Illustration of the African-American Experience through Racial Satire in “Filling Station” Anonymous 12th Grade

Zora Neale Hurston’s Filling Station is a short comic story written in the 1930s and also included as part of the African-American: Graphic Classics Volume 22 published in 2011 (Hughes, Bois and Hurston). Hurston has two stories in the book, Lawing and Jawing and Filling Station.” Filling Station focuses on a sequence of amusing encounters in a gas station at the border of Alabama and Georgia. This tale was written in the 1930s when racial profiling was at its peak, and the oppression of black people was evident. The idea of the story is not so much in what is taking place but somewhat the pace and the feel of the performance. Milton Knight offers the illustrations of the story in the book bringing out the essence of the story through a perfect pairing of literature and art. Hurston aims to express the black experience and racial division at the time whilst conveying the celebration of black identity. Moreover, Knight’s illustrations aim to appreciate black art and literature as it is not greatly appreciated, as a few understand their true essence. Hurston uses humor and satirical language to illuminate the African-American experiences of discrimination and also black pride, in an effort to celebrate the black heritage further...