the “Naxos mold” (Larsen 10). She describes this failure to conform as “a lack somewhere,” stemming from “parts of her she couldn’t be proud of” (Larsen 10). These subtle hints show Helga’s conflict with racial discomfort. She strongly disagrees with the southern school’s values and ways of thinking. Helga feels that the school had become “a showplace in the black belt, [an] exemplification of the white man’s magnanimity, [and a] refutation of the black man’s inefficiency” (Larsen 8). In her opinion
that Helga confronts her dark past. Her experience at Uncle Peter’s “old stone house” invokes memories of her troubling childhood (Larsen 24). Larsen uses intense images to describe Helga’s agonizing recollection of the memories. These images create an extended metaphor of pain, described with words such as “numb,” “wound,” “stinging hurt,” and “obscene sore” (Larsen 26). It becomes apparent that Helga’s struggle with her harsh bi-racial upbringing is one of her most distressing antagonists. Fleeing
been a Christian, but this self taught captain has one theory that he believes throughout the course of the novel. Several long philosophical conversations between Hump and Captain Larsen lead only to more questions that seem to go un-answered. Darwinism is brought up but pushed aside and the Bible is the one book Larsen cannot get his fingers around, "Do you know, I am filled with a strange uplift; I feel as if all time were echoing through me, as though all powers were mine. Know truth, divine good
devil" (49), Wolf Larsen. Humphrey Van Weyden, after going through an "initiation process" to be discussed later, finds himself unable to remember clearly anything else. "It seems as though I have lived this life always. The world of books is very vague, more like a dream memory than an actuality. I surely have hunted and forayed and fought all the days of my life" ( 229). Humphrey makes an almost perfect allusion to Darwin's survival of the fittest idea when talking to Wolf Larsen, "You were once
The Sea Wolf is in some ways a philosophical text and a product of its time. The strain it puts on the reader between a social Darwinist and utilitarian perspective against that of a more idealistic one is great. Many times the character of Wolf Larsen is a more consistent articulator of the Darwinian position and seems to always be getting the upper hand argumentatively. However, it is due to a phenomenological outlook on the events presented within The Sea Wolf that the alternative becomes intelligible
did when I was growing up there. Today it is necessary to have a Police Officer in the village of Larsen Bay, Alaska because of domestic violence and alcohol/drug abuse. There was the Russian Orthodox religion, but Priests only made a short visit approximately every six months to a year, that is if the weather and the Priest's schedule permitted. Whenever a Russian Orthodox Priest would visit, he would give all of his sermons in either Russian, or Slavonic. Very few if any of the villagers understood
paper ... ...ndon her children (1609); she has trapped herself by anxiously fleeing from free choices, making only reactionary decisions. Larsen describes Helga's reflection: “She had ruined her life[, m]ade it impossible ever again to do the things that she wanted” (1608) by making an inauthentic choice and compromising herself and her happiness. Larsen notes how Helga is “unused to happiness,” (1542) and how she wonders, “What, exactly...was happiness” (1535). The only hit of Helga’s happiness
beliefs, and their determination throughout time� (Ly, 1). The 1950 version of “Cinderella�, written by Walter Disney and adapted by Campbell Grant, has some differences and similarities to the Vietnamese “Tam and Cam�, by Vo Van Thang and Jim Larsen. They differ in their violent content in their stories but similarly have a great deal of magic included and also both have prevalent characters to help them find their way. Being a Disney tale “Cinderella� was not a very violent story. “Our
fancy. Readers are no longer forced to start at page one and finish with the last page. With hypertext there is no definite end to a story by any means. I experienced this first hand with the hypertext fictional story “Dissapearing Rain” by Deena Larsen. I read “Rain”, a hypertext on the web, and found the story very confusing. I found myself confused as to where to click and what I needed to know to understand the story. With every click came a multitude of options that only opened a number
men have to fight; women are able to do so if they like to and found physically capable. Another example is a quote of Mary Armstrong, director of Women’s Studies at California Polytechnic from “The Draft: Debating War and Gender Equality” by Jana Larsen—“Currently, the (American) military assigns women a ‘limited’ or ‘adjusted’ role, that is, women in the military do not do all the same things as men in the military.” Third, occupations that require physical effort are occupied by men. For example
never ceases" (Larsen 145). She also realizes how much she wants to see African Americans, "to be with them again, to talk with them, to hear them laugh" (Larsen 200). Although Irene feels that there is "nothing sacrificial in Clare's idea of life, no allegiance beyond her own immediate desire," it is apparent that Clare's desire to return to her African American race is honest, even if the motives seem one-sided (Larsen 144). Irene considers Clare to be "selfish, cold and hard" (Larsen 144). Irene
According to Psychology Today, Jealousy is usually regarded as the emotional reaction to a threat to one’s relationship with a real or imagined romantic rival. In the short story Passing by Nella Larsen, the aforementioned description can be attributed to the story’s main protagonist. Within the story, Irene Redfield develops feelings of jealousy towards her friend Clare Kendry. Although the two women are initially close, the relationship between the two is severed when Irene starts to believe Clare
inability to conform in any of her environments. Larsen’s ability to integrate these themes into the character of Helga proves that the Quicksand is not only representative of the Harlem Renaissance, but also of the naturalistic movement. Work Cited Larsen, Nella. Quicksand and Passing. Ed. Deborah E. McDowell. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1986.
novella, Helga makes impulsive choices just like this one and moves somewhere else to try to find something that she can never find. She always believes that the next place will bring her happiness and the feeling of truly belonging that she longs for. Larsen explains Helga’s feelings of discontent with her life: But it didn’t last, this happiness of Helga Crane’s. Little by little the signs of spring appeared, but strangely the enchantment of the season, so enthusiastically, so lavishly greeted by the
be free of…It's like an ache, a pain tha... ... middle of paper ... ...erature. Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1989. Ravitz, Abe. Rev. of Passing, by Nella Larsen. Masterpieces of Women's Literature. New York: Salem Press, 1996. 393 -- 96. Sato, Hiroko. "Under the Harlem Shadow: A Study of Jessie Fauset and Nella Larsen." The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. Ed. Arna Bontemps. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1972. 63 -- 89. Singh, Amritjit. The Novels of the Harlem Renaissance.
desires Clare in a physical way, yet hates her for her ability to use her beauty so well. This show... ... middle of paper ... ...e.” (p. 28) This proves that Irene is jealous of what Clare has because of her social status. Much of what Nella Larsen is focusing on is the conflict of class inside the African-American community, which is very much unresolved to this day. Nella Larsen’s novel presents us with a good view of women’s issues of the early 20th century. We see in the two characters seemingly
This essay will focus on how the novel Passing by Nella Larsen engages with the theme identity. Before proceeding, it is worth defining identity in order to understand how that definition does and does not work in the analysis of Passing. According to the Oxford dictionary, identity means ‘the fact of being who or what a person or thing is’, it is ‘the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is’. A person retains a sense of self identity, or a sense that they belong in a culture
unrecognized Nella Larsen was a very relevant and important contribution with her novels Passing and Quicksand. Her novel Passing in particular, focuses on the lives of Irene and Brian Redfield and John Bellow and how their lives are affected by Clare-Kendra Below. The title “Passing,” is significant itself because it is according to Ohio State Law Journal, “a deception that enables a person to adopt certain roles or identities from which he would be barred by prevailing
In Nella Larsen’s Passing, a narrow line is towed between pride of the race one has chosen, and desire of the race one has not. The protagonist in this novel, Irene Renfield, grapples between feeling proud of her race and jealousy of the societal and social advantages that passing as white provides, which is represented through her friend Clare Kendry. Irene and Clare are mulatto women living in Harlem during the 1920s. Their mixed race allows them to “pass” as white or be seen as black, Clare has
Nella Larsen and the Biracial Identity Race Is a difficult yet easy thing. Someone is born with a label placed onto them based on the background of their parents, however, what if a person is born without a label, without an identity that can properly be expressed, Nella Larsen's novels Quicksand and Passing demonstrate that experience. Larsen was a biracial writer whose stories have left readers conversing on the themes of race and selfhood, leading academic conversations to this day. Larsen used