Where does one find identity? Some find their identity in the people they surround themselves with, how they live their life, and others find it in culture and race. In "How it Feels to Be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston, there is a new perspective of identity shown through her experiences. She was born in 1881 and wrote this piece in 1928; although dated, it 's ideas are still prevalent in society. Hurston as an author is greatly influenced by her native community. She walks through her transition from Jacksonville to Eatonville and reflects on how her outlook of the world and of herself change. Hurston addresses the issue of racism and how it plays into identity, specifically the internal and external factors affecting identity such as
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Throughout this essay, Hurston says that she does "not always feel colored" (Hurston 1111). She means that she is more aware of her color when she is against a "white background" and "when covered by waters...the ebb but reveals me again" (1111). Despite being more aware of the stark contrast of skin color, Hurston recovers from any discomfort and revels in herself. She also says she is a "brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall...in company with other bags, white, red and yellow" (1112). Hurston uses metaphors such as these to show just how out of place she is with this racial divide, which appeals to ones sense of logic and emotion, specifically to consider the how self awareness affects ones view of the world and oneself. Her identity is much deeper than the color of her skin and she states that "at certain times I have no race, I am me" (1112). What defines her, …show more content…
Hurston lived in Eatonville, Florida which was primarily made up of African Americans (1109). She did not know a lot about segregation and how it affected people of color due to the fact that her main contact with white people were when they passed through the town (1109). Hurston says that when she left her town she "was not Zora of Orange County anymore she was now a little colored girl" (1110). It did not matter who she was, any assumption was entirely based on her race. Racial segregation shaped American culture and still does so today. This segregation is still extremely prevalent and is highlighted when she pointed out that "someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves" (1110). Despite the fact that the Civil War was a long time ago, those prejudices were never fully released, but instead mutated into stereotypes and snap judgements of people based on their race or culture. Those snap judgements mean that certain people "shall get twice the praise or twice as much blame" (1111). If these judgements or stereotypes do not diminish, tensions will continue to rise until it leads to a cataclysmic
Throughout this essay, Hurston says that she does "not always feel colored" (Hurston 1111). She means that she is more aware of her color when she is against a "white background" and "when covered by waters...the ebb but reveals me again" (1111). Despite being more aware of the stark contrast of skin color, Hurston recovers from any discomfort and revels in herself. She also says she is a "brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall...in company with other bags, white, red and yellow" (1112). Hurston uses metaphors such as these to show just how out of place she is with this racial divide, which appeals to ones sense of logic and emotion, specifically to consider the how self awareness affects ones view of the world and oneself. Her identity is much deeper than the color of her skin and she states that "at certain times I have no race, I am me" (1112). What defines her, …show more content…
Hurston lived in Eatonville, Florida which was primarily made up of African Americans (1109). She did not know a lot about segregation and how it affected people of color due to the fact that her main contact with white people were when they passed through the town (1109). Hurston says that when she left her town she "was not Zora of Orange County anymore she was now a little colored girl" (1110). It did not matter who she was, any assumption was entirely based on her race. Racial segregation shaped American culture and still does so today. This segregation is still extremely prevalent and is highlighted when she pointed out that "someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves" (1110). Despite the fact that the Civil War was a long time ago, those prejudices were never fully released, but instead mutated into stereotypes and snap judgements of people based on their race or culture. Those snap judgements mean that certain people "shall get twice the praise or twice as much blame" (1111). If these judgements or stereotypes do not diminish, tensions will continue to rise until it leads to a cataclysmic