The author of this piece used an analogy, comparing slavery
to an operation. She wrote, “Slavery is sixty years in the past. The operation
was successful and the patient is doing well,” (Hurston 115). By comparing
slavery to an operation, Hurston showed that she viewed slavery as a thing of
the past, and thought that everything was alright now that slavery had been
abolished. This particular rhetoric device helped show that, as a young girl,
Hurston didn’t understand segregation and the hardships faced by colored
people. It also shows how she didn’t want to look back at the tragic past of
her heritage.
“How It Feels To Be Colored Me” is a
narrative essay in which the author, Zora Neale Hurston explores her colored
identity and pride. In the beginning of her essay, Hurston wrote about how she
didn’t understand that there was any difference between races, and was not
aware of segregation. Later in the essay, Hurston was aware of the social
differences in race, but she did not believe that there was any significant
difference between characters of different race, and that we are all
intrinsically the same. Hurston wrote this essay for the general public, using
a conversational tone to direct develop her points and meanings. Hurston’s
credibility is simply that she was colored, and therefore experienced
segregation and racism firsthand. As a colored person, she was able to identify
and understand that people of her race were given inferior treatment.
“How It Feels To Be Colored Me” was
written in 1928. Even though slavery had been abolished before the author was
born, she still faced the hardships of segregation. Hurston wrote this essay
after understanding that white people believed her inferior due to the color of
her skin.
Hurston’s argument is that all
people are intrinsically the same, regardless of the color of their skin. I
believe that Hurston was able to successfully convey this message, as she
described all people being like paper bags filled with worthless bits and bobs.
They could all be dumped out and refilled, and no one would know the difference.
Hurston wrote, “The bags refilled without altering the content of any greatly”
(Hurston 117). The junk in each bag is all the same, just as the things that
make up each person, regardless of their skin color, is the same.
This image shows paper bags containing random junk,
just as Hurston described people.
No comments:
Post a Comment