To grasp an understanding of the Southern States of America is something that Edward L. Ayers argues is hard to achieve: “When they speak of 'Southern culture' they are creating a fiction...as The South's defenders claim, it is not easily understood by outsiders; as its critics claim, it is apparently not understood much better by its resident defenders.”1 This might be the case, however, it is the experiences, although they might differ from one another, that contribute to an understanding of the South. When focusing on the racial aspects in Southern culture, it is an essential aspect in understanding the South as racism due to the legacy of slavery was still very much present in the early twentieth century. Therefore, Zora Neala Hurston…show more content… Her experience of being a coloured person is something she is confronted by throughout her lifetime, whether it is discrimination or other African Americans pointing out the importance of pride in her people. From the first paragraph onwards, the reader can sense that Hurston's idea of being coloured has a different basis than many other African Americans. Growing up in an all-black town, she never genuinely noticed the colour of her skin. As she barely came in touch with the rest of Southern society, and the only white people she saw were tourists or travellers passing through her town, she never realised the baggage that the darkness of her skin had in the…show more content… Inferiority in relation to white people is something that she mentions again through her essay. For instance, her metaphor of being a “dark rock surged upon, overswept by a creamy sea” and her noticing her skin difference when she is “thrown against a sharp white background.” Hence, it illustrates how she can feel overwhelmed by the superiority given to white people and consequently her lack of power and voice in society