How Does Hurston Use Imagery In How It Feels To Be Colored Me

One of the reasons Richard Wright discounts Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is because it is a “kind of minstrel show” that is there to put smiles on the “superior race.” Wright also describes the novel no having any message, thought, or theme besides being a source of entertainment for the white community. However, as the story progresses, Hurston’s novel begins illustrating comparisons of culture between the black and white communities (i.e. violence, patriarchy, femininity, masculinity, and class), in addition to a sense of awareness within the community.

Wright uses a sophisticated style of writing to argue that Hurston fails to exemplify a theme that addresses the Negro life. Instead, he claims that her novel supports the “white audience whose chauvinistic tastes, she knows how to satisfy.”From this, one can assume that Wright probably knows more about her, and severely criticizes her writing style for not having the hardships and the race relations with the whites and the blacks. However Wright is wrong, in the sense that Hurston implies the notion of race relations because she uses the characters Joe and Janie to compare with the townspeople of Eatonville. With Joe’s education, the people of Eatonville are surprised to see and are skeptical that as a black man, he most likely acts as if he is the white man, trying to take control and having this authoritative personae that dominates the town as well as his wife, Janie. For example, in the novel, Hicks states, “It troubled him to get used to the world one way and then suddenly have it turn different. He wasn’t ready to think of colored people in post offices yet. He laughed boisterously.” (39) Hurston is showing that people are always used to this idea that the whites are always in the top, but by rebelling against this idea, Joe, empowers colored men that there are several opportunities in life, and

Conveying strength, empowerment and pride, Hurston explores the discovery of her identity and self-pride. Throughout the essay, Hurston compares herself to other “colored” individuals. Others may be angry or depressed in their stage of life, but Hurston refuses to accept those thoughts and feelings of her own. Contrary to belief, Hurston instead showcases her determination to show an unexpressed pride in herself because she believes that there is nothing “wrong” with her and she is no different than her neighbors.

Zora Neale Hurston during her life was greatly criticized for her forms of writing, in this specific book Hurston depicted the “Negro” as a superior race while the “white” people seem to be extremely nonexistent. Hurston greatly believed in a form of “black power”, although her form in this book tends to be more of a complete representation of the part of the black community as it was till it went out of style and became viewed as illiterate.

She was the only key writer of the Harlem literary movement to carry out a structured study of Afro-American folklore. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, she describes her black identity as a consequent from African heritage. Since her childhood in Eatonville, Hurston was nurtured by vibrant, figurative storytelling. Hurston’s folk pride is very well documented in her portrayal of Eatonville in almost all novels. She observed this little black hamlet as a haven in the race biased US.

Hurston states that she likes herself and comfortable in her own skin which make her to be proud. In the words of Hurston “I do not weep at the world-I am too busy sharping my oyster knife” (Hurston 1041). Which mean that she does not want to think about racism because that make pain for her. Also, she believes that slavery in the past considered the price for the civilization, so she would not look behind and weep. Hurston says that there is no different between the white and the colored and she does not considered herself tragically colored which give her self-pride. She exemplifies what it means to be proud of the heritage, so she does not have any tragically feels to be an American citizen and colored. T

However, Hurston does not let the discrimination and social differences anger her. Hurston address the huge difference that White Americans and African Americans have. Hurston says; “Music. The great blobs of purple and red emotions have not touched him. He has only heard what I felt.

Growing up in Eatonville, Florida, Zora Neale Hurston led a sheltered life from the racism that was rampant in other parts of the country. The town of Eatonville is an important element of the early life that molded her because it was an all-black community. It was run by blacks and was the first all-black town incorporated in the United States (Campbell 1). She saw nothing but successful black people, not suppressed black people. Until she left the town when she was thirteen, she only knew of white people from the ones that were passing through on their way to or from Orlando (Hurston 13). The title of her autobiographical story, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, disguises that Hurston’s strength comes from her individuality and inner-self, not her ethnicity.

Carole Boyce Davies discussion on Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels to be Colored Me” she uses posits Hurston’s proffering to travel “piece of the way” with visitors as new way of thinking about the periphery in academia . Beginning her chapter “Coming to Terms with Theory,” Boyce expresses how outdates and inefficient the current theoretical practices have become. She states that scholars are intellectually trapped by the hierarchical systems within scholarship. Her main critique comes from the reality of upcoming scholars having to laboriously quote Euro-American male scholars in order to establish them within their field. Under this standard what we find is that in the constant referencing of these European scholars the racial and cultural hierarchy of western society is sustained. Boyce suggests that common favoring of European scholarly contributions reinforces structural biases towards the consciousness of those in the periphery. As a result, western epistemology is continues to drive current scholarship through its standardization. And, moreover, is falsely and forcibly applied to the estranged consciousnesses. The standardization of European scholarship places limitations of how the marginal subject can articulate its existence. Barbara Christian’s “The Race for Theory” asks “For whom are we doing what we are doing when we do literary criticism?” Davies would respond to this query by stating that current scholarship is writing to and for the center. Based on

Hurston believes in the necessity of pride in oneself to best interact with others and maintain control over a strong and stable life. To best live that fulfilling life, one must take control of his life and work. A person capable of holding his head up regardless of what happens around him is the starting point for being able to not let anything hurt him. Hurston demonstrates her belief in the necessity of personal pride through her character Janie who “emerges as the racial and sexual victor by taking ownership of her body on her own terms” (Lee 142). Janie, “an idealized projection of Hurston herself,” uses her determination and pride in who she is to stand up for herself and her “racial and sexual” qualities, which she embraces to be her own woman (Beauchamp

The notion of becoming conscious of race is presented early in the essay, as Hurston recounts her childhood in Florida. Hurston describes growing up in Eatonville, Florida, an “exclusively… colored town”, save for white tourists. She depicts reveling in the spotlight of her front porch, telling jokes, greeting people, and entertaining. She perceived almost no difference between herself and the white travelers except that “they rode through the town and never lived there”. However, upon leaving Eatonville and moving to Jacksonville, Hurston’s race becomes the fundamental aspect of her perceived identity:

“How It Feels to Be Colored Me” is an essay in which Zora Neale Hurston

“How It Feels to Be Colored Me” is a narrative essay by Zora Neale Hurston that recounts her experience of having her identity being drastically shifted from her personal self to a nameless colored girl living in a predominantly white society. Hurston uses descriptive language, metaphors, and symbols to help the reader empathize with her experience rather than simply understand it at a factual level. The narrative structure and emotional-perspective style Hurston uses makes the events easy to follow. The following is an in-depth analysis of the literary elements Hurston uses in this piece.

Capturing the essence of the black narrative is task that many attempt, but few truly capture. Two of the most famous writers to get it right in their own way were Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Each writer’s upbringing influenced their depiction of the black experience. Hurston was raised in Eatonville, Florida, a predominately black town where discrimination was rare. Since she had minimal encounters with white people, she was able to capture a black narrative of resilience rather than redemption. Hughes, on the other hand, was born in Joplin, Missouri to an affluent family. Although he was never able to flex that wealth, he still had an ideal of success, which heavily influence his depiction of common black folks. Hughes focuses on common black people who have or haven’t been able to capture the “American” dream, but are finding alternatives of the dream. Two different ideas, yet each writer uses their work to define success and happiness. In this paper, I will argue that Hurston illustrates “common folk” as a resilient people who find success by gaining happiness and comfort in spaces created just for them. I will also assert that Hughes depicts a two sided “common folk” that is defined through their level of success.

Zora Hurston illustrated “Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the grand-daughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me. Slavery is sixty years in the past. The operation was successful and the patient is doing well, thank you. The terrible struggle that made me an American out of a potential slave said ‘On the line!’The Reconstruction said ‘Get set!’; and the generation before said ‘Go!’ I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep”(902). lines:45-50)”. It is evident that Hurston speaks alongside Brooks with feeling pride in being African American. She talks about how people always try to remind her of her ancestors and the past involving slavery and racism, and she makes it very clear that it does not phase her. She has the strong pride of being African American and how to live her current life honoring what her ancestors did rather than sit and sulk. Hurston used the device of an extended metaphor by how she explains how racism does not phase her by connecting the fact of how different generations in the past treated slaves and how far they have come and it is a good thing. The extended metaphor was effective because it allowed a string comparison and a bold highlight of the topic of how slaves were treated versus how African Americans are treated today. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn Brooks reinforces Hurston in her poetry