Colorstruck & Zora Neale Hurston

Colorstruck, by Zora Neale Hurston, was a fairly intriguing play and I enjoyed reading it. However, being able to read the language and the way her characters talk was a skill I can definitely say I lacked. I found myself literally having to read most of the play out loud in order to understand and process what her characters were saying. But once I overcame the whole language barrier issue, reading the play became smooth and entertaining. But as much as I found Colorstruck to be entertaining, I found learning about Zora Neale Hurston herself to be much more fun. I had heard of some of Hurston's work, like A Raisin in the Sun, which I have not read, but watched. Learning more about Hurston as an African American woman helped me to better understand piece together in Colorstruck. For example, Hurston, unlike other African American writers during her day, choose to write more about black society, instead of primarily focusing on white oppression. Acquiring this piece of information led me to better understand Emma's character, and her jealousy of lighter-skinned women, like Effie. By adding this character trait into Emma, it makes the reader able to clearly see how Hurston slyly incorporates how whites can unknowingly oppress African Americans, just based on the color of their skin. Something that I really enjoyed about Colorstruck was the character dynamic, which I find most plays lack. Emma, for example, seems real and hardcore; Hurston does little to sugarcoat this character. She is basically a single, African American mom working a dead-end job for an upper white class family all so she can support herself and her daughter. That's the way many women today are living, and although Hurston wrote this play in the early 1900s, she hits the nail on the head when it comes to bringing to life a character that female readers can relate too. The only part of Colorstruck that I would name as unrealistic is when John comes along, seemingly better off and willing to marry Emma and take care of her. That specific part of the play, although I found it to be sort of heartwarming, is rare among real life situations, so I felt like it took away from some of the substance of her writing. But overall, I would name Zora Neale Hurston one of the most brilliant writers of her time and after physically reading some of her work, its no wonder that her writing has lasted throughout the years.