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Oxherding Tale By Nella Larsen Sparknotes

1383 Words6 Pages

A person’s identity is what defines them, it is their history and personality, it is what makes them the person they are, and yet sometimes it is sacrificed in order to attain something more. The giving up of a person’s race, when it is possible, is one of the clearest examples of this idea. When a certain race is oppressed, many would be willing to sacrifice their identity with the hopes of living free of oppression. The idea of sacrificing race and identity for a benefit is demonstrated in Charles Johnson’s novel Oxherding Tale and Nella Larsen’s novel Passing. In Oxherding Tale, the protagonist, Andrew, is born a black slave, but is half white and has a light skin tone. He uses this characteristics in his escape from slavery and assimilation …show more content…

In the case of Andrew in Oxherding Tale, he traded his race. Andrew was born to a white mother, but a black father, and was deemed a slave despite his light skin tone. However, he was also viewed favorably by his master, Jonathan Polkinghorne, because he was the son of the master’s wife. Due to this lucky mix-racial birth, Andrew was able to receive a good education from a tutor, Ezekiel. However, this education led to Andrew becoming restless as a slave, “rich food for the soul, but in Cripplegate’s quarters all that was considered as making life worth living was utterly wanting” (13). This education Andrew has received has made it hard for him to accept being a slave. As time passes Andrew wishes to make money to buy his freedom and marry the woman he loves, Minty. Jonathon grants Andrew this wish a sends him to a mine run by Flo Hatfield, with the intent of making money. During his time there, he befriends a slave named Reb, and eventually the two decide to escape together. In order for this escape to work, Andrew must pretend to be a white man escorting Reb. Andrew’s light complexion’s power was evident here as the man they had to slip by did not even second guess them, “‘You and your man…’…‘We best be leaving now’…Noah Walters nodded” (95-96). In the escape Walters immediately let the men pass through, believing that Andrew was truly white and in charge of Reb. As the two pushed north Andrew began to become too sick from withdrawal to continue, he developed an opium addiction at Flo’s mine, and they had to stop at doctor. Here Andrew acted as a white schoolteacher and Reb was his servant, and in order to pay for the treatment he was required to work as a teacher in the town. This not only demonstrates how his skin color allowed him to receive treatment, but the education it gave him made it possible for Andrew to be a schoolteacher, keeping him

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The story of Passing by Nella Larsen greatly conveys the essence of the meaning of passing while giving us an stomach twisting exciting mystery at the conclusion of the novel. Larsen extends her understanding of passing to more than its apparent racial considerations. In her extended coverage of the phenomenon of passing, her focus stays on those who do not live authentically. On those who are so frantic to change their lives that they end up risking it. The story that was recently discussed in the earlier paragraph is parallel to the situation that Nella Larson described in her book.

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Passing as white can have significant consequences for individuals who choose to do so. Especially with regards to sacrificing their cultural identity and who they are. For example, “Clare for instance, had passed completely, and so had lost everything that made up here n**** self” (Larson 18). This quote expresses the consequences of passing as white.

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Thesis: In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, Malcolm X in his telling of his life to Alex Haley uncovers the theme of positive and negative environments unearthed by the interaction of African Americans and White Americans in his life and what those kinds of environments inherently produce. Annotated Bibliography Nelson, Emmanuel S. Ethnic American Literature: an Encyclopedia for Students. Greenwood, An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015.This encyclopedia points out that the negative interaction he held with the white man as a young hustler was countered by these same experiences pushing Malcolm X to reclaim his “African identity”. This shows, as described by the cited work, what a man pushed by his negative interactions with the oppressive white men is willing to do to find his identity (i.e. through hustling).

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Nella Larsen’s novel Passing is a brilliant portrayal depicting how light skinned African Americans were able to live their lives as white people if they so wished and the fallout sometimes associated with this racial passing. Although passing may seem beneficial to those who can blend into mainstream society, passing has several negative effects on one’s acceptance in the African American community. Such a negative effects can include the view of passing “as an instance of racial self-hatred or disloyalty” (CITE 2). In a sense, the one who passes can be considered a traitor to their natural race in that they have abandoned their in favor of a less stigmatized race. After all, race plays an important role in the formation of one’s identity

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In the 1920s and 1930s, blacks were treated differently, discriminated against, and faced with racism every day. In 1929, at the peak of the harsh treatment towards the blacks, Passing, by Nella Larsen, was published. Larsen demonstrates how blacks were limited in society, since they were constrained by the racism they faced. The favored race, whites, were shown to be supreme to blacks, as Larsen illuminated throughout Passing.

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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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A wise poet once said “If you never leave the nest you will never find your wings”. If you're able to pass and you never leave home you won't be able to reach your full potential. Through the actions and beliefs of characters like Gertrude and Clare from Nella Larsen's Passing and Jack from Langston Hughes short story Passing, the advantages and disadvantages of racial passing within the 1920’s and 1930’s are explored. Passing was very popular during slavery times.

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Lastly, he demonstrates a strong sense of racial pride by running a secret school for slaves. Ultimately, these characteristics are what drive Douglass to make his daring escape from slavery. Douglass reveals his courageousness when he daringly fights Mr. Covey. He is sent to Mr. Covey, a slave breaker, who treats Douglass poorly. Douglass

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Douglass' intelligence, determination, and courage set him apart from his peers and contributed to his successful escape. The desire for freedom and the desire to reunite with family members were powerful motivators for slaves who attempted to escape, while the fear of punishment and the lack of resources and support prevented many from trying. Ultimately, a successful escape required a combination of luck, skill, and planning. Douglass' narrative is a powerful reminder of the strength and resilience of those who fought against slavery and their struggles for

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This is particularly true in the 21st century, as the country continues to grapple with institutionalized racism and its lasting effects. In her article, “The Day I Passed for White,” Kelly McWilliams speaks to the personal, emotional experience of being a light-skinned Black woman and unintentionally passing for white. She writes, “people who looked like me passed in order to survive in a racist land” (McWilliams). But they paid a high price for that devil's bargain. They lost touch with their Black communities and abandoned the strong legacy which has helped us survive as a people.

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However, Richard works to be a successful writer despite the fact that it is a struggle for blacks to have a higher ranking job in a prejudice environment. In conclusion, Richard’s rebellious attitude is both a hindrance and great attribute to his

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Identity is defined as “the qualities, beliefs, etc., that make a particular person or group different from others.” Knowing and understanding one’s identity is something has been denied to African-Americans throughout the entire history of the United States, and is essentially the purpose of the Invisible Man’s journey in Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man. A lack of understanding of one’s identity is a cause for not knowing who you truly are, and therefore do not have the ability to form opinions, perspectives or a place in which a sense of belonging is felt. Ellison communicates the instability of the Invisible Man’s identity through changing states of water, and adjectives of water alike.

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Consequently, Adjei communicates that once a “brother” is consumed by Westernism they are automatically dismantled or “brushed off” from being able to express and continue their ancestral legacy. As a result, of the consumption of Eurocentrism Black people’s identities are being obliterated. Therefore, accepting such practices limits one’s ability to maintain their ancestral roots and in turn, experience a loss of cultural identity as a whole. Furthermore, the use of repetition highlights the confinement of one’s ethnic background as a result of a lack of freedom when belonging within a marginalized community. Adjei strongly recognizes the continued oppression Black minorities endure “because our ancestors never fought to become free Blacks, they simply fought to be free” (2).

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Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man is a sensational narrative that traces the African American journey to freedom, following reconstruction and leading up to the civil rights movement. Ellison’s use of socio-historical data to construct his novel has served to make Invisible Man one of the truest retellings of the African America experience. Ellison’s work does not shy away from exposing unpleasant truths, regarding the struggle to obtain and secure self-identity in a country that relies on the power of stereotypes to protect social hierarchies that are already in place. Invisible Man’s richness resides in Ellison’s careful unweaving of the social tapestry through a system of reversals. Ellison identifies the prevailing stereotypes, which act as identifiers for many of his characters, and reverses them to expose the dangers of using stereotypes to characterize, and understand individuals.

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The story represents the culmination of Wright’s passionate desire to observe and reflect upon the racist world around him. Racism is so insidious that it prevents Richard from interacting normally, even with the whites who do treat him with a semblance of respect or with fellow blacks. For Richard, the true problem of racism is not simply that it exists, but that its roots in American culture are so deep it is doubtful whether these roots can be destroyed without destroying the culture itself. “It might have been that my tardiness in learning to sense white people as "white" people came from the fact that many of my relatives were "white"-looking people. My grandmother, who was white as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me” (Wright 23).

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