Nella Larsen’s most famous novel, Passing, was published in 1929 which was in the middle of an era with fundamental values that incorporated racism and segregation. In the context of this time period, Jim Crow laws were instituted in order to keep the power with the whites. This gave rise to segregation of the races, and emboldened racist ideals that were largely held at the time. Given the context of the time period, it is not surprising that race played a crucial factor into the tragedy of both Irene Redfield, and Clare Kendry. An important note, this story is told through a limited 3rd person narrative (through Irene’s point of view) and she is not an entirely reliable narrator. In the beginning of the novel, before Irene explains what happened …show more content…
in Chicago, the novel states “This is what Irene Redfield remembered” (pg. 12). Having this line in the beginning of the novel, and before telling a story shows the readers that this narrative is biased towards Irene’s perspective.
Irene’s perspective is affected considerably by her paramount concern in feeling safe in all aspects of her life. This in turn, leads to complexities with her attitude towards race because being African American at this time is inherently not safe. Sequentially, Irene perspective clashes due to her desire to be honorable. Denying her ties to the African race is intrinsically dishonorable, however Irene avoids this conflict by not being fully cognizant while she is “passing” as a white woman. She explains that if she were asked directly about her racial background, she would not hesitate to make known her true heritage, therefore, it frees her from culpability that comes with acknowledging the benefits of passing. Clare Kendry shook Irene’s sense of safety and honorability, which in turn lead to her possible involvement in Clare’s death out the window. Irregardless of if Irene was in fact the reason Clare fell out the window, it does not change the end result of the tragedy. The role that racism played in Irene’s sense of security and eventual downfall lead to the climax of the story; the end result was the death of Clare …show more content…
Kendry. The crucial theme of Irene’s awareness of safety is prominent throughout the novel. Irene loathes Clare’s lackadaisical approach to the danger of passing, and envious of the benefits Clare receives because she is passing as a white woman. Irene views passing as dangerous and dishonorable, which goes directly against Irene’s intrinsic needs. Irene describes Clare’s idea of life in the very beginning of the novel as having “no allegiance beyond her own immediate desire” (pg 9). The word “allegiance” is significant because Irene later alludes to race as a form of loyalty that one does not choose. Irene insists that loyalty is inherent to the race one is born into, and is not something that can be ignored, or severed. The use of the word desire is prominent throughout the novel, and in the context of this quote shows Irene internal desire might not align with her current choices. However, her perspective, bound by race, does not allow her to give in to her internalized desires. Irene will not allow herself to be fully cognizant to the benefits permitted to those who choose to pass because Irene does not want to admit to herself if given the choice free from societal pressure, she would also choose to pass. This assumption is supported by the passage Irene thinks in the beginning of the novel when she assumes someone perceived her race in a fancy hotel, Nevertheless, Irene felt, in turn, anger, scorn, and fear slide over her. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of being a Negro, or even of having it declared. It was the idea of being ejected from any place, even in the polite and tactful way in which the Drayton would probably do it, that disturbed her. (pg 19). Now, this passage does not prove that Irene possesses hostility for her race. However, it does depict her acute awareness of the disadvantages her race carries. Irene is not ashamed of her race because she perceives it to be lesser, rather she is aware that her race opens her up to discrimination, which in turn is a threat to her safety. Irene envies Clare because Clare is living a life Irene is too fearful to pursue. If racism was not rampant in this time period, Irene would have felt more secure and would not have internalized envy of Clare, which would later explode out in the end scene. It is clear that Irene is envious towards Clare throughout the novel. However, her relationship with Clare is far more complex than feeling envious of her. There is evidence that supports the idea that Irene has sexual attraction towards Clare. She is quick to describe Clare’s alluring physical traits, and mentions multiple times that she is drawn to Clare by an unknown force. This is shown in the middle of the novel, with the passage She turned away from the window, at last, with a still deeper frown. Why, after all worry about Clare Kendry? She was well able to take care of herself, had always been able. And there were, for Irene, other things, more personal and important to worry about. (pg 45). This passage is significant for two reasons. First, the line “turned away from the window” is significant because at the end of the novel, it is a window that Irene pursumedly pushes Clare out of. By mentioning turning away from the window, it represents not only foreshadowing to the conclusion of the novel, but also turning away from reality and seeing what is truly there. Irene demonstrates these traits throughout the entire novel. Secondly, it is significant because she herself asks “Why worry about Clare Kendry?” She cannot explain the pull she has for Clare, but she is aware of it which is significant for her. Irene never considers the possibility that she has sexual desire for Clare, however this can be explained by her need to conform to societal normality. This is another example of Irene not giving in to her desires and repressing emotions that she is too afraid to face, even in her own thoughts. The complexity of Irene and Clare’s relationship is depicted in the first chapter of the novel when Irene gets an unsigned letter.
The letter is highly regarded as a symbol of Clare, and is described accordingly. Irene describes the letter with “She was wholly unable to comprehend such an attitude towards danger as she was sure the letter’s contents would reveal; and she disliked the idea of opening and reading it” (pg 9). This description shows Irene’s acute awareness of the dangerous life Clare is leading, and her complete disdain of her choices. It also broadcasts Irene’s nature of ignoring the unpleasant, or her own desires with the line “disliked the idea of opening and reading it”. She would rather be ignorant of its contents than face them. Later, she finally reads the content of the letter and afterwards is described as having “Brilliant red patches flamed in Irene Redfield’s warm olive cheeks” (pg 11). This line proves that Irene has the capacity to be sexually attracted to Clare due to the letter making her blush deeply, considering the letter is an inanimate embodiment of Clare. Irene’s attraction to Clare brings on more complexity to the relationship, and furthers Irene’s
unease.
The Emancipation of the once enslaved African American was the first stepping stone to the America that we know of today. Emancipation did not, however automatically equate to equality, as many will read from the awe-inspiring novel Passing Strange written by the talented Martha Sandweiss. The book gives us, at first glance, a seemingly tall tale of love, deception, and social importance that color played into the lives of all Americans post-emancipation. The ambiguity that King, the protagonist, so elegantly played into his daily life is unraveled, allowing a backstage view of the very paradox that was Charles King’s life.
I think Tate’s further interpretation of Passing as a story of jealousy, intrigue, and obsession is also very accurate. There are race issues that are brought up, in instances such as Irene worrying about being discovered as a black woman while having tea in the Drayton Hotel, and the language and attitude Clare’s husband has towards black people in general. However, I believe that much of the story is rooted in class issues, also. Clare and her husband Brian are wealthy, they get to travel across Europe, and their
In the book, the readers see the wall between black and white people during the movement. An example is a reaction to Fern’s doll which is white, while Fern, however, is black. On pg.65, it reads, “‘Li’l Sis, are you a white girl or a black girl?’ Fern said, ‘I’m a colored girl.’ He didn’t like the sound of a colored girl,’ He said, ‘Black girl.’ Fern said, ‘Colored.’ ‘Black girl.”
Race manifests itself as a key challenge to Jeannette’s views on freedom and immaterial love. She never truly saw people of other races in a different light until the family arrived in the small town of Welch, West Virginia. In Welch, racial divides were
The term "passing" is shorthand for a racial passing which means people of one race passing for another. Nella Larsen's Passing is the story about two light-skinned women, who both have African blood. Clare Kendry is one of them who chooses and succeeds at "passing" and Irene Redfield is one who doesn't. They drive into each other twelve years later in a restaurant and Clare invites Irene to the tea party. The tea party which appears in the beginning of the story plays an important role throughout of the story because Jack Bellew enters the story at that moment. Jack is the white man who has a strong revulsion to African-Americans. He marries Clare, without knowing her secret ancestry. Jack's statements at the tea party lead the main characters' transformation throughout the story and shape the ending as well.
The History that goes by through the course of this book is an odd combination of racism, social reform, and close mindedness. In Ruth’s upbringing the hardships of being a Jew in a Christian land is a prevalent part of how she grew up. She was feared by the dark skinned people, and shunned by the light skinned for being Jewish, leaving her all alone. Meanwhile, James grew up in a world where he was hated for being black, and confused as to who he was, was he black or was he white. These struggles took place during the time of both the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement. Ruth McBride even stays in Bronx in the heart of the Harlem Renaissance. James McBride grew to have his very own brothers and sisters becoming civil rights activists. One of his siblings even became a Black Panther, a black power party. It exemplifies the struggles in his life by bringing that very same struggle to someone whom he saw every day.
The award-winning book of poems, Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson, is an eye-opening story. Told in first person with memories from the author’s own life, it depicts the differences between South Carolina and New York City in the 1960s as understood by a child. The book begins in Ohio, but soon progresses to South Carolina where the author spends a considerable amount of her childhood. She and her older siblings, Hope and Odella (Dell), spend much of their pupilage with their grandparents and absorb the southern way of life before their mother (and new baby brother) whisk them away to New York, where there were more opportunities for people of color in the ‘60s. The conflict here is really more of an internal one, where Jacqueline struggles with the fact that it’s dangerous to be a part of the change, but she can’t subdue the fact that she wants to. She also wrestles with the issue of where she belongs, “The city is settling around me….(but) my eyes fill up with the missing of everything and everyone I’ve ever known” (Woodson 184). The conflict is never explicitly resolved, but the author makes it clear towards the end
Historically, people were granted certain rights and privileges based merely on their skin color. Persons of darker skin are often less opportune; persons of lighter skin are almost automatically glorified. However, with the mass interracial breeding, many African American descendants started to look “white” even though they were of “black” descent. Many “mulattos” used this to their advantage to acquire higher social status and respect. The act of identifying as a different race and hiding one’s true race is known as “passing.” In the short novel, “Passing” by Nella Larsen, it follows two childhood friends of mixed-race, Irene Westover/Redfield and Clare Kendry, who later reconnected later in their different adult lives; both appear to have light complexion but one embraces her ancestry while the other tries to “pass” as something else. The latter’s decision usually ends unpleasantly. So while it may seem beneficial to “pass,” the end result is that the truth will come out. Literary articles which critique “Passing” such as “Sororophobia” by Helena Michie and “Black Female Sexuality in Passing” by Deborah E. McDowell discusses the issues of passing. Juanita Ellsworth’s “White Negros” provide scenarios where skin color played a factor in education and professional experiences. Louis Fremont Baldwin’s “Negro to Caucasion, Or How the Ethiopian Is Changing His Skin” explains the different ways people pass and how it can be undetected. Blatantly “passing” as a different race can lead to catastrophe and should be avoided.
Clare longs to be part of the black community again and throughout the book tries to integrate herself back into it while remaining part of white society. Although her mother is black, Clare has managed to pass as a white woman and gain the privileges that being a person of white skin color attains in her society. However whenever Clare is amongst black people, she has a sense of freedom she does not feel when within the white community. She feels a sense of community with them and feels integrated rather than isolated. When Clare visits Irene she mentions, “For I am lonely, so lonely… cannot help to be with you again, as I have never longed for anything before; you can’t know how in this pale life of mine I am all the time seeing the bright pictures of that other that I o...
Tragic mulatto characters such as Clare transport unforeseen horrors when they make the selfish decision to reinsert themselves back into the world they so desperately desired to flee. Larsen makes this point clear through the diction she uses when describing the self-esteem destruction Irene undergoes once Clare has reinserted herself into Irene's life, and the situations Irene finds herself as a direct result of Clare. Prior to Clare’s reentrance into her life Irene is a self-assured, independent, and confident woman; however, she soon turns self-conscious, dependent, and hesitant. Upon viewing Clare at the hotel Irene is struck by Clare’s ...
Because of the laws against colored people, Rosaleen, as a black woman, lives with constraints in her life. For example, she cannot live in a house with white people (Kidd, p.8), she cannot represent Lily at the charm school (Kidd, p.19), or even travel in a car with white people (Kidd, p.76). The media is also influenced by racism, and constantly shows news about segregation such as the case of Martin Luther King, who is arrested because he wants to eat in a restaurant (Kidd, p.35), the “man in Mississippi was killed for registering to vote” (Kidd, p.44), and the motel in Jackson, that closes, because the owners don’t want to rent rooms to black people (Kidd, p.99).... ... middle of paper ...
Different social classes come with different perspectives and challenges, usually the belief is that higher society is much happier than those in the lower rank, but not including race into the education does not give all sides of that story. By evaluating parts in Cane by Jean Toomer, Quicksand and Passing by Nella Larsen, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston story of class and race is being told. Color and classism have gone hand in hand for many years and evaluating the lives of characters that are considered the lowest of the low and yet made it up the totem pole brings up an important discussion. The conflicting ideas of race and class actually encourage racism and ruin the lives of characters in the black bourgeoisie.
In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, the letter is understood as a label of punishment and sin being publicized. Hester Prynne bears the label of “A” signifining adulterer upon her chest. Because of this scorching red color label she becomes the outcast of her society. She wears this symbol of punishment and it become a burden throughout her life. The letter “produces only a reflection of her scarlet letter; likewise, the townspeople's image of Hester revolves around her sin. The evil associated with Hester's actions and the letter on her chest consume all aspects of her life, concealing her true beauty, mind, and soul” (R. Warfel 421-425). Society pushed blame upon Hester Prynne, and these events lead to the change of her life. The Puritans whom Prynne is surround by view the letter as a symbol from the devil, controversially some individuals look upon the letter, sigh and fell sympathy towards her because they have or are involved in this same situation. Nonetheless the haunting torture Hester Prynne battles daily drags on, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows this torture “of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but...
The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.