Zora Neal Hurston was born in the small town of Notasulga, Alabama. It was thought that she was born in 1891, but she claims she was born in 1901 or 1903. She lived in an all-black town called Eatonville, Florida until she was thirteen years of age. Her father was a carpenter and a Baptist preacher. Her mother was a former school teacher and greatly encouraged her. At the age of thirteen her mother passed away and she was sent away to live with relatives. Her father sent them money to take care of her, but when he has trouble with his finances she was left on her own. She worked as a maid and ended up going to college on her own dime. She aspired to be a writer and in school she was awarded a fellowship to collect folklore. She was often criticized by black activists for her work. Her goal was not to lash out against racism or to cry for change. Her goal was simply to portray the culture of black Americans. Her aim was to write about human beings and not about race.
In her story, “How It Feels to Be a Colored Me” Hurston gives us a taste of her life as a young girl. She was once just a girl who didn’t have a care in the world. She lived in the small, all black, town of Eatonville. She told of the people passing through, and the way the neighbors acted. She told of the white people who passed through and frequently had pleasant conversation with her. She mentions remembering the day she became colored. The day race became something more than just a different skin color; it was a different way of living all together. In her thirteenth year she became colored when she was moved to Orlando, Florida. She was once everybody’s Zora and soon became the little colored girl. It was apparent that she was not ashamed of her race in fact she was proud. She did not care that her former relatives were slaves and did not feel ashamed or sorry. She speaks of the times she does not feel colored, but often times it is thrown in her face. Rather it is her in an all-white crowd or maybe one person who is white in an all-black crowd she feels her race. She says, “I feel my race. Among the thousand white persons, I am a dark rock surged upon, over swept by a creamy sea. I am surged upon and over swept, but through it all, I remain myself.”
Another story Hurston wrote seems very different from the first, “The Gilded Six-Bits.” A young black couple lives in a cute little house in an all-black neighborhood. There is Missie May and Joe. The picture painted in the opening of the story was perfect. Everything used to describe the setting was cheerful. Missie May is introduced to us as a happy young woman. Her husband is due home any minute and she hurries to make sure everything is ready for him. She takes great pride in making sure dinner is ready and her husband’s clothes are set out. When she hears his arrival she takes off down the steps and answers the door with so much excitement. Joe greets her with pockets full of little gifts. She searches his pockets and they play back and forth while she searches through his pockets. He brings her kisses and always chucks nine dollars at the door. They had a playful way with each other and seemed just absolutely head over hills for each other. Over dinner Joe tells Missie May that he wants to take her to the ice cream parlor. It was a new place that a man from Chicago had just opened up. Joe talked about how rich he was and she mentioned she had seen the man. They talked about his gold teeth and his gold pieces. Joe kept saying how he wished he could have things like that, and Missie May told him she would much rather have Joe than any rich man. Joe made Missie May his world and every Saturday night he was off work he took her to the new ice cream parlor. Missie May insisted over and over how great Joe was and he loved her so much. One night he got off work early and headed home to see Missie May. As he headed home he thought of the money they had saved and how he was ready to have a child with her. When he arrived home he decided to sneak up on her and surprise her. As he came into their bedroom he was shocked with what he had found. He went through every possibility in his head murderer or robber. He was in absolute disbelief. The man was rushing to get his pants back on and Missie May was yelling and screaming. Joe hit him a few good times and realized that was the rich man that owned the ice cream parlor. During the altercation Joe got a hold of the gold piece that he always flaunted around and shoved it in his pocket. There was a part during all this that really got to me, “Oh Joe, honey, he said he wuz gointer give me dat gold money and he jes’ kept on after me-…Joe was very still and silent for a long time. Then he said, “Well, don’t cry no mo’ Missie May. Ah got yo’ gold piece for you.”
After that night the gold piece became the symbol of betrayal. The best part was is that the gold piece was only a gold plated piece. It reminded me of the saying the grass is greener on the other side. Missie May longed for the money that Slemmons had, and there really was not ever any money. She had a wonderful thing with Joe and that just wasn't enough for her. From that moment on she just wanted things to be better and she knew she did not deserve it. Joe just wasn't himself anymore and did not come home with kisses and presents anymore. He kept putting that coin in Missie May's sight just to remind her of what she had done over and over again. Soon Missie May realized that she was pregnant and Joe did not really care either way. Months and months pass by and their relationship does not get any better or worse. When the baby was finally born he did not really want to have anything to do with it. His mother talked with him and insisted how the child was a spitting image of him, a boy. This is the moment when the story takes another turn, he begins visiting her bedside. He starts to check on her and inquire about her health. In the end Joe finally heads to the store and uses the gilded six-piece to buy kisses. When he returns home he chucks money at the door and even though Missie May was sick she came to the door. This story really shows the struggles of marriage and how a couple overcame even the worst of betrayals.
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