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Passing By Nella Larsen Sparknotes

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Ca’ren Franklin Dr. Vargas 30 April 2024 While exploring the complex ideas and motifs woven throughout my artistic endeavor, a remarkable resemblance emerges between Nella Larsen's groundbreaking book Passing and the symbolic meaning embedded in Erzulie's Skirt. Both are important platforms for investigating identity, exploring dualism in dimensions, and scrutinizing the standards that are currently in place in society. In her novel Passing, Nella Larsen masterfully explores racist occurrences and the intricacies of racial identity in early 20th-century America. Within this rich tapestry, one such instance is when Irene Redfield, who has a fair complexion, encounters discrimination in her native community because of her choice to identify as African American. Her …show more content…

Another manifestation of racial dynamics in Passing is Clare Kendry's purposeful decision to disguise herself as white, a strategic maneuver aimed at acquiring societal privileges. Clare's strategic move not only exposes the harsh realities of racial discrimination and the limited options that African Americans faced at the time, but also reveals a sad aspect of internalized racism that was pervasive in African American circles. This portrayal highlights the severe psychological toll of societal bias, forcing people to sacrifice their intrinsic individuality for societal recognition. In Ana-Maurine Lara's Erzulie Skirt, the investigation of racial identity is inextricably linked to the cultural and spiritual fabric of Haitian culture. The story takes place on the busy streets of Port-au-Prince and follows the journey of Azaka, a young Haitian lady dealing with the complexities of identity development in a milieu marked by colonial relics and indigenous

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The novel Passing of Nella Larsen held the historical and legal implications which can be seen through the judicial case of Homer Plessy who had one-eighth black and seven- eighths white. Plessy was forcibly jailed for sitting in the whites- only section on the railroad car in Louisiana. In 1896, at the Supreme Court, he argued that his black ancestry was insignificant and he was a white person by all definitions. The Supreme Court said that forcing Plessy to exclude from the whites section was against the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments about equal protection. However, Judge John Howard Ferguson affirmed that treating all people equally did not paralleled with eliminating social distinction based on colors.

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594 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel Passing, the author, Nella Larson, uses Clare and Irene to express the struggles and hardships that Black people faced in the 1920’s in America. During these rough times, some Black people chose to “pass” to escape the struggles that they faced during this time. However, this choice could sometimes put them in a more dangerous situation. In the novel, Clare chooses to pass, and she marries a very racist white man. This puts her in two predicaments.

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1534 Words | 7 Pages

Nella Larsen’s Passing is a novella about the past experiences of African American women ‘passing’ as whites for equal opportunities. Larsen presents the day to day issues African American women face during their ‘passing’ journey through her characters of Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. During the reading process, we progressively realize ‘passing’ in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s becomes difficult for both of these women physically and mentally as different kinds of challenges approach ahead. Although Larsen decides the novella to be told in a third person narrative, different thoughts and messages of Irene and Clare communicate broken ideas for the reader, causing the interpretation of the novella to vary from different perspectives. Jakobson’s model of communication provides a visual guide to help

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575 Words | 3 Pages

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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1147 Words | 5 Pages

From the start the crossing the racial boundaries between blacks and whites bring tragedy to the end. At the party in Felise’s house, Irene comments “It seems dreadfully warm in here. Mind if I open this widow? […] Open one of the long casement windows”(110) The importance on how warm Irene is reminds us the beginning of the novel, which happened on “a brilliant day, hot, with a brutal staring sun” (12).

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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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1385 Words | 6 Pages

In the book, there are significant racial tensions and racial divisions in society. Young Black women like Lauren, the primary character, must find their way in a society where they face prejudice and marginalization. In the story, racism is shown as a persistent menace in a society where one's character or aptitudes are more often evaluated than the color of one's skin. Unfortunately, this is a problem that persists in modern culture. The work emphasizes the consequences of institutionalized racism, which persists today.

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1484 Words | 6 Pages

It is often said that a new definition of a woman arose in the 1920s. But is that true? While most women experienced many newfound freedoms in the 1920s, black women could not explore these freedoms as easily as white women. In the novel Passing by Nella Larsen, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry grew up in Chicago together and are now both two wives and mothers in New York City during the 1920s, but there is a big difference between them. The novel’s title refers to light-skinned black women masquerading as white women for social benefits.

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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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981 Words | 4 Pages

Racism was always a big issue and still occurs today. The story “Passing” took place in the 1920’s during the Harlem Renaissance and it spoke about the term “Passing” which indicates that African American’s who looked lighted skin can go to public places without being discriminated. In “Passing” Nella Larsen demonstrates how racism causes jealousy, resentment, and dishonesty in relationships. The idea is conveyed through inner conflict, the conflict between the main characters and how the Harlem Renaissance period inflicts tension in relationships.

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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

Nella Larsen’s Passing is a novella about the past experiences of African American women ‘passing’ as whites for equal opportunities. Larsen presents the day to day issues African American women face during their ‘passing’ journey through her characters of Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. During the reading process, we progressively realize ‘passing’ in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s becomes difficult for both of these women physically and mentally as different kinds of challenges approach ahead. Although Larsen decides the novella to be told in a third person narrative, different thoughts and messages of Irene and Clare communicate broken ideas for the reader, causing the interpretation of the novella to vary from different perspectives.

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1682 Words | 7 Pages

Female African American writers tend to focus more on the experience of black women (which we will consider for this novel). Black women are often introduced as the minority in the race, especially seen in writings during the 1970’s. Most of these writings have female characters who have domestic duties, which can reveal the passing of traditions and cultures from one generation to the next and the role of a woman in an inconvenienced household. They also deal with the image and perception of the Black woman, whether through looks, skin color, or her voice. The woman’s narrative is often formed gradually, often times alongside a woman who has already discovered herself, but we must consider that “it may take the form of exploring one’s own abilities, needs, and desires” (Tyson, 391).

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Corvids are an incredibly intelligent family of birds that have exhibited strong cognitive capabilities and are shown to have strong social cognition as well. Corvids are members of the crow family, some of which include: crows, jays, magpies, and ravens (“Crows”, 2017). Through natural selection it is clear that it is important for the individual to obtain food in order to survive. So, it would only make sense for the individual corvid to discover a food source and to want to keep it all to itself. However, crows have actually exhibited the opposite.

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How the child is being raised has an impact on what he will be and it could also be a reason for the adolescents to be delinquent. According to Psychologists, there are four parenting styles which couple practices that have different pros and cons that can either help or disrupt a child’s well-being (Very Well: Learn How Each Parenting Style Impacts Children, Parenting Style). First parenting style is the Authoritarian Parenting. In this style of parenting, a stern, strict attitude is generally the approach taken. This means that there is a demand to follow the rules of the house which have no exceptions and if those rules are broken, the child will suffer punishments (Health Research Funding.org).

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