This metaphor reflects the way Hurston understands race. It's somewhat simplistic, in that every race corresponds to a bag with a certain color, and inside that bag are pieces of culture and experiences. What is inside the bag supersedes the outside of the bag. Inside is meaningful, detailed, and real. I believe this alludes to how she sees race: which is that she does not want to be reduced to the color of her skin or anyone else's skin. It isn't exactly a radical take, but I believe it is unique in its acceptance of race yet somewhat demonstrated pity for whiteness.

A few words/phrases stood out to me; "Constricts the thorax", "Splits the heart", "Narcotic"

The first two phrases are somewhat violent and forceful in nature- referring to almost fatal forces that can occur to the body in a jazz number. In addition, using "narcotic" when describing harmonies is significant because it evokes imagery of losing control, obsession, and losing yourself. It's a hard-hitting description of jazz that I haven't heard before and was struck by.

I further researched into Hurston's life and found that at age 13, her mother died. her father remarried and she was sent to boarding school. I find it interesting that she is ambiguous/mysterious about what exactly happened at this time- she simply calls them "changes", thus not giving them too much weight or significance

The white northerners were seen as entertainment/maybe slightly fantastical/unreal in a way. Evokes images of awe, fascination, and emphasizes the differences within which black and white communities lived.

This thought indicates that for people of color, racial consciousness/color isn't something they are aware of from the minute they are born. I find this to be incredibly compelling, and it makes me think a lot about people who come from homogeneous societies. Particularly, I believe my experience and outlook was similar: I came from a largely South Asian community and wasn't aware of how my color affected me until I interacted much more with caucasian people in college. I only really gained full racial consciousness a few years ago- a significant reason why this essay resonated so strongly with me.

The use of the word "native" is interesting to me as native typically refers to native americans, who white settlers colonized and controlled.

the use of the word "glass" is interesting to me because of glass' natural see through quality. does this imply that the exterior doesn't matter because you can see through to the interior anyway?

General comment about this whole passage about jazz: I was struck by the amount of wild animalistic imagery that took place in this passage about jazz, which is at heart, an African American genre. This is because throughout history and literature, I have noticed stereotypes equating African Americans to wild animals and natives. A lot of this has been reflected in the way Black people have always been treated in America, from slavery to even now. I wonder if Hurston means this as a challenge to these existing stereotypes? Is this her way of embracing the unfair narrative? It's so fascinating to me that she chose to evoke this imagery. It is so incredibly powerful

I don't specifically have anything analytical to say about this: simply that I completely understand this and relate to this. It makes me happy to see people think this way, and I believe I have always thought similarly: my race is something I am proud of and cannot control. In addition, if someone decides to reduce me down to simply my race, that is on them and not on me. Definitely one of my favorite passages- made me laugh out loud!

I wonder, does this refer to African American culture? Beading in hair? Beading in native clothes?

Maybe alluding to "Eternal Feminine" concept in Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? This phrase looked familiar so I looked into it. In Faust, the eternal feminine is a "a transcendental ideality of the feminine or womanly abstracted from the attributes, traits and behaviors of a large number of women and female figures. "

Peggy Hopkins Joyce-a white american actress and model who was known for living a flamboyant/expensive lifestyle- has nothing on Hurston

For colored people, it is so much more than music. For her, it is so much more than music- it is intense passion, emotion, and destruction that reminds her of her roots, heritage, and makes her feel wild from within. However, she contrasts this with how she believes white people see jazz: which is simply "Good music" and not some sort of ambiguous, euphoric emotional movement like she feels. This is when she truly feels colored against a white backdrop

jazz music makes her feel such fury and passion that she does not know what she intends to do with it. this speaks to the power of cultural roots and heritage, and its emotional influence

Assegai: "A slender, iron-tipped, hardwood spear used chiefly by southern African peoples"

Essentially, it is a Pole/weapon used by African people for throwing- a native weapon. Maybe she feels connected to her roots? She feels wild and real and her culture comes out within her?

Hurston feels the wildness + animalism and embodies it. She follows those "heathen"- which evokes imagery of obsession/cults/rebellion- and feels the wildness and fury.

jazz music is wild and animalistic and predatory - evoked by the use of words like "attacks", "primitive fury", "clawing", "hind legs"

wastes no time, no frills/fanciness, direct

refers to the ebb and flow of the water- speaks to the sense that this feeling of being colored and being covered is natural and "flows"

the use of the words "thrown" and "sharp" are interesting to me: specifically because of the images of force and control they evoke

allusion to an exodus of some kind: maybe specifically referring to "Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in AD 622, marking the consolidation of the first Muslim community."?

As a black person whose community has already paid the price of slavery, she believes that the chance for glory outshines anything. Thus, she will never be seen as "below" where her ancestors were. On the other hand, due to their slave-owning ancestry, white people have it harder and deal with more guilt. I find it really interesting that in this passage, white guilt is essentially being pitied.

Once again, this take is striking to me because it feels a little bit like a person of color diminishing their own experience to put whiteness up on a pedestal, which simply supports and exacerbates the nature of racial discrimination/the status quo in America.

This take is also striking to me, because I both relate and disagree.

As a south asian woman, I am often reminded that I am the great-grand-daughter of colonized Indian/Pakistani people. Like Hurston, it does not make me sad or pitiful, but at times, makes me slightly angry and often informed. It allows me to remind myself why success as a woman of color is so important to me. It also allows me to remind myself that discrimination and stereotypes are out of my control, and we're working towards a brighter future, keeping our colonial past always in our hearts and minds.

I understand Hurston's take to be slightly more cynical, yet very similar. However, I believe where we differ is that I choose to remember the history as a reminder to move forward. It seems through this passage that Hurston's ideology is more to disregard it because it was so long ago and never her choice or suffering.

This ideology makes complete sense, I was just struck by it because it's not something I often hear from people of color.

This highlights Hurston's ideology about race. Contrary to many who choose to indulge in self-pity due to racial discrimination that is unfair and out of their control, she chooses to be brave and fight back against the world, accepting the discrimination as it comes and moving on from it. This take really struck me. It's interesting that she is critical of other African Americans and I wonder if this struck a chord with the community, or caused any criticism. In my opinion, in some ways, her ideology gives into a white narrative since she doesn't isolate her race as much. However, in some ways, it overcomes and supersedes a white narrative, since she accepts discrimination and powers through. Personally, I am in two minds about it.

However, she is not ashamed or embarassed of her race. She does not want to "rub" her brownness away or "run" away from her reality. She is accepting of it

She previously was just "Zora" in a town of oleanders, which is a type of flower. However, after coming back from Jacksonville, she felt that "Zora" had been lost and her identity had been reduced to "a colored girl." She changed after experiencing racial consciousness and the impact of being colored amongst white people for the first time.

african americans in her community did not agree with her performing for money for white northerners

evokes imagery of street performers/hustlers?

I wonder what this specifically means. Is she referring to AAVE (African-American Vernacular English)? Or read aloud poetry/writing pieces? I am curious because the intention behind the action affects my understanding of how white northerners perceived Hurston.

highlights the impact of racial segregation at this time- there was little contact and intermingling between black and white people

suggests that she wasn't supposed/allowed to be extra nice or talk to the northerners- done slightly out of rebellion and choice.

unknown term- "a box in which actors can enter or exit the stage or in which props can be staged and/or stored". It essentially divides actors between their real and staged world. Hurston's love of the proscenium box shows how she bridged that gap, and interacted with the actors as they were living their real lives and she was watching their staged lives.

^further supports the image of these white people coming through being watched as entertainment/with fascination like theater

I wonder what Hurston means by extenuating circumstances. Does she mean that there are certain circumstances/characteristics that make one more or less colored? Does this indicate she is colored with no apology or means to draw a connection to a Native American past? I understand it as a sort of acceptance though criticism, and I am specifically surprised by the use of the words "extenuating circumstances"