The role of women in their eyes looked at God and went to tell it on the mountain Historically, the job of women in society is to take care of their husbands, of the home, and the children. As a housewife, it was the wife's responsibility to provide for her husband and take care of the home; as a mother, her role was to care for the children and pass on traditions and cultural values ​​to them. These roles are no different in the African American community, except that they are amplified to even greater proportions. The image of the mother in African American culture is one of guidance, love, and wisdom; Very often, the mother is the formative and driving force of African-American children. This is reflected in African American literature as a special bond of love and loyalty to the mother figure. Just as the role of motherhood in African American culture is amplified and elevated, so too is the role of the wife. Literature reflects this by showing the African American man struggling to make a living for himself and his family with his wife emotionally or physically submissive. Understanding the role of women in the African American community begins by examining the roles of women in African American literature. Because literature is a reflection of the community from which it comes, the representation of women in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952) is consistent with the roles mentioned above. Eyes Were Watching God is a good place to start examining the role of African American women. It is written by a woman, Zora Neale Hurston, and from a woman's point of view. This book examines the relationship between Janie and...... middle of article......Works Cited and ViewedBaldwin, James. Go Tell It on the Mountain (1952). New York: Bantam-Dell, 1952. Bourn, Byron D. "Women's Roles in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and James Baldwin's Go Tell It On the Mountain" Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). : Urbana, IL: U of Illinois P, 1937. Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. "'Tuh from Horizon and Back': The feminine quest in their eyes was looking at God." Modern Critical Interpretations: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.Pondrom, Cyrena N. “The Role of Myth in Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God.” American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202. Williams, Shirley Anne. Before. Their eyes looked at God. By Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Bantam-Dell, 1937..