Samantha McCue

Period 1

7 March 2011

Swords, Banners, and Irony

Every person has his or her own beliefs and morals. They are influenced by these

beliefs at some point in their lives, whether on a daily basis, or in a single incident. Zora

Neale Hurston’s character, Mrs. Turner, is no different, except that hers are used to send

a message. In the passage on page 145, Hurston uses religious metaphors and diction to

emphasize Mrs. Turner’s beliefs, and uses the irony of Mrs. Turner’s situation to show

how these beliefs are unrealistic.

The majority of this passage is an extended religious metaphor that is used to

emphasize Mrs. Turner’s beliefs of Caucasian supremacy. Hurston transforms Mrs.

Turner’s values into a “deity” to whom she has “built an altar” where she worships, and

by doing this, Hurston is equating this woman’s fanaticism to a religion. Her god has

been placed in “a heaven of straight haired, thin-lipped, high nose boned white seraphs”,

which is to say that her beliefs, trust, and hope lie with the white society. Her frustration

with her situation is expressed in the line “Oh, for an army, terrible with banners and

swords!” and is an expression of her desire to defend her beliefs, to “defend the altars of

her god”. In comparing Mrs. Turner’s firm belief of white superiority to a religion,

Hurston is able to emphasize those beliefs.

In addition to using metaphors, Hurston also uses religious diction to emphasize

the fanaticism. In particular, the use of the word “worship” is supportive of this. This

gives the impression that Mrs. Turner lives by her ideals, and treats them like divinity.
Because of her obsession, she has to accept any suffering or fear that her values bring her,

as she would from a god. She describes fear as a “divine emotion”, which is used to build

“altars”. By connecting fear to divinity, Hurston is able to accentuate Mrs. Turner’s

principles. Also, she describes her belief as an “inner temple” which is constantly being

laid under siege from “black desecrators”. This idea that her beliefs are sacred, and that

the blacks are unworthy to her, is shown by the use of these words. The words that are

chosen are used to show how Mrs. Turner deeply believes her ideals of white supremacy.

Despite these firm beliefs, Mrs. Turner’s situation is somewhat ironic. She, like

her comrades, is inescapably of African American descent, and therefore her desire for

“Caucasian characteristics for all” is impractical and unattainable. That she should view

the people that surround her as “desecrators” is also ironic, because she is dependent on

them for her income and livelihood. This irony is used to show us that despite her faith in

her beliefs, she would not be able to succeed in life if these beliefs were to be attainable.

Hurston uses Mrs. Turner’s situation as a satirical way to show how white supremacy is

not practical.

Mrs. Turner’s ideals are extremely important to her, and this is

emphasized with the use of religious metaphors. The implication that her values are a

faith to her is a way of expressing this. The word choice is also an illustration of Mrs.

Turner’s fanaticism in regard to her beliefs. In connecting emotions to divinity, and

worshipping things based on those emotions, which are caused by her beliefs, her

obsession is emphasized. However, because Mrs. Turner is unable to become white, and

relies upon those she disdains, her beliefs are proven to be unrealistic. Mrs. Turner is an

example of how people’s beliefs can affect their attitudes and actions.