Zora Neale Hurston was a Columbia University graduate, and the author of 4 novels as well as more than 50 other works. One of those essays, How it Feels to Be Colored Me, was written during the Roaring Twenties and the Harlem Renaissance, both of which were times of self expression. Hurston describes her life as a colored woman in America, the times when she started to feel like an outcast, and the ways she does not allow her ancestry to limit her present life. For example, she states that, “Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me” (Hurston 115). Even though Hurston’s family members were negatively affected by racism, she continued to live her life without letting that bring her down. Her purpose in writing the piece is to show readers that race, or any other characteristic of a human being, should not define who they are or how they act. Hurston does not let other people’s views of her affect her outlook on life, and attempts to convince her readers to ignore differences rather than single them out. She often utilizes metaphors throughout the essay, allowing her audience to connect to her words no matter their gender or race. The author specifically proves this at the end of her work, when she describes “the jumble in the bags, could they be emptied, that all might be dumped in a single heap” (Hurston 117). At this point in the essay Hurston is describing how, while she sometimes feels discriminated against, she never truly has understood why. When she writes about the brown bags, she is stating that, while the items look different, when they are in the same environment (or in the human case, the same country), each of the objects are equally important. Despite the fact that Hurston did not utilize many rhetorical devices, her frequent use of metaphors successfully helps her audience relate to her story, whether or not they went through the same experiences as she did.
Similar, but Different
This image, from Business Insider Australia, relates to How It Feels to Be Colored Me because the lion, tigers, and monkey all get along, despite the fact that they are different animals. Similarly, in How it Feels to Be Colored Me, Zora Neale Hurston discusses the fact that she tries to ignore any differences between her and her fellow American citizens.
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