Kyle Sebastian
Professor H. Salsich
English 02
20 October 2008
Color and Kindness:
A comparison between preferences of self.
There are so many colored people who were and still are loved by millions in the world such as Oprah, Coby Bryant, Bill Cosby, and Martin Luther King Jr. and many of them aren’t loved because they’re colored, but because of their personalities and what they have taught us. Zora Neale Hurst decides that the thing she likes most about herself is that she is colored and she elucidates several times that she’s not ashamed to be colored. I too am proud that I’m colored, but on the other hand I am also proud at the amounts of kindness I can show to a classmate, to friends, to family, and even to strangers. I believe that my color shouldn’t be a con for me, if anything it should be a plus to my character, and a plus to my personality,and only my abilities should be the deciding factor on what kind of person I am.
I think that I am a very nice, kind, sincere, loving friend because I am told that many times, and personally I love to be viewed in such a way and not viewed as “the black kid”. The color of my skin should certainly not be what people judge me by. The color of my skin has no control over my personality, my abilities, or my predilections. I should be viewed as a colorless human as everyone else should, because the only purpose that color serves is diversity. I think that out of my classmates I can be one of the most sympathetic when I need to be. I believe that this is why some people respect my input or ideas because they know that I really care about what happens to them and know that I want to give them genuine advice. However, if my chocolate skin has anything to do with my personality then it should only be a reminder of just how sweet I can be. I also really value kindness because so many good things can come of it. When I do domeone a kindness I feel like a better person afterwards, and thats a great feeling. Another pro about kindness is the karma you may receive, which can be anything from finding a dollar on the ground to winning the lottery. In short I love my kindness most about myself because that is what people choose to judge me by.
Similar to me Ms. Hurston also had something she liked about herself, which was the color of her skin. Ms. Hurston was not ashamed or afraid that she was black. She even states “I am not tragically colored. There is no sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all.” (Hurston 115). She did not care what people thought about her if they judged her by her skin. Ms. Hurston seemed more shocked that anyone could deny her presence. “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonished me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” (Hurston 118). Ms. Hurston felt no different than an ordinary person. She could sing and dance and ask questions to any white person just as easily as she could to a colored. She even states in the book “I remember the very day that I became colored” and this astonishes me because before she went to Jacksonville she felt normal, she felt like a regular person, she felt that no color could define her, as it should be.
As I have said before there are many famous African Americans who were loved and judged by what they shared with the world. Ms. Hurston felt that she had a lot to give and share with the world, but she never got the opportunity to. I however, will my kindness with everyone so that our world may become a tiny bit more of a better place. If there are people who still hold prejudices than let them mull over the misapprehensions they have made and if they still do not see the truth then pray, pray that they’ll understand one day. (not meant to offend anyone if they don’t believe in prayer)
Key
Purple-Purposeful Repitition
Red-FAST Words
Works Cited
Hurston, Zora Neale. "How It Feels to Be Colored Me." The Best American Essays of the Century. ED. Robert Atwan. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
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3 comments:
Kyle, I like the way you used the word predilections, but what does that word mean? I think it might help our readers if we all write the definitions of our fast words at the bottom of our posts. i know my essay isn't up yet, but it'll be up soon, and I'm going to try to write the definitions of my fast words at the bottom.
Kyle-
Superb essay, I really loved how you related yourself to Ms. Hurston. I think you could have made your subtitle a bit more fitting to what the assignment was, but on the scale of things, that doesn't take a lot away from your essay. I also found a few sentences confusing, like, "When I am kind to someone then I feel better about myself and as everyone knows when you feel better about yourself sometimes you feel like you can conquer the world." These really confused me, I think you should just scan through your essay one last time, trying to work more on clarity than anything else. Otherwise, nice essay kyle!
Kyle........ first, i will torture you with my suggestions that make your head and fingers ache.ok 1st, the part where you do you 1st repitition, the part where you say that something is a plus for you, maybe just explain it a bit like a few words like "...a plus for..." kind of thing. ok 2nd is when you talk of predilections (the fast word in 2nd paragraph) maybe include a little clue to what it means so that people don't have to look it up :)OK now for my little thing to cheer you up... I like how you quoted the essay in the 3rd paragraph because it kind of helped to blend your topic a bit better and also, at the end of the quote, you say "I do no mind at all" the no is a typo :) supposed to be "not" *vanishes into a puff of smoke*
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