Bowe 1
B. Bowe
Professor Selby
ENC1101_73
May 25, 2013
Argument Analysis Paper
How does it feel to be colored? The writer of this analysis paper, an upper middle-class young white woman had no clue, prior to reading Zora Neale Hurston’s essay, “How it Feels to be Colored Me”. Having friends of all ethnicities, and never thinking twice about color, creed, or gender; this essay was approached with an almost disregard. After reading the first few words, disregard turned to admiration, as Hurston’s argumentative essay proves the colloquial, “Haters gonna hate” as well as the much overused pop-culture phrase, “Don’t worry, be happy” both to be true.
In an effective argumentative essay, Dlugan (“Ethos, Logos, Pathos”) states credibility must be established first so that the reader continues reading with “buy-in” to the writer’s thoughts and feelings. The writer must also present as an authority on the subject. Hurston immediately establishes her credibility, her ethos, in the first sentence. “I offer nothing in the way of extenuating circumstances,” she writes, “except the fact that I am the only Negro in the United States whose grandfather on the mother's side was not an Indian chief.” By immediately proclaiming that she is a colored person, but inferring that she is not speaking for all colored people, Hurston establishes ethos. The reader relates to her humble statement and the humor with which it is presented.
“BUT I AM NOT tragically colored”, begins paragraph six. Hurston, using those caps, continues to establish ethos insisting that the preceding four paragraphs which described her real life incidences, should not make her the object of pity. Rather, these four paragraphs should be considered Hurston’s pathos.
Pathos, according to Dlugan (“Ethos, Logos, Pathos”), is the emotion part of an argumentative essay. The emotion can be positive like love or compassion; or it could be emotions of fear, hate, or envy. Dlugan (“Pathos Definition”) states that, “as a speaker, your goal is to create a shared emotional experience with your audience.” Hurston tells of watching northern white tourists drive through her town, dancing for them and having dimes thrown at her, “which seemed strange to me for I wanted to do them so much that I needed bribing to stop, only they did not know it. The colored people gave no dimes. They deplored any joyful tendencies in me, but I was their Zora nevertheless” (Hurston, paragraph four). This statement is an example of those four paragraphs, where emotion is sympathy, and the reader really feels almost bad for Hurston, dancing for dimes, staring at white people. However, Hurston then comes back and clarifies that the reader should NOT feel sympathy for her; instead the reader should feel respect and pride. The dimes being thrown at her should not make the reader feel like Hurston is being disrespected, because Hurston does not feel that way. If anything, Hurston is feeling sorry for the tourists, who have no idea they are providing her with a chance to dance, and feel free. So, where some, like the tourists, may feel a superiority (Haters), Hurston refuses to respond, instead she focuses on herself (“Be Happy). This is the balance of emotions that Dlugan (“Pathos Definition”) states are part of a well done argumentative essay.
Hurston continues to blend ethos and pathos throughout the essay. In paragraph 11, Hurston begins to transition from pathos to logos, where she makes her argument. Logos, according to Dlugan (“Ethos, Logos, Pathos”) is where the logical argument is presented. Logos should be understandable, logical, and real (“Logos Examples”). Hurston weaves logic through the entire essay by writing the ethos and pathos so clearly, that the reader is captivated. So when the logos of Hurston then suggests to pity the people who do not allow themselves the opportunity to meet her, it makes perfect sense. “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me (parapraph 16). This logos is presented with emotion, and has the reader wanting to yell, “How can you think this about Zora? She is awesome!” But then the reader thinks back to Hurston’s ethos, and the reader then lets the anger go, like Hurston would, and instead celebrates the fact that Hurston had sympathy for these people, not anger.
Hurston encountered numerous haters. Had she not had the spirit to focus on her own happiness, she was able to focus her life experiences to the positive. Many civil rights essays written at the same time focused on action and retaliation. This essay, which evokes as much emotion as those, is powerful in its peacefulness.
Works Cited
Dlugan, Andrew. Ethos, Pathos, Logos. 23 May, 2013.
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/ethos-pathos-logos>
Dlugan, Andrew. Pathos Definition. 23 May, 2013.
< http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/pathos-definition>
Dlugan, Andrew. Logos Examples. 23 May, 2013.
<http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/logos-examples-speaking>
Hurston, Zora Neale. How It Feels to be Colored Me. 23 May, 2013.
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/grand-jean/hurston/chapters/how.html
-----“ Writing the Analytical Essay”. http://www.cf.edu/departments/instruction/lsc/Writing_docs/Capstone/WRITING%20THE%20ANALYTICAL%20ESSAY.pdf . College of Central Florida. Web. May 23, 2013.
-----“Zora Neale Hurston Feels Colored. http://voices.yahoo.com/on-zora-neale-hurstons-essay-
feels-colored-775557.html?cat=37. Web. May 23, 2013.