Mules and Men

 Word Count: 250 words

    After reading this narrative, we see how different her life story is compared to all the women's writing before this. Zora Neale Hurston was an African American anthropologist who dived into the folklore of Black communities. She started working with Turner, who taught her voodoo, inspiring her and teaching her the symbols of life. She says, “Many a man thinks he is making something when he's only changing things around.” This quote shows that Hurston was inspired to really change things, not simply shift how things currently were. She tried to learn absolutely everything about New Orleans, taking everything from the elite white in the city. She was brought into a voodoo community, strongly influencing her life in many ways. Voodoo coming out of the Caribbean also came out of Africa, blending with Catholicism was brought into New Orleans. 

    She also says, "“Mouths don't empty themselves unless ears are sympathetic and knowing." She was able to be this listening ear to all who would come to her in order to hear what was going on in their lives. She is able to write about intimate moments that mainstream media would never would have touched on, bringing light to the lives of African Americans in New Orleans. She is a clear feminist to speak up as a woman about the more intense lives of those usually looked over. She does not have a strongly articulated religious belief in her text, so her perspective is enlightening. Hurston is an inspiration to all.