zora neal hurston
In her 1928 essay, "How It Feels to be Colored Me," Zora Neale Hurston meticulously understates the hardships of being black. Among many occupations held by Hurston, she was that of an anthropologist who studied the origin, behavior, social, and cultural development of humans. Hurston was not justifying the stereotypes of being Colored. Throughout "How It Feels to be Colored Me" she provides opportunities to use being Black as a method of empowerment as opposed to an aspect of tragedy. Hurston illustrates how she used whites for entertainment just as they did her; she points out the power and beauty of womanhood outside of race, and later states the controversial theory that slavery was the price paid for civilization. During a time when Blacks would hardly approach white people, Hurston found it most amusing to not only entertain them but to be a recipient as well. Hurston was immerged in a Negro community so white tourists were quickly noticed when traveling. Rather than cautiously watching them from a distance, as the majority did, Hurston delighted herself in being the head of the welcoming committee. She would wave, salute, sing and dance around on her front porch, which she refers to as her "gallery seat," until
Hurston was focused on the opportunity supplied by her ancestors and believed they wanted her to continue to reap the benefit of their struggles. She studied people physically, socially, and culturally. This is pivotal because this was a generation of "sobbing" Negroes that were closed minded to the world around them. She grabbed hold of the fact that she was not hindered by slavery but was at a better advantage. It was a missed attempt to challenge Blacks to think beyond the chains of slavery. Not at all, she merely was stating slavery was a part of the past, not the future. Granted, many Blacks are discriminated against sometime in their life, but to Zora, it was "astonishing" that any would "deny themselves the pleasure of" her company. Being strong comes from what is within the paper bags as opposed to what color the bags are, as illustrated by Hurston in her essay. " It was a powerful move from Hurston that represented a give and take relationship between the Black and White races. " Hurston expressed the opinion that without slavery, the Civil War would never had been, without the War, the Reconstruction period would never have existed. She is an "eternal feminine," not a race nor color. Also, in her essay she challenges Black women to step out of their race, envision themselves with the cosmos. She simply went "a piece of the way" with these tourists and she reaped the rewards. " As mentioned, Zora Neale Hurston was an anthropologist. Without the Reconstruction period, the freed slaves would have never had the opportunity to obtain an education.
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Acceptance Essays
