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Passing Research Essay by Nella Larsen

African –American pieces of literature have presented different social issues faced by

Americans from the post-civil rights era to date. Several authors use different rhetorics like

characterization to express their sentiments about sensitive subjects like racial discrimination.

Nella Larsen is among a few writers of her time who published a novel in 1929 to address racial

identity, a controversial topic affecting both whites and black people. Nella used literature to

present the changing definition of race and gender, and reveal how the meaning of these two

words are inseparable when defining whiteness and blackness. Nella reveals how light-skinned

men and women's experiences during her time. This trope is essential in investigating the

existing racial division in the US, questioning how color lines affect people.

This paper will present some of the issues in the passing novel that raises questions as to

whether gender and sexuality are some of the fixed identities in the society and how this is

associated with the color line but also social economic and gender structure with the society. The

paper includes reviews from various people based on their understanding of passing. The paper

reviews some of the contemporary coverage of passing and race relating specific cases like the

Rhinelander /Jones case to condemn some of the societal norms that fueled discrimination. Such

experiences can be associated with mulatto since the main characters are equated with tragic

mulatto.
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The term passing according to Nella refers to as the process whereby specific people are

limited by constructed color lines that distinguish white from black Americans. The term

passing is used to refer to other racial groups whereby specific groups of people are categorized

based on their gender, sexuality, and class. Passing was written in the mid-1920 during the

Harlem Renaissance era where African American started achieving success in New York.

Larsen's novel passing explores some of the consequences of racism showing how white and

black society detests the concept of passing based on different reasons.

The story revolves around model class African American living in Harlem, where blacks

and other racial groups struggled amongst white society. The story focuses on the turbulent

relationship between two women the one who decided not to pass and the one who passed. These

two characters become the focus of the novel where the author reveals their struggles to achieve

societal standards of whiteness but also struggle with acceptable identities. One of the characters

in the novel Clare Kendry pushes her way to cross the color line as compared to her friend Irene.

In the story, the make use of the two characters to reveals a how stereotypes have tragic

consequences.

Clare's portrayal is an example of the existing race and gender norms in the US.When

Clare meets her childhood friend who spent her life passing for being white, Clare wants to be

close to Irene because she feels the desire to reconnect with her true identity. Clare's decision to

pass is related to her childhood whereby her white aunts inflected her upbringing after her father

died this evident when Clare discusses with Irene about her childhood when she states that "‘It,

they, made me what I am today. For, of Course, I was determined to get Away, to be a person and
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not a charity or a problem, or even a Daughter of the indiscreet Ham. Then, too, I wanted things.

I knew I wasn't bad looking and that I could ‘pass.'"

In this case, Clare's perception of self is restated by her aunts who determined her place

in society. Compared to Irene, whom the author describes as having lived comfortably in

Chicago. Hence her skin color affords her the opportunities to pass. The shifting perception of

identity and conflict is evident during their conversation. Irene is not bothered about passing,

but she is not comfortable with the pass when Clare and Gertrude are also passing. The

conversation between the three women reveals that Clare and Gertrude are horrified by the fact

that they might have darker children.This is similar experiences shared by women during slavery

in America. In the novel, Clare dies to portray to the readers that passing has negative

consequences.

Clare's search and the need to reconnect with her true identity pushed her to seek

friendship with Irene who lived in Harlem. Clare wanted to interact with black people, but his

racist husband is not aware of Clare intention. Irene, on the other hand, resented Clare presence

in her life. Clare became a threat to Irene, who felt jealous of her friend. When Clare husband

discovered Clare's true identity, he wanted to confront Clare, but in the process, Clare seek help

from Irene, and this leads to her death. In the novel, Larsen focuses on blacks who felt different

because of their ambition and expectation that ended up in conflict with the social expectations.

Larsen proved that there was a remarkably intelligent cultural encoding whereby the

transition within the black community to middle class demonstrated how the societal limits and

restrictions imposed upon black people caused conflict.

In a review by Mary Runnel, she also acknowledges the conflict where two women

longed for different lives. One longed for comfort, and the other wanted to be black. In the

search for identity, one character is eliminated in the story; this does not solve the issues of

racism and discrimination. The author proves that passing can be useful, but the restrictive nature

of the society can push someone to death. Based on Nella portrayal of the two characters, her

main concern in passing was not only about race, but also the need to belong to a certain class.

The two characters, Irene and Clare, had a sense of class which they crossed obtain more.

Although the idea of passing dates way back from the 18th century, the term passing

keeps on resurfacing in various forms. For example, the case of Mrs. Elizabeth Jones, who

testified against William Thomas for killing Jean Thomas is among the many cases whereby

black people are limited based on their color. The reaction of by William Thomas when Elizabeth

testified is a clear indication that racial divide exists. William stated that he thought that his wife

was pure white. The fact that Jean's mother had to pretend to be a servant than declare to be her

mother proves that racial discrimination is a common practice in American.

Although slavery was abolished in America, black people experience different forms of

discrimination . The black population is limited by specific societal norms whereby they are still

viewed to be inferior and less intelligent.As many black people struggle to belong to the larger

American middle class as their children are assimilated .their children continue to suffer since the

assimilation process is dictated by white people who draw boundaries for black people. Black

population finds it difficult to navigate through white spaces. Passing by Neal Larsen was written

in 1929, but the theme is still relevant today when talking about race, gender and discrimination

within our society.

The Rhinelander trial is among the many examples that inform readers about the true

definition of race in 1920. The verdict, in this case, serves to codify the concept of race and

discrimination as obvious and unquestionable fact. Although the definition of race, gender and

discrimination seem to have a casual reference to a contemporary event, the central theme of the

novel and how it defines race can be related to several cases like The Rhinelander case. The

outcome of The Rhinelander case and passing illustrate the ways American discriminates people,

sorting them into specific categories. Larsen refers to Rhinelander's case once to echo the theme

of racism and identity conflicts caused by societal norms.

In this case, Alice Jones and Leonard Rhinelander married in 1924, and their marriage

became news headlines only because Alice was their black woman to be in the social register.

Leonard Rhinelander was the son of the wealthy family who married the daughter of a man of

color. To protect his identity, Leonard filed an annulment suit claiming that Alice misrepresented

her race and he was not aware of it. The annulment claimed that Alice took advantage of the

situation to trick Leonard to marry her. Leonard was portrayed as a young man who could not

make rational and reasonable decisions and could not avoid the temptation of a colored woman.

Through his lawyer, Leonard wanted to prove that Alice had duped her husband about her non-

white status.

The annulment trial is an example of how race relation in the early centuries was handled

in America. Colored were subjected to discrimination, and this was acceptable. Nella Larsen

novel talks about discrimination using Clare Kendry as her central character. Clare can be

defined as a mulatto because she does not fit in as black or white.Nella introduces Clare as a

light-skinned half black individual who is passing as a white woman. Clare got married to a

white racist man and Clare has no choice but to lie about her true identity which favors her for a
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while.Clare passing enables her to enjoy all the opportunities accorded to white people.She lives

a lavish lifestyle of the upper class.However, Clare desires to reconnect with her true identity.

Clare becomes a tragic mulatto after Irene uncovers her true identity. Clare dies, in the end,

making her a tragic mulatto because she fulfills all the requirements of being a mulatto.

A mulatto is a person who experiences certain tragic longing, for the culture they once

belonged to. Having come from both black and white descent and trying to live in a white

society. Therefore, the mulatto concept is that someone from mixed race lives in a state of

confusion due to social expectations. A tragic mulatto ends up being confused about the true

identity, and it is only through death that one can be freed of mulatto. The fact that Larsen

depicted heroine as tragic mulattos she concentrated on the characters more and ends up

diverting the reader's attention from important literary of racism readers miss to see the urgent

problem she tries to explore.

Passing is a novel that echoes racism whereby Larsen portrays the race as the primary

determinant of identity .Therefore, passing can only be possible if there is a need to reconnect

to one's true identity. This is not surprising because this form of identity crisis was common

during her time. The stories about Clare Kendry and her husband John, passing is similar to

Jones and Alice where both women can be termed as mulatto of their time. Nella‘s story

magnifies identify crisis and how the society puts on specific criteria for identification which is a

deeply rooted form of racism.

Numerous accounts of literature have questioned how societal norms can determine

individual identity. Although Nella's novel was written when themes of racism were not openly

discussed, her narration is still relevant in contemporary society. She takes a deep look at how
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different races see themselves. Blacks cannot accept what they are and lead to unhappy lives

filled with lies. The white wants the blacks to disappear. Thus the theme in the novel does not

only talk about hatred white people felt against black races, but also reveals the severe

consequences of racism. The present novel challenges for women which is allegiance, this

elegance is socially constructed and is meant to oppress women.That is why Nella used a unique

approach to reveal the complexities of race and identity which makes her novel to be among

great American literature that inspires the debate of equality.