"Harlem Slang"

 Word count: 262

"Harlem Slang" by Zora Neale Hurston

"All you did by rolling out early was to stir your stomach up. That made you hunt for more dishes to dirty. the longer you slept, the less you had to eat" (Hurston, 1).

"Go ahead, Bedbug! Touch me! And I'll holler like a pretty white woman!" (Hurston, 6)

    These quotations describe society during the time when Zora Neale Hurston wrote "Harlem Slang." The first quotation speaks to the struggles of poverty. The lower classes knew how to last the day by eating as little as possible because food was too much money for some. Here, Hurston describes the technique where people attempt to lay in bed for as long as possible in the morning so they can eat fewer meals. Later in the story, the narrator mentions that Sweet Black had not eaten since the day before. They were so desperate for sustenance that men prostituted themselves to women. This is also almost unheard of change in the power dynamic between men and women. The typical narrative has women relying on men for everything.

    The second quotation speaks to the constant racism of the time. The woman speaking in this quote is black, and when a man almost becomes physical with her, she cannot yell out as a person. To get any attention or help, she must be white. This seems typical of the time. White women would falsely accuse black men of rape or sexual assault and be believed without evidence. This woman must threaten men by telling them she will be believed by the police like a white woman

    The second quote also relates to the steady rate of sexual assaults, not only at the time Hurston wrote this piece but also today. Women had to fight constantly to not be cat-called as she was in this situation. She could see the situation becoming dangerous and threatened them.

Comments

  1. Cam TyburskiApril 22, 2021 at 5:01 PM

    I liked reading your explanations of your two quotes you chose. In your first quote I thought the same thing about how it talks about poverty. Both of the characters do not have the money to eat and try to go out and get food. People in the story tend to stay in bed longer throughout the day so they do not have to eat, because they will not be hungry if they are asleep in bed. Your second quote also is a good quote, it touches upon the racisms in that time period. I enjoyed reading your quotes and explanations.

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  2. Mike BlanchardApril 25, 2021 at 6:03 PM

    Your analysis is really good. In the beginning, you give an in depth explanation of poverty during the time and how it applied to Zora Hurston's life. Although I picked up on aspects of poverty in the story, I think your quotes and explanation give excellent insight as to how hard living in poverty was. The idea of sleeping in longer so someone wouldn't need as many meals really opened my eyes. Secondly, I also touched on racism in the story in my blog. I explained how many African Americans moved away from the south to seek more opportunity. However, the conditions in the north were not better than the south. As a matter of fact, the characters in the story recognize the south as a place where they were given more opportunity. They reflect on making the transition to Harlem.

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  3. Caroline HersheyApril 26, 2021 at 11:11 AM

    This was a really good explanation. I did enjoy how you broke down the text into a select few quotes and focuses on that writing. I think it is interesting to read something when others interoperate things differently. I do to agree with how women were being treated very horribly and how men were so objectifying to them in their tones and the things they used to say to them. During this time period, women really didn't have a way out, many didn't have jobs and were trapped.

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