In our class discussion on Friday, we discussed whether or not Hurston’s use of the southern black dialect in the character’s manner of speech can be considered offensive and insulting. Having read the first two chapters of the book, I don’t find her use of the dialect contemptuous in any way. Rather, I feel that it is an important element to the story: the story takes place in rural Florida and the characters who have been introduced to us so far are all African-Americans, and therefore dialect adds a sense of reality to the story, making the characters more easy to grasp and envision. Had Hurston not used the dialect in the characters’ speech (but instead written them as she did the narration), the story would have been very awkward, and the characters would have appeared fake. For example, Nanny’s story of her youth (”Ah was born back due in slavery so it wasn’t for me to fulfill my dreams of whut a woman oughta be and to do…”) would have made no sense at all if it were told in normal speech.