Written
during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
portrays the self-discovery and confidence of the author, Zora Neale Hurston, despite
her racial identity in a predominantly white community. Acknowledged as one of
the greatest writers of the twentieth-century African American literature, Hurston
recounts the first realization of the connotation behind the pigmentation of
her skin. After moving away from her Negro hometown in Eatonville, Florida to
Jacksonville, she instantly becomes aware of her “colored-ness” as she begins to
distinguish the differences between her and her white peers. She mentions how
she “was not Zora of Orange Country anymore” but “a little colored girl”
(Hurston, 115). However, Hurston remained determined all throughout her life to
not to let her dissimilarity prevent her from staying true to who she really
is.
In the
conclusion of her essay, Hurston illustrates an extended metaphor, drawing
connections as she compares herself with a brown bag filled with a random
assortment of junk. She continues to develop the metaphor across a greater
scope as she describes other people the same way. She goes on to indicate that
if the contents of the bags were to be emptied and refilled, there wouldn’t be
a significant change that would alter the bag entirely. Hurston reminds the
readers that “a bit of colored glass more or less would not matter. Perhaps
that is how the Great Stuffer of Bags filled them in the first place – who knows?”
(Hurston, 117). The “Great Stuffer of Bags,” as Hurston described, represents
God the Creator who may have purposely created the human race this way since
the beginning. The purpose of her analogy as well as her entire essay is to
remind the audience that we must rid ourselves of prejudice and look beyond
another’s race because at the end of the day, none of that matters. The contents
of the brown bag symbolize the same human character that everyone shares
despite the physical differences that may ostracize them.
I
believe that Hurston’s attempt to familiarize each other’s similarities that
may have been previously overlooked was successful. Raising awareness of the
logic behind social equality with the use of her analogies was easier to
register and instill the lesson within ourselves. Despite releasing this essay
in a time period of racial hatred and discrimination, I am sure that her way
with words was widely accepted by the public as she was able to deliver her
influential message to anyone and everyone.
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| Zora Neale Hurston https://www.plainfieldlibrary.info/pdf/Pathfinders/HarlemRenaissance.pdf |
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