Identity in James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village” and Zora Neale Hurston’s “How it Feels to be Colored Me”
Everyone has a story, a past experience that has built them up to be the person
that they are today. In both James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village” and Zora Neale
Hurston’s “How it Feels to be Colored Me” the presence of conflicting views in their
stories holds a large impact on how they later develop as individuals. While Baldwin’s piece demonstrates the ignorance from society which is projected onto him from Swiss villagers, it shares both similarities and differences to the attitudes demonstrated in Hurston’s piece influenced by her surroundings. Being that it is difficult to escape the past and the events that have brought strength through triumph, it is important to focus one’s attention on the present and into the future. Although the past determines who an individual is, the future determines who an individual will become.
James Baldwin holds the ability to push through negative affiliations in order to
reach self establishment. As demonstrated in “Stranger in the Village,” Baldwin is simply just a black man who “was motivated by the need to establish an identity” (196). Through his desire of recognition as a human being rather than as an object, Baldwin is willing to look past the ignorance of the Swiss villagers and focus on defining himself. Greeted by the children’s calls of “Neger! Neger!,” Baldwin unintentionally finds himself reminiscing (191). Although the children’s label is not meant in a derogatory fashion, it causes Baldwin to surrender to the racial indifference of his past. Baldwin attempts to disregard his unpleasant reflection and justify the fact that change has been made. ...
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...experiences and refocus his or
her energy toward the future, however, through the works of both James Baldwin and
Zora Neale Hurston, it is shown to be possible. Through their experiences they worked to
develop their identities, and through the present they looked toward the future in order
to reach establishment. It is true that everyone has a story; however, it is up to each
individual to take that story and make it his or her own by creating an identity for him or
herself.
Works Cited
Baldwin, James. “Stranger in the Village.” The Norton Reader. Ed. Linda H. Peterson
and John C. Brereton. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2004. 360-68.
Hurston, Zora N. ""How It Feels to Be Colored Me." Grammar and Composition -
Homepage of About Grammar and Composition. Web. 08 Dec. 2009.
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Hurston’s juxtaposition of the dreams of men in contrast to the dreams of women is signified by the movement from concrete imagery to abstractions. She describes men’s dreams as cargo on a ship which is at the mercy of the tide, while women’s dreams are likened to memory, which can be controlled. Her deliberate choice to contrast the way that men and women dream affects the reader by immediately raising the issue of the differences of perception between the two genders. The purpose of this comparison is to immediately prompt the reader to realize a fundamental difference between men and women by using imagery they can relate to. The difference is also one of the novels thematic concerns: women are proud and defiant, they can control their wills and chase their dreams while men never really reach for their dreams. This is symbolized by men’s dreams on a ship; dreams for men either come to them or leave them, like a ship. A ship is
Reuben, Paul P. PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Chapter 10: James Baldwin (1924-1987). 3 November 2011. April 2012 .
Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son.” 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.
Ethnic group is a settled mannerism for many people during their lives. Both Zora Neale Hurston, author of “How It Feels to Be Colored Me; and Brent Staples, author of “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” realize that their life will be influenced when they are black; however, they take it in pace and don’t reside on it. They grew up in different places which make their form differently; however, in the end, It does not matter to them as they both find ways to match the different sexes and still have productivity in their lives.. Hurston was raised in Eatonville, Florida, a quiet black town with only white passer-by from time-to-time, while Staples grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, surrounded by gang activity from the beginning. Both Hurston and Staples share similar and contrasting views about the effect of the color of their
When identifying the common theme of Baldwin’s short stories “Sonny’s Blues” and “Going to Meet the Man”, it is clever to first distinguish the writing style of this creative author. Baldwin was a famous writer of his period because of the way he interpreted reality into a story. Around this point in America, racial tension and self-identity between cultures were at a peak and sparked many different ideas towards Baldwin’s writings. Baldwin intentionally expresses himself through his writings to create a realistic voice to his audience, making the story easy to capture a visual of. In one story in particular, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” Baldwin creates a novel
In ‘How it feels to be colored me’ Neale Hurston opens up to her pride and identity as an African-American. Hurston uses a wide variety of imagery, diction using figurative language freely with metaphors. Her tone is bordering controversial using local lingo.
Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son.” 1995. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.
Robert E. Morsberger. "James Baldwin." Magill Book Reviews. Salem Press, 1998. eNotes.com. 2006. 4 Dec, 2010
element of blackness within Hurston’s story back into the realm of physiology. As such, the
Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son.” 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.
James Baldwin left Harlem and fled to Paris in 1948 to escape uneasy relations including difficulty with his stepfather, financial distress, and problems discovering his sexual identity (Roberts). He escapes to the ?Swiss village? to advance his writing career and, furthermore, find himself as a person....
In “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” Hurston breaks from the tradition of her time by rejecting the idea that the African American people should be ashamed or saddened by the color of their skin. She tells other African Americans that they should embrace their color and be proud of who they are. She writes, “[A socialite]…has nothing on me. The cosmic Zora emerges,” and “I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads” (942-943). Whether she feels “colored” or not, she knows she is beautiful and of value. But Hurston writes about a time when she did not always know that she was considered colored.
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