Rhetorical Analysis Of How It Feels To Be Colored Me

1)Hurston’s opening paragraph in “How it Feels to Be Colored Me” functions as a joke that aims to lessen the stigma around discussing race in the 1920s. The phrase “extenuating circumstances” is defined as lessening the seriousness of a situation and therefore reducing any consequence that may emerge from her controversial stance. Hurston’s assertion that her “grandfather on the mother’s side was not an Indian chief” is intended to bring humor to the African American tendency to claim Native American ancestry in order to raise their social status. Her sarcastic juxtaposition of accepting her color versus colored people distancing themselves from it creates a colloquial tone that illustrates her defiance of social stigmas and norms. This biting opening paragraph intrigues the reader and allows her audience to grasp the overall purpose of the

Her initial metaphor concerning a procedure done on a patient symbolizes slavery as a disease towards African Americans and its cure was its eventual abolishment. The blunt “the patient is doing well, thank you” is aimed towards whites who continue to view colored people as inferior beings that require special attention when, in fact, they don’t. Hurston further portrays the abolishment of slavery as a metaphorical race for freedom and civilization. With each major time period and reform movement, the race draws closer to starting. With the final “Go!” from the previous generation, Hurston is hurled towards a new era where she may succeed. The race, however, still continues and she “must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep” for those who laid the path before her. These simple but purposeful metaphors allow the audience to sympathize with the plight of African Americans as they struggle to create themselves in a world that perceives them as lesser