Compare And Contrast How It Feels To Be Colored Me And To Kill A Mockingbird

In almost all coming-of-age novels, the main characters often encounter a specific event or series of events that allow them to realize their place in the world. For example, in The Perks of Being of Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie befriends some upperclassmen his freshman year of high school and matures as he struggles to overcome some traumatic childhood memories. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout learns about the real world as well as her own values by observing her father help an African American man find justice in a time where extreme discrimination exists. Both these characters seem satisfied with their life choices. In reality, however, there is rarely a single, definite period where one can pinpoint the moment maturity

I am Chinese-American, but this is only a tiny portion of who I am. In Zora Neale Hurston’s essay, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” she says that she identifies with being black, but she does “not always feel colored” and “at certain times, [she has] no race” (Hurston from Cohen 2014: 187-188). Similarly, I do not feel like I have to be confined to my race. I am simply me. I define myself by my actions and personality, which includes my hobbies and passions and not how I look on the outside. I am friendly and approachable and I try to help others to the best of my abilities. I am also motivated and curious. Sometimes, however, I am not very patient. I can also be very awkward and silly, which are reasons why my close friends describe me as a klutz. Besides my personality, my hobbies and actions are also a part of me. My favorite hobbies include reading fictional books, watching cat videos on YouTube, singing obnoxiously off key, and sleeping for hours. But what further defines me are my passions. Similar to Malcolm X and how he found his passion for black history after reading, I have also found a passion. Malcolm X read while imprisoned, but when he learned to read, “months passed without [his] even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then [he] never had been so truly free in [his] life” (Malcolm X in Cohen 2014: 275). By finding his passion, he found his purpose in life, which was to defend the African American community and stand up against black discrimination. While nothing quite as dramatic has happened to me, I too have found my passion: music. I enjoy playing music because I feel free, away from all troubles for the short time that I am striking the keys of a piano, playing a note on a flute, or strumming the strings of a guitar. Instead of labeling people with ethnicities and cultures, they should be defined by their personalities, hobbies, and