Whenever young Hurston conversed with her black peers, they spoke to her in ebony and she could only respond in a formal register (27) . This contrast in language use automatically connotes that her black peers are less intelligent, polite, and proper, which she implicitly implies is black. While she appears antithetically more intelligent and suited to virtue through her use of correct English which she attributes to whiteness. By the same token, the fact that Hurston does not “stumble and misspell words” like her classmates while reading aloud to Miss Johnstone and Miss Hurd further differentiates her from the connotations carried with people of color and also implies that the inner whiteness intrinsic to her is what essentially makes her more important than her pigmented peers (35). By not taking part in the harsh swearing of her environment and maintaining proper English in a community that lacks it, Hurston is metaphorically shouting that she "stands out" from the black hood and marks her out for success.