Sociality And Allegory In Nella Larsen's Passing

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Recommended: Racism in literature

Nella Larsen 's ' novel "Passing" introduces two dissimilar experiences of "crossing" the race line by two African-American women. With an accomplished and engaging plan, Larson is able to deal with subjects such as sexuality, identity, race, and class division with the use of wit and allegory. Passing is a moving, emotional story, describing the struggles experienced by both Irene and Claire in their fight to support and defend their own race and endure polite society. All these social issues and problems seem to culminate in the end of the question; is what the person you are inside, defined by your race on the outside?
Mainly through the eyes of Irene Redfield, the predicament of the two women 's lives is unraveled. After 12 years, Irene Redfield and Claire Kendry, two African-American childhood friends have an accidental meeting. Irene is passing through polite society color lines as white, and we go through her childhood, adulthood, and the death of her character. Irene observes Claire rising in class bypassing completely as white, but later in life, Claire disappears from Negro social groups, only to emerge …show more content…

Therefore, she controls herself and her family to avoid the gossip. She laughs at the world around her, as she "passes" within it as a white woman and nearely raised up into a cab, admitted at the top floor of the Dayton where she stares at the people beneath, "thinking how silly they looked" (Larsen9). She laughs uncontrollably at Claire 's candidly racist husband. She is unnerved that he is criticizing her ethnic group, but her laugh is about dominance and influence. To Irene, in that split second he is and ill-bred wealthy white men. She is later lead to tears when she remembers Claire 's face in that instant, "she 'd tried a tiny laugh and was annoyed to find that it was close to tears"

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