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Passing By Nella Larsen Summary

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What does the practice—“passing”—mean? Being historically discriminated in United Stated, African Americans who have light skin often pretend to be white in order to take advantages and obtain opportunities to survive in the white society. Therefore, this practice is known as “passing” or “passing for white.” To completely pass to be whites, individuals have to leave their hometowns and family because they need to ensure other people who never know their true racial origins. Even though some African Americans have successfully passed to white, they feel the anguish caused by the six conditions of slavery when living in the white community. In the book Passing by Nella Larsen, which mainly involves two characters—Irene …show more content…

In the book Passing, Encounter, chapter three, when Clare, Irene and Gertrude continue to have their conversation, a white man, John Bellew comes up, and blends in the conversation. John has greeting to Clare, and says that “Hello.Nig.” When they hear that, Irene and Gertrude think that Clare’s husband knows her truth of the ethnic identity. Larsen mentions that “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.” But then, Irene notices that Clare’s husband does not know anything about her racial identity. Besides, when Clare’s husband keeps making fun of the black race, Clare does not get attitude towards her husband even though she is a black. Larsen refers that “he roared with laughter. Clare’s ringing bell-like laugh joined his.” In this case, Clare already accustoms to this desperate situation. Clare gets used to this circumstance because she wants to have higher social status, but she is not doing for food. Even if Clare is suffering the desperation, it is different because it presents in another form. The desperation is not just about getting enough or death, but it is about social status. To maintain her social status, she does not have any reaction or emotion even if her husband despises her

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1920’s society offered a prominent way for blacks that look white to exploit its barrier and pass in society. Visible within Nella Larsen’s Passing, access to the regular world exists only for those who fit the criteria of white skin and white husband. Through internal conflict and characterization, the novella reveals deception slowly devours the deceitful. In Passing, Clare and Irene both deceive people. They both engage in deceit by having the ability to pass when they are not of the proper race to do so.

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I will be taking a postmodern approach to the text and supplementing it with modernism and psychoanalytic theories before stating my final stance that postmodernism may be the most appropriate approach. This approach ensures that different perspectives are present in my analysis and ensures that it is not one-sided. The question that I hope to focus my argument on is “Does the postmodernist approach better emerge the idea of self from racism?” Rottenberg, Catherine. " Passing : Race, Identification, and Desire. " Criticism, vol. 45, no. 4, 2004, pp. 435-452.

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1282 Words | 6 Pages

Irene's marriage with Brian Redfield is empty and unfulfilling. Brian resents Irene because she was the reason why he could not be where he wanted to be, which has led to discomfort and arguments throughout their marriage. Brian very much wanted to be in Brazil, but Irene insisted upon him

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409 Words | 2 Pages

Nella Larson’s novel Passing, tells the story of two African American women Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry who embark on a journey to “reconnect” with one another. Although, similar in appearance, these two women were very different in the way they determined race. For women like Irene and Clare who were physically able to “pass” as white women, despite having African American heritage the typical connotation that race was distinguished by the color of one’s skin did not apply to them. As a result, many women like Irene and Clare would cross the racial lines. The character Clare Kendry was the perfect example of “passing.”

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592 Words | 3 Pages

Ignorance is Not Bliss There are times in life when people say we need to be grateful for what we have. I like to believe that I am always grateful for what I have all the time; however, that is not true. Sometimes the most important things we should be grateful for are the things we take advantage of and due to our ignorance, we do not realize how thankful we should be with our arrangement until it is taken away. This ignorance can be seen in the story “The Leaving” by Budge Wilson. In this short story, Sylvie’s father, Lester, has shown that he clearly does not treat his wife, Elizabeth, properly as he has said, “‘How come my supper’s not ready, woman?’

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1484 Words | 6 Pages

Instead of internalizing her fear of her husband, Clare perseus pursues Brian. This affair relates to the open sexuality of the 1920s. Clare wasn’t getting the attention she wanted from her husband, therefore, she was determined to find it somewhere else, a revolutionary, and very 20s, attitude. Clare was intrigued by Harlem and all the parties she went to with the Redfields. She wanted to be a flapper and explore things, so she explored her boundaries with Brian.

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694 Words | 3 Pages

Ann Landers once said, “Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.” This quotation means that friendship is can be good, and bad.

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1551 Words | 7 Pages

Passing, a novel by Nella Larsen, addresses the issue of race by telling the story of two African American women - Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield - who represent different aspects of passing1. In the novel, passing refers to the process of crossing the color line, where a light skinned person who belongs to the black racial community enjoys white privilege2. However, people who pass struggle with double consciousness as they long to honor their race without necessarily being associated with it3. The novel is highly invested in ambiguity to show the fluidity and complexity of race, and how it paves the way for passing4. Passing illustrates the struggle African Americans face with their unchosen race and their attempt to control their identity

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1919 Words | 8 Pages

While reading one of Clare’s letters, the narrator doesn’t properly communicate the actual description of the message as it sends two different interpretations to the readers. Not to mention that the phone calls between Clare and Irene also fails to communicate both viewpoints as the narrator only mentions one side of the direct discourse. On that note, the direct and indirect discourses of their face to face conversation demonstrates two different conative discussions, giving us a better insight of their true characteristics. As the end approaches with a mysterious tragedy, we are to question Irene as her dialogue and interpretation ineffectively matches the reader’s perspective, due to her outlook bordering between accidental and intentional motives. With the characters and narrator using different methods of communication, such as the letters, phone calls, and in person conversations, it leads us to question their integrity and whether the discourse accurately represents the climactic fallouts of the

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2025 Words | 9 Pages

“It wasn’t that she was ashamed of being a Negro, or even of having it declared. It was the idea of being ejected from any place, even in a polite and tactful way” (Larsen 8). This quote encompasses what it means for an individual to partake in ‘Passing.’ Through the process of passing, citizens of black descent were able to be socially accepted and never excluded from facilities and events that individuals who were declared black were restricted from. Irene and Clare meet up after twelve years of not being in contact.

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616 Words | 3 Pages

The story begins with Mrs. Mallard getting the news that her husband had died in a terrible train accident. At first Mrs. Mallard was racked with grief for the loss of her husband. As the story progresses, Mrs. Mallard says, “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know.”

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1012 Words | 5 Pages

During the era in which this short story was written, southern authors had a major influence on the way the culture was going to grow with racism, and also the way people loved each other. Kate Chopin, a traditional author who believed in southern ways, exemplifies how race and the characteristics of conditional love played a role in her story. In “Desiree’s Baby,” the author, Kate Chopin, provides an illustration of conditional love exemplified by the character, Armand, towards his wife and child; furthermore, Chopin provides instances of irony, elements of surprise, foreshadowing, and symbolism to prove that Armand’s love for both of them was not the unconditional love typically felt and portrayed by women, such as Desiree, during this era. Throughout the story, the readers notice different times where Chopin uses elements of surprise. One major surprise is when Armand opens the letter from his mother and finds out that he has African American in his bloodline.

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1283 Words | 6 Pages

Soon after he began to notice that the baby 's complexion became darker and made the assumption that the child is not his or his wife was of mixed race. The sad truth of the situation was received when he soon later discovered he was the one of mixed race, he then regretted telling his wife to leave with the baby (Chopin). Kate Chopin uses the different characters to create a storyline that the conflict of the story has ironic. (LitCharts)

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She exists in a time when women are classified as objects of beauty and property, and her heart trouble suggests that she is fragile. Louise’s initial reaction to the news of her husband’s death suggests that she is deeply saddened and grief stricken when she escapes to her bedroom. However, the reader is caught off-guard with Louise’s secret reaction to the news of her husband’s death because she contradicts the gender norm of the 19th century woman. Her contradiction to the stereotype / gender norm is displayed when she slowly reveals her inward

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This pattern helped Richard learn how to behave in front of whites even if it meant he had to be someone he is not. Even though Richard hates being someone he is not, he must to maintain his job and get by in the south. Richard is getting better and better at being around whites but in order to do that he has to do thing he

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