Spunk: Setting 1 key example

“Spunk” is set in a rural town in Florida in the first decades of the 20th century. While the setting could be any town in the American South, Hurston intentionally includes the detail that the sheriff had to “come from Orlando,” making it clear that this particular story takes place in Florida. This choice suggests that the unnamed town in the story is likely based on Eatonville, Florida, where Hurston grew up. Eatonville was one of the first all-Black municipalities formed by formerly enslaved people after the end of the Civil War. Black Americans founded places like Eatonville so that they could have autonomy and self-government, rather than constantly being policed by white people. It is notable that the only white person in the story is the sheriff who comes to the town, fails to properly execute justice, and then leaves.