Comparison between Nella Larsen's 'Passing' and James Mcbride's 'The Color of Water'

Aristotle once theorized, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” The book, “The Color of Water” describes the lives of James and Ruth McBride and their journeys to find this happiness. Both of these characters, among other characters in the book struggled for the majority of their lives with the issues of race. They felt as if they were caught between two different worlds; the world of blacks and the world of whites. These struggles left all of the characters feeling forlorn. In McBride’s memoir it is made clear that in order to find happiness, the characters must first be able to confront and then overcome the racial divisions that were so prominent in their lives.

the novel Passing, Nella Larsen explores the consequences and disadvantages of two African Americans living in a segregated society. The reconnection between Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry illustrates two different paths in regards to how they portray themselves in their own community. Larsen displays Clare Kendry as a light – skinned women who tolerates her husband’s racial comments in order to live in a higher society. Clare’s decision to secretly hide her racial background because of the desire of wanting to be accepted by individuals of an upper social class greatly affects Irene. Clare’s determination of overcoming racial barriers by passing as a white individual is similar to the Rhinelander/Jones case. In 1924 the son of the wealthiest families in New York married the daughter of a taxicab driver. However, Leonard Rhinelander appealed to have is marriage annulled due to “believing his wife to be white when he married her” (135). Rhinelander suspected Alice Jones was hiding her racial background by passing as a white individual. As the trial progressed it was concluded that that Rhinelander had an understanding of her racial background before marriage was an option between the two. The Rhinelander/Jones case demonstrates how Clare Kendry decided to pass as a white individual in order to obtain wealth and social status by marrying a white male. The three criticism texts chosen demonstrates how racial passing between Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry contributes to social status.

In the “Imitation of Life” and in Nella Larsen’s novellas, Quicksand and Passing, the issue of passing is presented and developed. In Passing, regarding Irene, “She wished to find out about this hazardous business of ‘passing,’ this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to take one’s chances in another environment, not entirely strange, perhaps, but certainly not entirely friendly” (Larsen 157). Both versions of the film and both novellas portray black women who come face to face with the act of passing. In the 1934 version of the “Imitation of Life,” the film deals with passing in terms of a lighter skinned girl named Peola while in the 1959 version, the lighter skinned girl’s name is Sarah Jane. The issue of passing in the film and literature remains relevant in the parallels and experiences found amongst Helga Crane in Quicksand, Irene and Clare in Passing, and Peola and Sarah Jane in the film adaptations. The black female characters struggle with the perks and acceptance allotted through passing in white society and the appreciation and understanding of their racial backgrounds.

The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point for many African Americans. A vast amount of literature was created specifically for this group during this era. It was a period when the African American "was in vogue" and "white thinkers and writers were devoting a considerable amount of attention" to them (Taylor 91, 90). For the first time, African Americans were being told that it was okay to be proud of who they were. This new consciousness and self-awareness was prominent in many works of literate, but several writers began exploring the darker side of this movement with literature that concentrated on the negative aspects of race relations in America. Nella Larsen's novel Passing concentrates on this

The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset,

James McBride received the title through a long ago conversation held between him and his mother, Ruth McBride, in which she gave her son James implicit responses to his queries as to why she looked so apart from his friend’s mother’s. He went on to ask his mother a question about “race” and whether ”God” was black or white, she replied “…. God’s not black. He’s not white. He’s a spirit”. “ What color is God’s spirit”? “It doesn 't have a color, she said. God is the color of water. Water doesn 't have a color” (pg. 50-51). It means that a persons race or religion shouldn 't be a deciding factor on the way a person is viewed. Water has not set color. It is clear. We should all be seen as the color of water which could possibly bring peace to our fellow citizens. It could even wash away other problems we still continue to see and go through in todays society such as gender prejudice and racism (etc).

McBride, James. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. New York:Riverhead, 2006. Print.

Nella Larsen had gained a reputation for herself in the early 20th century as a skilled writer and was highly praised by other acclaimed writers such as W. E. B. Du Bois. Known as one of the more distinguished Harlem Renaissance writers, Larsen often wrote novels and short stories that contained themes tied to social and cultural norms in society. Consequent of her .mixed race, Nella Larsen had often conflicted with issues of race and her racial identity; this oftentimes correlated with her writing. In her second novel, Passing, one of the societal/cultural norms Larsen addresses is the complicated topic of race in society. Nella Larsen questions society’s perception of race as merely

African-American literature is the voice of a race and a people who have a very passionate existence. They have existed in harsh conditions in this country for many, many generations. Their stories told orally, and those that were eventually written down, describe life as members of African tribes forced to adapt their cultural beliefs to a new way of life, slaves with almost no rights or respect, finally free men and women, and as American citizens who are also black. In their writings the reader comes to understand the African-American history and community. By far, one of the most wonderful, fascinating aspects of the African-American community is

The Theme of Passing, Racial Prejudice and Internalized Racism in James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and Nella Larsen’s Passing

In the 1940’s and the 1950’s, America was going through a world war and several difficulties that included problems in civil and woman rights on the home-front. In two different nonfiction memoirs by female authors, we see different yet similarities in the novels. Nisei Daughter by Monica Sone is a memoir by a Japanese-American woman, in which she describes her childhood, adolescence, and young womanhood while growing up in a Japanese immigrant family in Seattle, Washington in the 1930 's. In the second narrative, Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody is a memoir by an African-American woman whom writes about her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood life and growing up in her home state during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s. Moody and Sone had childhoods that lacked positive influences in certain areas and tell their stories to help others in understanding the issues that surrounded them as being minority women in a society that don’t accept them.

Nella Larsen’s Passing was published in 1929, it was narrated by Irene Redfield as she reunites with a childhood acquaintance that is African American but passes as a white woman in all areas of her life. Clare, Irene’s acquaintance, who passes as white explores the uncertainty of reality as she steps into the lifestyles of an African-American during the Harlem Renaissance, and Irene also explores her own uncertainty. Though many critics have stated that race in the novel is mainly to serve as a source of suspense. I agree with Jennifer Brody the author of Clare Kendry’s True Colors, that race is the forefront issue within the story and it is related to issues of “class and sexuality” (1). Passing erupted a fascination of the realities of passing characters both in black and white characters. Revealing the interest of ambiguity that many African Americans faced during this time period. The author of Nella Larsen’s biography argues that the main characters are not completely opposite but are especially meant to be developed as complex and

In Passing, Clare Kendry ‘passes’ for a white woman to marry a white man and, in masking her identity, loses touch with her African-American roots. Irene describes Clare as “selfish, and cold, and hard. And yet she had, too, a strange capacity of transforming warmth and passion, verging sometimes almost on theatrical heroics” (Larsen 10). Clare is charming, attractive and there’s something uncanny about her stare. She is no angel, but she does carry herself differently than the other women of her race. She has a mask of confidence and security in being married to a white man, but she is less secure than anyone else because she must keep her identity a secret. She is an African-American woman whose life began with her being controlled by a domineering alcoholic father, like Sara’s conservative father. He loomed over her like Woolf’s “Beadle”, and now she is stuck in a marriage with a racist man who believes her to be white.

The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point for many African Americans. A vast amount of literature was created specifically for this group during this era. For the first time, African Americans were being told that it was okay to be proud of who they were. This new consciousness and self-awareness was prominent in many works of literature, but several writers began exploring the darker side of this movement with literature that concentrated on the negative aspects of race relations in America. Nella Larsen's novel Passing concentrates on this theme with the story of Clare, a tragic mulatto who "passes" as a white person. Not only is Passing representative of

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze the topic of Ethnic American Literature. Specifically it will discuss the meaning and definition of Ethnic American literature. Ethnic American literature is a rich and varied treasure of poetry, fiction, drama, and much more. Written by some of America 's greatest authors, this ethnic legacy opens up a world of diversity to readers, but it also illustrates the struggles and prejudice that still exist in our country today. Ethnic authors use their own experiences to illustrate the problems and prejudice they have faced in an attempt to gain the understanding of readers, and to perhaps change some long-held ideals and falsehoods, as well.