Zora Neale Hurston The Gilded Six Bits Analysis

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The early 1900s in the United States saw a continued polarization of class and race. While The Industrial Revolution had created opportunity for many, and extreme wealth for a privileged few, this prosperity was heavily distributed among White America; the majority of Black Americans were still mired in poverty in the southern states. The abolition of slavery did not bring the equal rights and boundless opportunity for Black Americans that they had hoped for; instead it brought disillusionment and struggle. Similarly, the end of World War II saw a parallel of disillusionment begin to emerge among the youth of White America. These parallels grew into two very distinctly different American Literary genres. The one“Finding that their elders …show more content…

Zora Neal Hurston’s 1933 “The Gilded Six Bits” is a seemingly innocent slice of life story about a young married black couple. Hurston boldly displays Missie May as real woman whose “...stiff young breasts thrust forward...like broadbased cones with the tips lacquered in black” (594). Hurston uses playful colloquial dialogue to establish a sweet, loving relationship between Joe and Missie May. “Missie May, take yo’ hand out mah pocket!” “Ah ain’t, Joe, not lessen you gwine gimme whateve’ it is good you got in yo’ pocket…” (595). The couple live, work, and play with childlike joy until a gold-laden stranger comes to town. Otis D. Slemmons has “a five-dollar gold piece for a stick-pin and...a ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain and his mouf is jes’ crammed full of gold teethes” (596), given to him by Chicago white women. Joe feels inadequate. Missie Mae sleeps with Otis to get a gold piece for Joe’s watch chain. Joe catches the two in bed. The sweet bond between them is broken. The “gold” piece turns out to be a gold-plated four bit piece. Missie Mae was fooled; she traded in something real, pure, and honest, for something superficial and fake- gilded like the Gilded

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