In this quote, Zora Neale Hurston is using a metaphor to explain the idea that individuals can be caught or restricted by their own belongings or material ownerships. The phrase "slave-ships" stimulates pictures of the transatlantic slave trade, where individuals were forcibly taken from their homes and forced to work on ships as servants. By comparing this to being "in shoes," Hurston is recommending that individuals can become oppressed by their own product belongings, whether it be pricey shoes or other material products. This quote functions as a tip to not let material ownerships control our lives and to instead focus on what truly matters.
