How It Feels To Be Colored Me By Zora Neale Hurston Analysis

In the essay “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, author Zora Neale Hurston writes to an American audience about having maturity and self-conscious identity while being an African American during the early 1900’s through the 1920’s Harlem Renaissance. Hurston expresses and informs her audience about how she does not see herself as a color, and instead sees herself as all she is made up of on the inside. Her primary claim is that she is not “tragically colored” and she should not have a single care about how the world reminds her of how she should act about her race. Her essay chronicles her personal experiences in being an unapologetically colored woman and creates the argument that she should not ever feel self-pity for being black. She utilizes her personal anecdotes and weaves them with metaphors, analogies, and rhetorical questions in order to create an immersive experience for the reader. Furthermore, Hurston engages the reader with her slightly sarcastic, strong, and blissfully positive tone effectively creates a way with words that communicate her claims in an entertaining way.

Hurston stays who she is, no matter what people might think of her. In her non-fiction text she especially manages to convey this by using Humor, that creates Ethos within the text. The first words of “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” include “I am the only Negro in the Unites States whose grandfather on the mother’s side was not an Indian chief”, in which Hurston makes fun of all the Afro-Americans at the time who were trying to claim Native American heritage. This start into the text creates a lighthearted atmosphere, in which the author acknowledges her less than perfect living circumstances, but showing that she will not crumple beneath them. Before being sent to a racially mixed boarding school in Jacksonville, Zora Hurston lived in a town in Florida. She always welcomed white tourists looking at their town and states that she was “the first welcome-to-our state Floridian”, hoping “the Miami Chamber of Commerce will please take notice”. Of course, at the time, it was impossible to involve the government in a personal wit, so the author uses the sarcastic information to show the reader that she would live her life no matter what the social norms might have been in the 1920s. In the second half of her text, Hurston includes the Irony “How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me”, showing that she knows that some people would view her as being socially unacceptable, however Hurston does not care, as long as she can stay true to her own character. Through the humorous tone created, the reader acknowledges that Hurston is light hearted and sympathizes with her

When she was young, Zora was already full of who she was, with strong hints of the amazing person she would become. She did not notice the differences between the racial societies. Her hometown, of Eatonville, FL., was an all black community. She felt the only difference between the whites and the blacks were the whites did not live in Eatonville. They would only pass through on their way to Orlando. She appointed herself as the person to greet

Zora Neale Hurston was one of many authors who left an impact on society, particularly black America. During the 1920’s, women were looked at as submissive and did not have many rights. She gave women a voice. Zora Neale Hurston is a remarkable author who reflects her life in most of her writing. She was a writer during the Harlem Renaissance Era. After much success, she was acknowledged as “Queen of the Harlem Renaissance.” Her literary work was not given proper recognition in the beginning because she chose to write things in a different perspective than the normal political mindset dealing with race. Hurston explored women empowerment and feminism in her writing. Hurston developed very strong, resilient women, but were placed in a

When she was thirteen and left Eatonville and arrived in Jacksonville, Florida with her family for school she was no longer Zora of Orange County she was now a little colored girl. Although she was taken aback by this realization of the nation she lived in she says “There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul nor lurking behind my eyes.” …. “The world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less.” This young girl understands her placement in history that her ancestors have braved that battle that has made her into an American out of a potential slave, “ON the line” (on your marks). The children’s of those slaves who began the movement began the reconstruction of the nation’s legislation saying to their children “Get SET!” with the generation prior to Zora’s bellowing out “GO!” she acknowledges her “flying start must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep.” Zora is taking what has been given to her and running with taking new meaning to creating a better life in America. She’s describes the position of the white man as being much more difficult. Describing her responds to jazz music in relation to that of a Whiteman who didn’t feel what she felt and heard but the white man only heard it. Giving the remark “Good music they have hear” while drumming the table. This is reference the trials and tribulation the African people of America have gone through in comparison. If your skin pigmentation was of a

One of Hurston’s stories, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, reflects the author’s perspective of the colored race (specifically herself). According to the story, when Hurston reached the age of thirteen, she truly “became colored” (1040). The protagonist was raised in Eatonville, Florida, which was mainly inhabited by the colored race. She noted no difference between herself and the white community except that they never lived in her hometown. Nevertheless, upon leaving Eatonville, the protagonist began losing her identity as “Zora,” instead, she was recognized as only being “a little colored girl” (1041). Hurston’s nickname “Zora” represents her individuality and significance; whereas, the name “a little colored girl” was created by a white society to belittle her race and gender (1041).

     Zora Neale Hurston was a phenomenal woman. At the height of her success she was known as the “Queen of the Harlem Renaissance.” She came to overcome obstacles that were placed in front of her. Hurston rose from poverty to fame and lost it all at the time of her death. Zora had an unusual life; she was a child that was forced to grow up to fast. But despite Zora Neale Hurston’s unsettled life, she managed to surmount every obstacle to become one of the most profound authors of the century.

How It Feels to be Colored Me is an essay by Zora Neale Hurston published in the World Tomorrow on May 1928. In the essay she describes her first experience with racism. The purpose of the piece is to show self-confidents and pride in her identity. She shows the reader the positives of embracing your identity and not letting society affect your true selves. Stating “I’m not ashamed to be colored.” (pg.416), meaning that no matter what anyone saying about her being black, she still has pride in herself.

Racism is widespread amongst America today, it affects the way one thinks about others. Zora Hurston was different from many black authors during the Harlem Renaissance period. She did not portray African American as victims of oppression and racist attitudes held by the white society. Blacks were instead represented as self- governing human beings, proud of the way in which they lived their folk culture. Hurston learned that there were many opportunities that were granted to the community in which she resided in.

The contrast is created by the remark that the white person makes: "Good music they have here." Where the music has driven Zora to these inner feelings, the white person can only sit and admire the music itself. He can get no further meaning out of it as Zora has.

In a blog post titled “How It Feels To Be Colored Me,” Zora Neale Hurston comes off to the reader as an outgoing young woman who is curious about the world around her. During her time in Eatonville, Hurston was fortunate to have not experienced segregation, which was sweeping the South. Moving to Jacksonville changed all of what Hurston thought she knew and left her to adapt to a new lifestyle that she was not excited for. Hurston remained strong, even if it was internally, similar to the character Janie in “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Janie is a few years older than Hurston when her Nanny arranges her marriage with Logan Killicks. After he treats her like an object to put to work, Janie finds the strength to leave her unfulfilling marriage

Paragraph: Published in during the 1900s, at a time when being colored was considered unbeneficial, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” depicts Hurston’s audacious (for the time) pride in being an African-American woman. In order to emphasize her thesis, she employs pathos and figurative

Zora Neale Hurston’s “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” can be interpreted as a reverse response of W. E. B. DuBois’ concept of “double consciousness” that he describes in “The Souls of Black Folk.” Hurston shows that not all African Americans experience a sense of double consciousness and that some are instilled with the self confidence required to embrace one’s “blackness.” First, it may be helpful to define consciousness before attempting to explain the notion of double consciousness. Consciousness is defined as the state of being mentally aware of something: oneself, in this essay. Therefore, we can now define double consciousness as the state of an individual being mentally aware of “two selves”: one as you see yourself and the second as

Racism is a deeply ingrained problem in our social systems. Even though we publicly denounce racism, it still continues to be an issue in our everyday lives. We choose to be ignorant of racism 's influence until we see people affected by it on the news or in person. Even then, rarely do we choose to act upon what we see. The United States may have come a long way to completing Martin Luther King Jr 's dream, but our biases are still a prominent issue today.

Racism has been a notable part of the American society for centuries. While the colonists raise their voices for freedom, meanwhile, they are in feared of losing their slaves. With this mindset, an individual considered one life to be worth more than another due to their skin colors, this contributed greatly to the racial segregation and tension in America. Up to now, in the 21st century, racism is still prominently part of the United States, as people are protesting all over the nation over white police officers brutally toward black citizens. Even with all of the ethical, societal, and technological advancement our country has recognized, racism continues to be, and remains to be a problem in our nation today.