility!".[27]
However, later stories and flashbacks that took place when Ben was still alive retroactively made the phrase one of Ben's many homilies he would lecture Peter with. Latter-day reinterpretations of Spider-Man, such as the Spider-Man film and the Ultimate Spider-Man comic, depict Ben as saying this phrase to Peter while he is still alive, in their last conversation. Both the aforementioned adaptations also had Peter lash out at Ben just after he says it, and both also mention his father.
The origins of the phrase pre-date its use in Spider-Man. In 1906, Under-Secretary of the Colonial Office Winston Churchill said, "Where there is great power there is great responsibility"[28] In 1817, member of British parliament William Lamb is recorded saying, "the possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility,"[29] even indicating that it was already a cultural maxim invoked toward government at the time. The sentiment is also attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospel of Luke, "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required."[Luke 12:48]
In other media[edit]
Television[edit]
Uncle Ben appeared in the 1960s Spider-Man television series. He appeared in the episode "The Origin of Spider-Man".
Uncle Ben is mentioned in the 1980s Spider-Man television series. In the episode "Arsenic and Aunt May", the Chameleon (after meeting the relative of the Burglar) escapes from prison and poses as a medium while using technology to make Aunt May seemingly see Ben's ghost.
Uncle Ben appeared in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, voiced by Frank Welker. He appeared in the episode "Along Came Spidey".
Uncle Ben appeared in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by Brian Keith (in "The Menace of Mysterio", "The Mutant Agenda" and the "Spider Wars" series finale). He appeared in the series as a spirit or seen in flashbacks talking to Peter Parker whenever his nephew gets frustrated the tough choices as Spider-Man. In the series finale when Spider-Man had to stop Spider-Carnage from destroying all reality, Spider-Man managed to make contact with an alternate reality of his uncle in a world where Peter Parker was a successful industrialist; realizing that Peter's counterpart in this reality had never failed or had any difficulties in life due to his casual attitude towards the crisis as opposed to Spider-Man or the other counterparts, Peter realized that Ben was almost certainly still alive in this reality if he was alive in any alternate timeline. Thanks to Ben's influence, Spider-Carnage was convinced to stop trying to destroy reality. After Spider-Carnage instead used the reality bomb to create a portal and subsequently committed suicide by entering the portal to end the threat once and for all, Spider-Man and Ben hugged; although they lived in different realities, Ben was proud of his different reality nephew while Spider-Man assured Ben that he will always have him in his own heart.
In Spider-Man Unlimited, Uncle Ben is briefly mentioned in the pilot episode "Worlds Apart" [Part One]. He is also seen in the theme song which Uncle Ben was killed.
Uncle Ben appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Edward Asner. His character remains faithful to the comics. He is featured in Spider-Man's flashback in the episode "Intervention" revealed that Ben was killed while defending May Parker during a break-in at their house by a burglar that Peter Parker selfishly let go earlier that day. After Peter discovered that Ben was murdered by a burglar who broke into the Parker house and stole Ben's car, Peter furiously sought revenge, donning the Spider-Man costume and confronting the burglar in an old warehouse. Spider-Man unmasked his uncle's killer, realizing that it was the same burglar from earlier. After knocking the criminal out and lowered to policeman via web line, Peter vowed to use these spider powers for good and to never put himself before anyone else and to never to let another innocent person come to harm if anything could help it, and remembering his uncle's words: 'With great power there must also come great responsibility'.
Uncle Ben is featured in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series, voiced by Greg Grunberg.[30] His character is loosely based on his Ultimate Counterpart as opposed to his previous versions. In the pilot episodes "Great Power" and "Great Responsibility", Peter Parker recalled that fateful night of his uncle's murder and Nick Fury uses Ben's memory to have Spider-Man join S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of being solo. A picture of Ben is also seen having fun with May Parker and their young nephew. Ben is personally featured in the episode "Strange Days". Nightmare tries to use Spider-Man's failure being unable to save his uncle's life, however, this does not work; Ben actually motivates Peter to defeat Nightmare (something neither Iron Fist nor Doctor Strange was able to do). In the episode "Ultimate Deadpool", Spider-Man remembers his uncle's memory when thinking about Deadpool's own demons. The character is occasionally referenced in Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six primarily as May's source of Ben Reilly's name. The episode "Return to the Spider-Verse" Pt. 2 features a Wild West reality version of Uncle Ben (voiced by Clancy Brown[31]) who is depicted as the "Phantom Rider" and Webslinger the Spider Cowboy's uncle. As Doc Ock Holliday's brainwashed Deputy, the Phantom Rider helped repelled Wolf Spider and later fought both Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid. Although unaffected by Kid Arachnid's venom blasts, Spider-Man and Webslinger eventually were able to defeat Doc Ock Holliday. Upon Doc Holliday's defeat, Ben was freed from the brainwashing and remanded Doc Ock Holliday to the hoosegow while reclaiming his Sheriff title. As Sheriff Ben and Webslinger are reunited, Spider-Man gets a final look at Sheriff Ben before departing to the next reality, quietly hopeful that one reality has Ben still alive.
Uncle Ben appears in Spider-Man, voiced by Patton Oswalt.[32]
Film[edit]
In the Spider-Man film series, Ben Parker is portrayed by Cliff Robertson and his character remains relatively faithful to the comics, including his being shot by a criminal Peter failed to stop (although in the comics he was shot trying to defend May during a break in at their house and in the film he was shot during a carjacking).
He appeared in the first film as a father figure for Peter. The amiable Ben is laid off from his job as a chief electrician after 35 years and worries about his nephew's strange behavior. His words of wisdom ('With great power comes great responsibility') eventually inspire Peter to become Spider-Man. Losing his temper during this speech, Peter tells him to stop acting like his father, hurting his feelings badly. Later that night, Ben is apparently shot dead by a thief, Dennis Carradine, whom Peter refused to stop when he was cheated out of his money. Peter and his aunt greatly mourn his death, particularly Peter, who is haunted by the fact that he could have stopped Carradine and saved his uncle. By the end of the film, Peter has accepted Ben as the father figure of his childhood.
The second film features a sequence where Peter contemplates giving up his Spider-Man identity to Ben who, in the flashback, is a physical representation of the entity and ideology of Spider-Man, encouraging Peter to continue on as a superhero. Also, Peter admits the truth surrounding Uncle Ben's death to Aunt May. She is shocked and upset at first, but later commends Peter for telling her the truth.
Robertson reprises his role in a flashback scene (as well as a dream sequence) in the third film. In the film, Captain George Stacy tells Peter and Aunt May of new evidence that suggests Carradine was only an accomplice of Flint Marko, who was Uncle Ben's real killer; Peter then imagines Marko throwing Ben out of the car and gunning him down in cold blood while Carradine desperately tries to stop Marko before driving off. Robertson appears again at the end of the film during a more accurate flashback, as Marko explains to Peter that he only wanted Ben's car, since Marko needed to steal money to help his critically ill daughter Penny. However, Carradine startled Marko and caused him to accidentally pull the trigger when Ben was trying to reason with him. This somewhat shocked Marko, as he feels extremely remorseful for killing Ben. Realizing how desperate Marko is to help his own daughter and understanding the importance of forgiveness over revenge, Spider-Man forgives Marko and allows him to go free.
Martin Sheen portrays Uncle Ben in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man. Though his character still remains faithful to the comics, the manner of his murder is drastically different. Following an argument with Peter which results in Peter storming out, Ben leaves to find his nephew and encounters a thief who has just raided a grocery store where Peter was shopping but who Peter refused to stop when he did not provide enough money to pay for a drink. The thief trips over and drops his gun. Ben tries to get the gun first, but a struggle ensues and Ben is killed. Unlike the comics, Ben's killer remains at large.
The screenwriter for Spider-Man: Homecoming, John Francis Daley, confirms that Uncle Ben exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe despite never being referenced directly in the film (though Peter does mention that Aunt May's been through a lot lately which was an intentional nod to the character). In an earlier draft of the film, May mentions that Peter's wardrobe for homecoming was Ben's clothing, but it was cut out because the screenwriters didn't want his death to be a throwaway line.[33]
Video games[edit]
Uncle Ben is mentioned in the first 3 missions, "Search for Justice," "Warehouse Hunt," and "Birth of a Hero" in the 2002 Spider-Man video game, as Peter Parker attempts to track down Ben's killer.
Uncle Ben is briefly mentioned at the end of Spider-Man 3.
Uncle Ben's Noir version is mentioned by Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions when going after the Vulture (that universe's killer of Uncle Ben).
Uncle Ben makes an appearance in the prologue of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, voiced by Mark Bramhall. The tutorial starts off showing the event that lead to his death. After that, he is referenced throughout the game by Peter Parker, Aunt May, and Stan. Around the end of the game, Stan tells Peter that Ben would've wanted him to grow up to be the man that he wanted Peter to be.
Franklin Richards' Uncle Ben[edit]
Franklin Richards of the Fantastic Four often refers to Benjamin Grimm, the Thing, as "Uncle Ben" (Grimm is the best friend of Franklin's father Reed Richards). Franklin Richards and Peter Parker also have the same middle name, Benjamin, as the Thing and Ben Parker are their namesakes. Spider-Man is aware of this, and told Franklin, "Uncle Bens are always right."[34]
Son of Spider-Man[edit]
In The Amazing Spider-Man #498-500, Spider-Man falls through time, encountering all of his enemies from the past, and sees himself in the future. The future Peter Parker tells him that he should tell Mary Jane Watson and their son that he loves them every day. "Our son is called Ben", he says, "but it would pretty much have to be, wouldn't it?" However, because of the way time-travel in the Marvel universe works, it should be noted that this is only a potential future, not necessarily a definite one (This future being even more unlikely after the events of One More Day).
The Other Uncle Ben[edit]
Main article: Spider-Girl
Like her father, Spider-Girl also has an Uncle Ben. However, unlike her dad, May never knew her uncle: Ben Reilly, Spider-Man's clone. If Spider-Girl has any children in the future, they too would have an Uncle Ben - May's baby brother. Ironically in the aftermath of Spider-Verse, the Earth-3145's Ben Parker himself would stay on her world, and has a chance to be his grandfather, something that the other Ben Parkers were unable to achieve on account of their deaths.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Philip Tallon (2012). Sanford, Jonathan J., ed. Spider-Man and Philosophy: The Web of Inquiry. John Wiley & Sons. p. 86.
^ Jump up to: a b The Clone Conspiracy #3
^ Jump up to: a b The Clone Conspiracy #4
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #519. Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #600 (2009). Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #516. Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man 2005 Marvel Comics.
^ Jump up to: a b Stan Lee (w), Steve Ditko (a). "Spider-Man!" The Amazing Spider-Man 15 (August 1962), Marvel Comics
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #200 Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #500 Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ Incredible Hercules #130 Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4 1.6 Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ The Clone Conspiracy: Omega
Jump up ^ Bullet Points #1 (2006) Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ Spider-Man: House of M #5 Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ Spider-Man Noir #2 Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ Edge of Spider-Verse #4 (2014)
Jump up ^ Edge of Spider-Verse #5 (2014)
Jump up ^ Spider-Verse Team-Up #1 (2014)
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #12 (2015)
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #13 (2015)
Jump up ^ Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #14
Jump up ^ Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #15
Jump up ^ Brian Michael Bendis (w), Mark Bagley (a). Ultimate Spider-Man #1-3. Marvel Comics.
Jump up ^ What If? #46 (classic vol.7)
Jump up ^ Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #13
Jump up ^ The Evolution of the Pithy Proverb: “With great power comes great responsibility.” at Quote/Counterquote. Accessed April 11, 2013
Jump up ^ South African native races. Mr. Winston Churchill, accessed July 31, 2015.
Jump up ^ Parliamentary Debates, edited by Thomas C. Hansard
Jump up ^ "Strange". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 1. Episode 13. July 8, 2012. Disney XD.
Jump up ^ "Return to the Spider-Verse Pt. 2". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 4. Episode 17. September 3, 2016. Disney XD.
Jump up ^ https://techiegamers.com/2387-2/
Jump up ^ Mueller, Matthew. "Uncle Ben Confirmed For The Marvel Cinematic Universe".
Jump up ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #660 Marvel Comics.
External links[edit]
Uncle Ben at Marvel.com
Uncle Ben's Profile at Spiderfan.org
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