Rhonda Eng 232 "How it feels to be Colored Me" and "The Glided Six-Bits" by Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston
She lived in the first completely black town that was incorporated in the United States called Eatonville, Florida. Her dad was a preacher and her mom was her inspiration. She had encouraged her to “jump for the sun”. Unfortunately, at the age of thirteen her mom had died and her dad had abandoned her. He was unable to take care of her and she was passed around from one family member to the next. She found jobs working as a maid, wardrobe girl, and waitress.

“How it feels to be colored me”
In the beginning of the story the author is telling the story of her life. She lives in an all black community and change is bound to happen. Slowly she starts to notice that she is black and that there are white people. She talks about how the white people would ride through town and how they liked to hear her speak. Later on she is sent to school and she is the colored girl. She is no longer the dominate race but the white people are the dominate race. In school she is constantly being reminded about the events of slavery. The author brings up the main issue based on how whites treat blacks and how blacks treat white. How we tend to dominate those that are of minority race. She found this to be true based on where she was at. In her town they were all blacks but in her school majority of the students were white.

“The Gilded Six-Bits”
In the beginning of the story we have two people that have been married for only a year. They are still in the honey moon stage. The husband comes home from work and greets his wife with a surprise. He is always gone during the week and comes back home during the weekend. Their love for each other is so strong and in the beginning you know nothing will come between them. Like everything in life Satan is always waiting for a way to destroy your happiness. He destroys their innocence of their marriage by sending a man to tempt his wife. She is at home missing her husband and would do anything to prevent him from being gone. A man comes into their town pretending to be rich and makes her an offer. He tells her that he will pay her lots of money if she will sleep with him. She falls for his trick and agrees to sleep with him for money. What she didn’t know was that her husband would come home and catch them together. The man leaves a coin on the bed and it isn’t gold but a quarter. She then ends up pregnant and she isn’t sure if that is her husband’s baby or the ice cream man’s baby. The baby looks like her husband and he ends up forgiving his wife.