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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Key Examples in How it Feels to be Colored Me
Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—The National Stage :
In another nod to the theme of performance, Hurston creates a metaphor for pursuing her freedom and independence amidst stares and attention from others:
It is quite exciting to hold the center of the national stage, with the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to weep.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Race:
Hurston utilizes the scenario of an athletic race to create a metaphor for racial progress in the United States:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The terrible struggle that made me an American out of a potential slave said “On the line!” The Reconstruction said “Get set!” and the generation before said “Go!” I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Eatonville "Show" :
Throughout "How it Feels to be Colored Me," Hurston creates a metaphor that compares the experience of living with a racial identity to performing for an audience in a theatrical show. Inspired by her childhood memories of watching large groups of White tourists pass through Eatonville as if they were actors on stage "playing" their Whiteness, Hurston first develops this metaphor from the perspective of an "audience" member:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The town knew the Southerners and never stopped cane chewing when they passed. But the Northerners were something else again. They were peered at cautiously from behind the curtains by the timid. The more venturesome would come out on the porch to watch them go past and got just as much pleasure out of the tourists as the tourists got out of the village. The front porch might seem a daring place for the rest of the town, but it was a gallery seat for me. My favorite place was atop the gatepost. Proscenium box for a born first-nighter. Not only did I enjoy the show, but I didn’t mind the actors knowing that I liked it. I usually spoke to them in passing.
Related Themes:
