Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen

Clare Kendry in Larsen’s Passing, is a very complex character. She is an African American woman, who is “passing” as a white Caucasian. It all started when her Dad died when she was little, and was taken to her white aunts. Her aunts treated her like she was the help, so this made her want to be wealthy when she is older. Irene is her childhood friend, who saw Clare go through her tough times. They grew apart for a while, but met up in Chicago a couple of years ago. Clare has made herself an outsider through her actions. She is an outsider because she tries to pass as a Caucasian, uses her friends for her own benefit, and secretly wants to get back to her cultural roots.

Passing tells a story about Clare Kendry, a light skinned mulato woman who lived with her white aunts and passed as white. Clare then married a to a rich white man named Jack Bellew and never told him about her African ancestry. This story is told from Irene Redfield’s first point of view. Irene Redfield was a long friend of Clare who also was a light skinned mulatto. In contrast of Clare, Irene lived as a proud African American woman who married to a successful black man named Brian and lived on Harlem.

Irene and Brian’s marriage symbolized the different roles of women and men in their home. Although she told Clare that she had all the things she wanted and that did not need to ‘pass’ as white, Irene still struggled with her marriage and the control

Nella Larsen’s Passing uses the two main characters to explore how the idea of racial identity is not a discussion that is black and white, but rather one that is grey. The story is utilized to demonstrate how some individuals of black complexion fell trap to societal standards, causing them to abandon their own race in search of better life. But, in all actuality, the text argues that the pursual of another identity ultimately causes an individual to lose their own self identification.

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.

In the book The Color of Water, the author, James McBride not only takes us through his own journey, but also gives us a perspective on the life of his mother, Ruth. James’ admiration for his mom reflects throughout the story while showing the readers the growth and development her character experienced as she went through life. Ruth McBride-Jordan endured many heartbreaking hardships throughout her life, but nevertheless, had an innumerable amount of cheerful and zestful moments. She grew to be a remarkable woman; however, it was a long journey before she became that woman. Separating from her family, and leaving the South was one of the hardest choices she ever made, yet it was best for her, in order to move on and adjust her future for the better. A main factor in Ruth’s life prosperity was her first husband, Andrew Dennis McBride, who taught her many important things and, in a sense, changed her entire lifestyle and outlook on the world. The last large impression that altered her life immensely in a way that led her character to mature, was the death of her beloved “Dennis”. These elements all highlight a point in this woman’s life that caused a development in her personality.

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

In Nella Larsen’s Passing, issues of race, identity, and privilege are explored. Irene Redfield, the African American wife of a doctor, is herself “passing” in the Drayton Hotel’s rooftop garden when she comes across Clare Kendry, a childhood friend. Clare is passing as white in her daily life with her husband believing that she is a white woman. Although Irene does not approve of Clare’s passing, and tension exists among the characters, Irene grows to feel sympathetic for Clare and becomes closer to her. The tension that exists between the two women is suggestive of another form of passing and sublimated desire. Through the novel, Larsen demonstrates that passing manifests.

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,

The daughter of a mixed race marriage, and later a broken household, Natasha Trethewey explores the lives and jobs of working class people in her early works, particularly of the colored in the South. In her second book she researched women of mixed race in the red light district and combined it with her own mixed race experience in the deep south. Her ethnicity has greatly influenced the mindset that she approaches her writing with and is displayed in her writing style.

Racial identity is an important concept that everyone must deal with in their life. It is an individual’s sense of having their identity be defined by belonging to a race and or ethnic group. How strong the identity is depending on how much the individual has processed and internalized the sociological, political, and other factors within the group. In some instances, people do not identify with their race and they will “pass” as another. Nella Larsen, an African American writer and prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance movement, she explores the consequences of “passing”. Larsen’s Passing is a novel that challenges the concept of ethnicity, race and gender while revolutionizing the idea of what we describe as identity. The novel explores the issue of race through vivid plotting that depicts a mentally touching story of affecting boundaries in the early American society. The novel also explores the effects of racial construction on a person through multiple levels. Through Larsen’s characterization and setting she is able to bring out the social construction of race in an enjoyable and educated format in which race, class distinction and identity themes are intertwined. Larsen herself often struggles with identity, as she grew up being raised by an all-white household after her father, a black West Indian, disappeared from her life. Larsen depicts the theme of racial identity by using two women characters, both of which are attractive, and are “light” enough to be able

In the passage from her novel Passing, Nella Larsen uses visual imagery and tone to contrast Clare, Gertrude, and Irene, and the differing social perspectives that each represents. At the beginning of the passage, Larsen uses elaborate adjectives, such as “rich,” “tall,” and “slim,” to illustrate Clare and her wealthy image. Additionally, Clare’s possession of “tea-things,” “rich amber fluid,” “glass pitcher,” and “slim glasses,” stresses Clare’s prosperous materialism, setting the basis that Clare’s advantageous social position from passing allowed her to reach this wealth.

L. Hughes’ short story ‘Passing’ is driven by the conflict between the morals of having to behave like a white man and being African American by birth. The main character has a conflicting identity. ‘William Faulkner reminds us that in addition to a conflict of wills, fiction also shows “the heart in conflict with itself”’ (Burroway, J. 2011 pg. 249). This is particularly evident when the narrator, Jack says, ‘that’s the kind of thing that makes passing hard, having to deny your own family when you see them…you and I both realise it is all for the best, but anyhow it’s terrible’ (Hughes 1971 pg. 51). The main character is seen to although understand the privilege he has, also feel guilty about ignoring who he is by birth. David Lodge describes ‘…The beginning of a novel is a threshold, separating the real world we inhabit from the world the novelist has imagined. It should therefore… “Draw

She says, “I have educated myself since my return. Spoken with the old people… leafed through the archives downtown… spent time at the university library” (Cliff 195). However, her return to Jamaica allows her to see a completely different Jamaica then the one she remembered. She sees the poverty and hopelessness wherever she goes. Furthermore, she notices the hatred people look at her with because of her light complexion. She also witnesses several acts of violence in her journey through Jamaica. One example of this was when she saw several poor blacks burning down a mansion owned by a rich white man. Ironically, Clare’s family had previously left Jamaica to build a better life and get away from the violence, yet she turns back to that very lifestyle because she wanted to help her

In Charles Chesnutt’s novel, The House Behind the Cedars, there are divides between individuals in the black community based off of skin tone. It reflects on the experience of John Warwick and his sister Rena Walden as they attempt to pass as white. Rena leaves home to come with John Warwick back to his home in South Carolina where he works as a white lawyer and Rena takes on the role of a white woman. But they face the reality that their attempt at passing comes with limited success.