Race And Identity In Irene Larsen's Passing
Race is a concept of grouping people with similar physical characteristics. Such a concept is commonly used to categorize people, but the identity of a person is defined by inner feelings rather than physical features. However, finding individual identity can be troubling at times because of the societal pressure on the concept of race. Irene Redfield, a character in Nella Larsen’s Passing, faces racial change as her friend, Clare Kendry, undergoes passing. Through this new change, Irene is able to gain a new perspective and a better understanding of the world. Through Irene's ambiguous point of view on race and her interactions with Clare, Larsen emphasizes the significance of race, identity, and society.
Larsen stresses the importance of
…show more content…
When meeting Clare, Irene expresses her disdain, “Clare Kendry cares nothing for the race. She only belonged to it” (Larsen 61). The lighter skin color of Clare enables her to benefit from the same advantages as a white woman despite being of African American descent. As Clare identifies herself as a white woman through passing, Irene recognizes that Clare no longer associates herself with her African American heritage and passed on her previous race. Irene believes Clare has no regard for her African dynasty, therefore she views her as offensive. However, after speaking with Clare, Irene wishes, “Sitting alone… Irene Redfield wished, for the first time in her life that she had not been born a negro. She suffered and rebelled from the burden of race” (Larsen 113). Irene seems to contradict the beginning of the novel where she boasted about her African heritage. Now conflicted, Irene finds herself realizing the harshness of having dark skin when she hears about Clare’s life. Because of Irene’s struggling marriage, She starts questioning whether the life she chose is the right one. Contemplating, Irene finds it hard to uncover her true identity of who she wants to be. The pressure from society makes Irene doubt her previous beliefs which align with Clare’s experience with the world before she passed. The constant exchange of feelings and insights between Irene and Clare allows Irene to widen her perspective to a better understanding of race, identity, and
Summary Of Passing By Nella Larson
211 Words | 1 PagesClare Kendy had no choice in denying her Black heritage, her hypocritical white Aunts did not want their neighbors to know that their niece was black and that their brother had mixed with the races. Therefore
African American Identity In Nella Larson's Passing
409 Words | 2 PagesClare explains why she decided to leave her former African American identity for one of white privileges. However,
Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen
1779 Words | 8 PagesPassing is a novel created by Nella Larsen to create a noticeable resemblance of the past and the present. Within the novel, one can see the distinct differences and similarities of being an African-American in America then and now. Nella Larsen intended to show readers how African-Americans had to, and in some cases still have to, deny their own nationality and ethnicity to appeal to those of whites in America. Passing is the act of portraying oneself as a different ethnicity and completely taking on a new life role. Nella Larsen mentions how the two characters in the story, Irene and Clare, were passing as Caucasian women even though they were African-American.
Summary Of Nella Larsen's Passing
703 Words | 3 PagesIn Passing, Nella Larsen narrates the story of Irene Redfield, a reserved woman who eventually encounters her childhood friend, the fierce and seductive Clare Bellew. Clare is a black woman with olive skin who is able to pass as white in all areas of society. She uses this attribute to her own benefit, and though when she was younger she denied her race, since after she reencountered Irene she started to rethink her situation. Although Irene is also able to pass, she maintains a pride of her race, which does not allow her to deny it, unless when needed. In spite of Irene not enjoying reencountering Clare, she cannot imagine the unexpected changes her life will take as her friend progressively enters her life.
Richard Rodriguez's Brown: The Last Discovery Of America
837 Words | 4 PagesHuman tendency to categorize others extends to simple instinct. From the moment a baby is born, the first question already categorizes the baby: boy or girl. In Richard Rodriguez’s Brown: The Last Discovery of America, he addresses these ideals of categorizations, untangling arduous inner conflicts in the process. Due to his diversity, Rodriguez feels unwanted and omitted in his day-to-day life. Feeling uncategorized, Rodriguez journeys to discover new parts of himself and embrace them, as well as question societal norms.
The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man By James Weldon Johnson
1416 Words | 6 PagesThis novel brings up the idea that race can be performed, meaning that if the way one acts, speaks, thinks, dresses differs from that of their perceived “race” one can be categorized
Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria Summary
1004 Words | 5 PagesA helpful resource for anybody looking to educate themselves and others about the important topics of race and racial identity, the book's simple and short writing style makes it accessible and interesting for a wide range of
Black Men In Public Space By Brent Staples
880 Words | 4 PagesBoth race and gender are two interdependent aspects of appearance within identity. The combination of race and gender both influence how the author, as well as others with the same intersectionality,
How It Feels To Be Colored Me By Zora Neale Hurston
826 Words | 4 PagesIn Zora Neale Hurston's "How it Feels to Be Colored Me," she recounts her experience with discovering who she is. Through personal experiences, Hurston explores the challenges and struggles of race and identity, moving through society as a Black person. Hurston contends that while race is an important part of identity, it isn’t what solely defines her. She illustrates the idea that one's experiences with race are shaped by their environment and the people around them. From her experiences within this story, Hurston’s understanding of race and identity becomes more complex as she has to navigate how race comes to function in certain spaces.
Inner Conflict In Nella Larsen's Passing
981 Words | 4 PagesFor instance, there is a conflict in the relationship between Irene and Clare because Clare wants to reconnect with her old life, nevertheless this causes instability in Irene’s secure lifestyle. Clare secretly visits and spends time with Irene’s family which causes jealousy because change occurs. Clare’s frequent visits causes Irene to: “secretly resenting these visits to the playroom, for some obscure reason which shied away from putting into words, never requested that make an end of them, or hinted that she wouldn’t spoiled her own Margaery outrageously nor be so friendly with white servants” (63). This indicates that Clare is spending time at the Redfield’s tying to pass as a black woman trying to live as an African American woman while forgetting about her own responsibilities with her own daughter. In addition, Irene feels insecure that Clare will jeopardize her role as a mother at the Redfield residence.
Analysis Of Miscegenation By Natasha Trethewey
1051 Words | 5 PagesAlthough miscegenation is not a new topic, the effects that this phenomenon has on people’s lives has been the source of inspiration for many literary works. “Miscegenation” by Natasha Trethewey is an autobiographical poem that expresses the difficulty that mixed-race people face in accepting their identity in a society that discriminates people who are different. That is, this poem expresses how racial discrimination can affect the identity of those people who do not identify as white or black. Besides, in this poem, Trethewey narrates her origin, as well as how her parents were victims of a society that did not accept their relationship. Therefore, the speaker starts by saying “In 1965 my parents broke two laws of Mississippi” (Trethewey 1); those two laws that broke the Trethewey’s parents were that they were married and had a daughter.
The Role Of Deception In Nella Larsen's Passing
575 Words | 3 PagesBoth Clare and Irene are black: Clare looks the part while Irene looks like she’s a mix of white ethnicities rather than black. Irene’s ability to pass is the way she looks like other races and uses this to allow her to get to the top
Passing Nella Larsen Analysis
1551 Words | 7 PagesIn the beginning, Irene criticizes Clare’s lack of loyalty to her race thus claiming: “No, Clare Kendry cared nothing for the race. She only belonged to it” (Larsen, 52). Irene struggles to comprehend the lack of allegiance Clare has to her race. When John makes a joke about her race, “It was hard to believe that even Clare Kendry would permit this ridiculing of her race by an outsider, though he chanced to be her husband” (Larsen, 39). It is intriguing that Clare does not use her white privilege to defend her race and challenge her husband’s hatred of the race.
What Is Hurston's Message In Their Eyes Were Watching God
957 Words | 4 PagesShe has been a stranger to herself for six years, not knowing about her racial identity. She had never thought of herself as black because she has lived with white people all her life. It takes is one photograph with her friends for her to find out her skin color. In the book it states, “Ah was wid dem white chillun so much till Ah didn’t know Ah wuzn’t white till Ah was round six years old. Wouldn’t have found it out then, but a man come long takin’ pictures and without askin’ anybody, Shelby, dat was de oldest boy, he told him to take us.
Theme For Lusus Naturae
711 Words | 3 PagesWhile reading the story, you can tell in the narrators’ tone that she feels rejected and excluded. She is not happy and I’m sure, just like her family, she wonders “why her?” She is rejected and never accepted for who she really is. She is different. She’s not like anyone else
More about Race And Identity In Irene Larsen's Passing
Summary Of Passing By Nella Larson
211 Words | 1 PagesAfrican American Identity In Nella Larson's Passing
409 Words | 2 PagesSummary Of Passing By Nella Larsen
1779 Words | 8 PagesSummary Of Nella Larsen's Passing
703 Words | 3 PagesRichard Rodriguez's Brown: The Last Discovery Of America
837 Words | 4 PagesThe Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man By James Weldon Johnson
1416 Words | 6 PagesWhy Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria Summary
1004 Words | 5 PagesBlack Men In Public Space By Brent Staples
880 Words | 4 PagesHow It Feels To Be Colored Me By Zora Neale Hurston
826 Words | 4 PagesInner Conflict In Nella Larsen's Passing
981 Words | 4 PagesAnalysis Of Miscegenation By Natasha Trethewey
1051 Words | 5 PagesThe Role Of Deception In Nella Larsen's Passing
575 Words | 3 PagesPassing Nella Larsen Analysis
1551 Words | 7 PagesWhat Is Hurston's Message In Their Eyes Were Watching God
957 Words | 4 PagesTheme For Lusus Naturae
711 Words | 3 Pages