A defense against charges of colorism in the life and selected works of Zora Neale Hurston

A defense against charges of colorism in the life and selected works of Zora Neale Hurston

African Americans -- Race identity

Hurston, Zora Neale -- Criticism and interpretation

Race in literature

Marks, Colleen Karen

2006

Addison, Elizabeth Hodnett, 1946-

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

application/pdf

manuscripts (documents)

Text

61735

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/61735

Limited to on-campus users

Zora Neale Hurston was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance. However, she was often criticized by her Harlem literati colleagues as not adhering to the propagandistic cause of writing about black opposition in the face of white society. This has led to accusations of assimilation and critics claiming that Hurston wrote to satisfy a white audience. Another concern regarding Hurston's writing is her absence of primarily African American featured characters in her novels. Her most well-known novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, features a light-skinned, European featured woman, Janie, as the novel's protagonist. Hurston's decision to not cast an African American featured woman as the heroine of her most popular novel has also led to accusations of Colorism. Colorism lends itself to charges of assimilation in that Colorism is a form of intraracial racism which implies that white attitudes, mannerisms, and features are superior. In Hurston's last published novel, Seraph on the Suwanee, Hurston chose to write about a family of poor whites. Her decision to feature a blue-eyed, blonde heroine, Arvay, has also instigated criticism that Hurston was abandoning her black roots and desiring to assimilate within white culture. According to some critics, in none of her novels does Hurston cast a typically black female character. This thesis will attempt to disprove charges against Hurston concerning Colorism, as well as charges of assimilation. It will explore the frame within which Hurston was writing, during the Harlem Renaissance, and the subjection of her work to primarily black and white male critics. Also, it will emphasize Hurston's subversive writing style, which allowed her to write for a popular audience, both black and white, while criticizing white society through her conscientious choice of skin color adopted for the aforementioned heroines.

2014-09-11

All rights reserved. For permissions, contact Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina U, Cullowhee, NC 28723

13434 KB(file size)

iii, 80 pages(pages)

Western Carolina University Restricted Electronic Theses and Dissertations