Cultural Negotiation

The essay “How it feels to be colored me” composed by Zora Neale Hurston introduces metaphors which construct the theme of cultural negotiation. Within the essay the author describes her personal conflict, illustrated by the use of these metaphors, in which she attempts to develop a cultural negotiation relating to her social and cultural encounters. She is not aware of her color until she leaves her home; this allows her to become acquainted with the values attached to her skin color. Through her journey of self-discovery regarding her color, she reveals the true nature of her being and embraces her role as an American despite of her color. This corresponds to the metaphors that are descriptive of Zora’s emotions as she matures as a colored woman during her culture experiences ; therefore, her acceptance as a unique individual and the pride she shares of her skin color, relates to the metaphors that she uses to express her inner being. In other words the metaphors establish the theme of cultural negotiation through the expression of her identity and her experiences as a colored woman which constitutes her tolerance with the outside world.

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However, she does not mind that the townsfolk criticize her actions since she believes that she is “everybody’s Zora” and that she belongs to world. She is captured by a surge of energy which “dance[s] wildly inside [herself]” to which she knows she belongs. She embraces the diversity of cultures with a positive outlook, and realizes that skin color does not separate her from the rest of the world for she is clearly part of it and meant to be part of it. In conclusion to the use of metaphors, Zora negotiates her culture with the rest of the world, her surroundings and her personal circumstances, consequently allowing her to feel that she can be proudly American and strive forth to be a successful black woman to the best of her abilities. As she entertains the tourists by singing and dancing, the townsfolk perceive her behaviour as unacceptable, because they consider it to be degrading to their culture. The contrast which arises between her and her white friend makes her more aware of her color when she is swept away by the melodies of the familiar tunes; however, he remains unaffected by the cultural beats. Zora understands the motive behind their critizism when she is exposed to the outside world for the first time. ”(16) The use of metaphors initiates the concept of urgency for her to negotiate the effect that the real world has on her colored existence. When Zora and her white friend attend a jazz orchestra she experiences the essence of her culture during the glorious sounds of the primitive performance. The metaphorical description of the event is theatrical in which she occupies “a gallery seat” (15) in her “proscenium box” as she observes the characters. She finds

them rather amusing and “not only did [she] enjoy the show, but [she] didn’t mind the actors knowing that [she] liked it”. pass through her exclusive black community as a spectacle and is quite entertained by their gestures as they exchange glances and friendly notions. It is part of her and she is “in the jungle and living in the jungle way” and her “face is painted red and yellow and [her] body is painted blue”. The music engulfs her with the familiar sounds that extend beyond the days of her youth and the borders of her black community.

Zora’s experience in the world outside of her black community contributes to her cultural negotiation which she creates through the use of metaphors describing her emotions as she faces the transition.

Common topics in this essay:
Orange County, Neale Hurston, Stuffer Bags, cultural negotiation, Cultural Negotiation, theme cultural negotiation, theme cultural, colored individual, skin color, black woman, black community, color culture, rest world, cultural negotiation essay, leaves home, aware color,

Approximate Word count = 1230
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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