Analysis Of Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston

At first glance most people only see the coloring of another's skin, but some chosen few are able to look beyond this predesigned outlook and see simply people. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and short essay, How It Feels To Be colored Me, she discusses what it mean to discover one's color. Hurston does this through her characters in her novel, stating her views on race in her short essay, and by accepting her differences. Hurston was a revolutionary author, and saw the world in a way that was far beyond her time. Many of Hurston’s thoughts about the world can be seen through her character Janie. Similar to how Hurston grew up, Janie did not see herself as black, and was unaware of her racial identity. It takes a picture being taken of her and her master's children to realize that she was different. “Ah couldn’t recognize dat dark chile as me… ‘Aw, aw! Ah’m colored!’” Janie never saw herself as different from the

“A white person is set down in our midst, but the contrast is just as sharp for me.” Hurston may be able to look beyond the color of individuals, but she still recognized people's differences. She recounts a time where her and a white individuals were at a restaurant together. As the band played Hurston responds vigorously to the music by dancing along with the piece. When it ends she claims to “creep back slowly into the veer we call civilization” while the white individual who was with her has remained “sitting motionless in his seat, smoking calmly.” Hurston accepts everyones differences and celebrates her own throughout her life. She uses a brown bag analogy to alluded to the connection that everyone has, regardless of color. “Pour out the contents, and there is discovered a jumble of small, things priceless and worthless.” Hurston recognized that everyone had a part to play, despite their