It seems that fighting is a game where everybody is the loser.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it's some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don't know nothin' but what we see.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the racial dynamics and the perceived dominance of white culture over black culture.
In this quote, Zora Neale Hurston expresses a poignant observation about the prevailing social order, where white individuals are often seen as the rulers and the dominant force in society. It highlights the confined understanding of power experiences within racial groups, as the speaker acknowledges the limited perspective shaped by their own experiences and the visible social structures around them, suggesting the existence of alternate realities that remain unknown due to societal barriers.
Themes
RacePowerDominanceSocietyPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about systemic inequality, this quote can emphasize the historical context of power.
More from Zora Neale Hurston
All quotes →Lack of power and opportunity passes off too often for virtue.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom…It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again. What? How? Why? This singing she heard that had nothing to do with her ears. The rose of the world was breathing out smell. It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep.
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Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me.
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Don't you realize that the sea is the home of water? All water is off on a journey unless it's in the sea, and it's homesick, and bound to make its way home someday.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
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