The contribution that African Americans had with their culture and art in society combined with the racial issues of that were apparent in the 1920s to the 1930s contributed to the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. From the encyclopedia, the Harlem Renaissance was the establishment of the pride in African Americans because they had such a large effect on society during this era. Between the poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes, and “How It Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston, both poems depict the matter of racial politics however, they each use different methods to exhibit their perspective on the racial politics during their period. In fact, both works has a connection to the Harlem Renaissance, whether it is …show more content…
a direct or indirect affiliation. Hughes’ and Hurston’s differing techniques that illustrate their moderately contrasting perspective of race, specifically through the outlook about race and the form of their works, conclusively affects the content of their compositions. In Langston Hughes’ poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” he writes in a general perspective of someone who is African American. They are talking about historic events describing the foundation of human civilization. For example, “I’ve known the rivers ancient as the world and older than the/flow of human blood in human veins” (2-3). Lines two and three depict his presence in the start of societal development. The poem progresses to discuss the four great rivers, each holding a distinct historical significance. In addition, the poem is similar to storytelling, someone who is discussing their connection to their ancestral roots; therefore, they was present during important historical locations. Another example would be line seven, “I looked upon the Nile and raised pyramids above it” (7). Through Hughes’ choice to portray his views on racial politics by writing about someone spiritually feeling present throughout the occurrence of significant sites, he establishes a prideful attitude in the African community. In other words, because Africans were also present along with the whites throughout history, they are equal and thus, take pride in being African American. On the other hand, the poem by Zora Neale Hurston, is from the perspective of herself.
Hurston did not focus or write on racial politics like the other authors did during the Harlem Renaissance but rather on individualism. She begins the essay by explaining the freedom of her identity before she moved to a different city and changed schools. Then, when she arrived, she was no longer known just by her name. For example, “I was not Zora of Orange County any more, I was now a little colored girl” (33-36). To elaborate, at her new school, Zora Neale Hurston was identified as someone who is colored rather than just by her name. Furthermore, from lines thirty-nine to forty-one, Hurston explains how she is not offended by their treatment and continues to justify how she is still a strong person who does not hold any specific labels to her name. As she states, “I have no separate feeling about being an American citizen and colored.” Although Hurston recognizes the treatment she receives from being colored, she does not let it affect her in negative manner. Moreover, Hurston discusses the pride she has in herself as an individual because she is “…too busy sharpening my [her] oyster knife.” This illustrates how she has other things to worry about which keeps her from dwelling on the treatment she receives from society. Hence, Hurston’s pride in herself goes beyond her race and instead on herself as a
person. The similarity in how Hughes and Hurston epitomize the issue of race is shown through the prideful message in both works. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” the action of being present throughout compelling historical developments exhibits the reasoning behind why they should take pride in being colored. That is to say, even though they were experiencing discrimination during this period, their ancestral background of witnessing the start and development of civilization should be a justification of why the African American community should take pride in itself. Alternatively, Hurston’s essay also discusses the pride she takes in herself even though she was being discriminated at her new school. She emphasizes that just because she was dealing with the injustice or alienation from her peers, she did not let it affect her emotionally. In fact, she mentions multiple times in different ways in her essay about how she did not feel “…tragically colored (39).” Thus, she maintains her pride despite the fact that she faces racial discrimination. Alternatively, another similarity between the two works would have to be their affiliation to the Harlem Renaissance. Although Hughes technically did not write his poetry in relation to the Harlem Renaissance, the overall idea in his work had an overlapping theme with the issues of pride during this period. In fact, even though Hurston wrote her essay during the Harlem Renaissance, she had differing views from the other literary authors and as a result, wrote about the matter of pride and equality that ascends beyond the messages literary works written at this time. In other words, she wrote about the pride to have in one’s self rather than taking pride in the labeled identity that society bestowed upon them. Nevertheless, Zora Neale Hurston’s essay still contributed to the main objective during this movement, which was the establishment of identity and pride. However, although they have similarities in the representation of race and the connection to the Harlem Renaissance, there is also a distinct portrayal of race between Langston Hughes’ and Zora Neale Hurston’s works. While Hughes’ poem focuses on the pride one should take in their race, Hurston’s essay concentrates on looking past race or other specific labels and to focus on being a hard working person and taking pride one’s self. As previously stated, Hughes’ uses historical presence as a foundation of African American nationalism. Also, it was previously mentioned how Hurston’s perception of race differs from the many literally works in this period because her views did not correspond with the other beliefs during the racial segregation in the 1920s. Rather than focusing on race as the foundation of her identity which she should take pride in; she chose to depict how race or any other physical characteristic does not define who she is as a person. Notably, she did not write about historical events or politics, like how the other authors did in the Harlem Renaissance, when writing her essay, which distinguished herself from other literally writers. Not only does Hughes’ and Hurston’s literatures differ in the portrayal of race, but also in the forms of how they decided to write as well. In Hughes’ poem, there is no specific pattern throughout the work. In that case, it is also regarded as a free verse, which means that it is a poem that does not have any rhyming scheme or meter. Throughout the poem, rather than trying to present a story in the general perspective of one’s experience of being colored, Hughes focuses more on the emotions behind the lines. By using the free verse, Hughes has more freedom in how he can convey the emotions. Notably, by focusing on the projection of emotions rather than trying to write a traditional poem about an experience that the reader can relate to, it affects the content of the poem because the manner in which the individual reads the poem correlates to how it is interpreted. For this reason, the free verse structure of the poem amplifies the emotions the poem is trying to invoke rather than having the reader focus on the rhyme schemes. Additionally, the speaker of the poem takes on an older soul who is telling their story to uphold the importance of the presence of colored people in history. As well as trying to appeal to the reader’s emotions, the free verse form also affects the content because the technique Hughes’ uses to present his poem ultimately executes the poem to seem more like a story, as previously noted. In contrast, Zora Neale Hurtson’s essay is in the form of first person. Hurtson’s utilization of the form of an autobiography combined with her use of imagery helps convey her overall theme. Hurston’s choice to write in first person affects the content because the audience is diverging into the story as if they were in Hurston’s shoes; there is no boundary between the emotions being presented. With that being said, the story becomes relatable and the audience gets a better sense of Hurston’s character with the support of imagery as they follow her adventure when Hurston becomes conscious of the allocation of a separate identity given by the community. The audience will feel more inclined to relate to the emotions that Hurston is experiencing at the time. Nonetheless, even if Hurston was distorting some of the details in her essay, the form of first person narrative compels us to believe that all the material exhibited in the autobiography is true. More importantly, if Hurston chose to try to convey the sense of individualistic pride using a third person perspective, it becomes less direct because the audience would have to take extra steps to comprehend the actual emotions that the characters are undergoing throughout the essay. In summation, Langston Hughes’ and Zora Neale Hurston’s works illustrate their dissimilar perception of race. In regards to this, both works share similarities such as, having the sense of pride in themselves. Also, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” has a connection to the Harlem Renaissance. But, even though both the poem and essay are complementary when talking about possessing the sense of pride, they also have some contrasting elements. For instance, Hughes and Hurston share different views when it comes to how they regard race and the style and structure of their works. The significance of the form they chose to utilize has a significant affect with the delivery of the message being conferred.
Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville, Florida also known as “Negro Town” (Hurston, 1960, p.1). Not because of the town was full of blacks, but because the town charter, mayor, and council. Her home town was not the first Negro community, but the first to be incorporated. Around Zora becoming she experienced many hangings and riots. Not only did Zora experience t...
Zora Neale Hurston was, the daughter of a Baptist minister and an educated scholar who still believed in the genius contained within the common southern black vernacular(Hook http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/Zora.html). She was a woman who found her place, though unstable, in a typical male profession. Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida, the first all-incorporated black town in America. She found a special thing in this town, where she said, "... [I] grew like a like a gourd and yelled bass like a gator," (Gale, 1). When Hurston was thirteen she was removed from school and sent to care for her brother's children. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, and then found herself working as a maid for a white woman. This woman saw a spark that was waiting for fuel, so she arranged for Hurston to attend high school in Baltimore. She also attended Morgan Academy, now called Morgan State University, from which she graduated in June of 1918. She then enrolled in the Howard Prep School followed by later enrollment in Howard University. In 1928 Hurston attended Barnard College where she studied anthropology under Franz Boas. After she graduated, Zora returned to Eatonville to begin work on anthropology. Four years after Hurston received her B.A. from Barnard she enrolled in Columbia University to begin graduate work (Discovering Authors, 2-4). Hurston's life seemed to be going well but she was soon to see the other side of reality.
From slavery to the Harlem Renaissance, a revolutionary change in the African American community, lead by poets, musicians and artists of all style. People where expressing their feeling by writing the poem, playing on instruments and many more. According to the poem “ I, Too” by Langston Hughes and article “How it feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurtson, the poem and article connects to each other. The poem is about how a African Man, who sits in the dinning café and says that, one day nobody would be able to ask him to move anywhere, and the in the article written by Zora Neale Hurtson, she describes how her life was different from others, she was not afraid of going anywhere. They both have very similar thoughts,
It is strange that two of the most prominent artists of the Harlem Renaissance could ever disagree as much as or be as different as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Despite the fact that they are the same color and lived during the same time period, they do not have much else in common. On the one hand is Hurston, a female writer who indulges in black art and culture and creates subtle messages throughout her most famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. On the other hand is Wright, who is a male writer who demonstrates that whites do not like black people, nor will they ever except for when they are in the condition “…America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.” Hurston was also a less political writer than Wright. When she did write politically, she was very subtle about stating her beliefs.
Hurston’s “How it Feels to be Colored Me” the presence of conflicting views in their
Both Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes were great writers but their attitudes towards their personal experience as an African American differed in many ways. These differences can be attributed to various reasons that range from gender to life experience but even though they had different perceptions regarding the African American experience, they both shared one common goal, racial equality through art. To accurately delve into the minds of the writers’ one must first consider authors background such as their childhood experience, education, as well their early adulthood to truly understand how it affected their writing in terms the similarities and differences of the voice and themes used with the works “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Hurston and Hughes’ “The Negro Mother”. The importance of these factors directly correlate to how each author came to find their literary inspiration and voice that attributed to their works.
She tell us about her experiences she went through herself while growing up. In her essay she states, "Mixed cultural signals have perpetuated certain stereotypes- for example, that of the Hispanic woman as the "Hot Tamale" or sexual firebrand" (page 105) because she gives us an example how men think a Latina woman is sexy female with an attitude that can be explosive. She did not believe that she should be judge by how society images a Latina, nor how they should act. In Zora Neale Hurston essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" she feels judge when she moves from cities. Zora was a African American living in Eatonville, Florida a little Negro town where she was never judge for the color of skin, yet until she had to move to Jacksonville. She states in her essay, "It seemed that I had suffered a sea change. I was not Zora of Orange County any more, I was now a little colored girl" (page 186). Zora Neale was never judge for the color of her skin in her old town but when she moved to Jacksonville she realized that the world wasn 't how she pictured. She was being treated different for how she looked like. Both essay had the same situation of being judge for their race, yet how their alike their too are
Despite the mindset that most of her peers keep about the inequality of race, she maintains an open mind and declares to the reader that she finds everyone equal. Thus proving herself as a person ahead of her own time. What I feel is truly remarkable about this author is that despite all the scrutiny and anguish that she faces like most of her race at the time she does not take a negative attitude towards white people and she actually chooses to ignore the general racial segregation. Her charming wit and sense of humor despite all the hardship is what attracts the reader. Hurston does not let her social disadvantages stop her from trying to achieve her aspirations and dreams.
“Poetry, like jazz, is one of those dazzling diamonds of creative industry that help human beings make sense out of the comedies and tragedies that contextualize our lives” This was said by Aberjhani in the book Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotation from a Life Made Out of Poetry. Poetry during the Harlem Renaissance was the way that African Americans made sense out of everything, good or bad, that “contextualized” their lives. The Harlem Renaissance, also known as the Black Renaissance or New Negro Movement, was a cultural movement among African Americans. It began roughly after the end of World War 1 in 1918. Blacks were considered second class citizens and were treated as such.
Though her race was a victim of brutal, harsh discrimination, Hurston lived her life as an individual first, and a person of color second. In the narrative “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston says, “The cosmic Zora emerges. I belong to no race nor time. I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads” (Hurston 3). She feels as though an extraordinary form of herself is brought out. This form is not bound by physical traits and is the everlasting woman with the cards she is dealt. The “cosmic Zora” emerging represents the empowered, fearless Zora from Orange County, Florida. When she says that she belongs “to no race nor time”, she means that her race and background do not define who she is as an individual. “The eternal feminine” symbolizes the
Hurston, Zora Neale. “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” Writer’s Presence: A Pool of Readings. 5th ed. Ed. Robert Atawan and Donald McQuade. Boston:Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. 166-170. Print
Hurston does not concern herself with the actions of whites. Instead, she concerns herself with the self-perceptions and actions of blacks. Whites become almost irrelevant, certainly negative, but in no way absolute influences on her
Both essays, How It Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston and Of The Coming of John by W.E.B Du Bois, are two renowned essays that were written during a time of great discrimination against African Americans in the United States. Despite these two essays having different plots and a different set of characters, their experiences are quite similar in many ways. How It Feels to Be Colored Me has to do with the author’s experience as an African American in 20th century America. Zora Hurston was raised in an all black community in Florida, but then left her home at thirteen and moved into Jacksonville. At her new home, she then realized that this new city is a lot more diverse and it was at this time that she began to “feel her race.” At
In conclusion, Hurston was a modernist writer who dealt with societal themes of racism, and social and racial identity. She steps away from the folk-oriented style of writing other African American authors, such as Langston Hughes, and she addresses modern topics and issues that relate to her people. She embraces pride in her color and who she is. She does not hate the label of “colored” that has been placed upon her. She embraces who she is and by example, she teaches others to love themselves and the color of their skin. She is very modern. She is everybody’s Zora.
The poem “Negro” was written by Langston Hughes in 1958, where it was a time of African American development and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. Langston Hughes, as a first person narrator, tells a story of what he has been through as a Negro, and the life he is proud to have had. He expresses his emotional experiences and makes the reader think about what exactly it was like to live his life during this time. By using specific words, this allows the reader to envision the different situations he has been put through. Starting off the poem with the statement “I am a Negro:” lets people know who he is, Hughes continues by saying, “Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.”