and her children. Arvay, therefore, desires to occupy a higher social status by deriving privilege form her race. Throughout the novel, Arvay begins to appreciate her increasing social status. Literary scholar Laura Dubek argues that Arvay's benefits from Black labor; Jim's association with the Colored Town is how he manages to gain his wealth. Indeed, Joe and Corragio are the ones that aid Jim in accumulating the Meserve's wealth, though neither of them would be able to occupy the class that Jim and Arvay do. Critical reception Seraph on the Suwanee was less of a hit than her previous novels and received mixed reviews from critics. On October 31, 1948, Frank G. Slaughter remarked positively in the New York Times newspaper on Hurston's portrayal of Arvay as a "Florida cracker of the swamps," noting that her writing was a "mixture of excellent background drawing." Anne Whitmer writing in September of the same year, once again complimenting Hurston's use of "colorful Florida 'cracker' language", these praises highlight the way in which Hurston often used dialect in her novels. However, Hurston's novel also received backlash. At the time of its publication, she was coping with false accusations regarding the assault of two young boys, and the sexual themes in the novel were used as evidence against her. Critics also bashed the "melodramatic ending." Contemporary critics such as Cheryl A. Wall criticize Hurston's dry portrayal of Arvay compared to her other female characters in previous novels. Controversy Following the publication of Seraph on the Suwanee, Zora Neale Hurston was falsely accused of sexually abusing two young boys. At the time, Hurston had been away in Honduras and denied the allegation. Despite this, newspaper syndicates continued to smear her name. The overtly sexual and provocative nature of Seraph was used as evidence of Hurston's proclivities. Purportedly, Seraph "advocated for sexual aggressiveness in women" and scenes were taken out of context in order to further accuse Hurston. Although the allegations were proven false, the damages done to her, particularly by the salacious and blatantly false articles published in the Baltimore Afro-American, destroyed her career. References Further reading 1948 American novels African-American novels Novels by Zora Neale Hurston Novels set in Florida Florida cracker culture Charles Scribner's Sons books