Title: How It Feels to Be Colored Me Themes | GradeSaver
Headings: How It Feels to Be Colored Me Themes
How It Feels to Be Colored Me
by Zora Neale Hurston
How It Feels to Be Colored Me Themes
Race as a Social Construct
Performance
Racialized Public Spaces
Rejection of Victimhood

Content: Ultimately, Hurston shows how certain physical spaces contribute to ideas of racial difference, further supporting her belief that racial difference arises out of social contexts and not biology. Rejection of Victimhood
Even though Hurston acknowledges that she sometimes experiences discrimination for her race and that her grandparents were slaves, Hurston rejects the expectation that she should see herself as a victim of racism. Stating that she is "not tragically colored," Hurston seeks to set herself apart from "the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all but about it." Hurston prefers to identify with "the strong" who she sees as excelling in life. Adopting a confidence and optimism about her abilities to make her way in the world, Hurston encapsulates her rejection of victimhood and embrace of ambition in the statement: " I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife." Study Guide Navigation
About How It Feels to Be Colored Me
How It Feels to Be Colored Me Summary
Character List
Glossary
Themes
Quotes and Analysis
Summary And Analysis
Paragraphs 1 – 4
Paragraphs 5 – 7
Paragraphs 8 – 17
Symbols, Allegory and Motifs
Metaphors and Similes
Irony
Imagery
About Zora Neale Hurston's Controversial Place in The Harlem Renaissance
Literary Elements
Essay Questions
Quizzes - Test Yourself! Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Citations
Study Guide
Essays
Q & A
Zora Neale Hurston Biography