Blackness as an Abstract Concept
Blackness is not an abstract concept; rather it is a sense of being. Blackness in America has been determined by the ideas of society and every day experiences within the Black Community. However, members of the Black community did not always accept being black. Members within the community saw the act of being black as shameful or roadblock on the path to success. Thoughts of passing, trying to go by a white identity, have existed on full and semi-conscious levels. The works Quicksand and Passing by Nella Larsen and The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson all show examples of these different streams of consciousness, Since the era of slavery in the United States being Black has been stigmatized. Blackness brought pain, suffering, subordination, and the eternal struggle. The history of Blacks in America has also been one of suffering, especially in the Southern states. Lynching, segregation, Jim Crow, violence and racism in its many forms became part of the African American experience. Society had harsh reactions towards Blackness. These attitudes began to affect the Black psyche. Black is defined as, "angry, threatening, wicked, sinister, and deadly". The strong abhorrence society had for blackness so
Brian, Irene's husband, states, "Pretty soon the colored people won't be allowed in at all, or will have to sit in the Jim Crow section" (Quicksand XXV). Helga stated:She hated white people with a deep and burned hatred. But she aped the clothes, their manners, and their gracious ways of living. However, these programs are used by Irene as "a barometer of her racial consciousness, it self-serving, not undertaken for the good of the race" (Quicksand XXV). this double consciousness, this sense. Passing was a form of deceit yet all she wanted was a better life. Passing is completed by one however and a distinct emptiness is felt in one's life. Helga felt trapped and suffocated in this society full of rules and regulations. Clare, although she has passed, still wants to identify herself as a Black woman on some level. Anne is absolutely disgusted with the idea of passing. She forms an opinion of herself and life that boxes her into the situation she feels she can never escape. Clare Kendry, however, is not a blue-blooded heiress who is related to the Vanderbilts, Astors, Carnegies, or Rockefellers. Irene always describes Clare and at one time describes, "the soft white, the bright hair, the disturbing scarlet mouth, the dreaming eyes, the caressing smile, the whole tortured loveliness that had been Clare Kendry" (Quicksand XXIX).
Common topics in this essay:
Ham Helga,
Ann Grey,
Clare Kendry,
Quicksand XXIX,
African American,
XXV Irene,
Mongolian Negro,
Anne Audrey,
Rockefellers Clare,
Uncle Peter,
clare kendry,
clare passed,
african american,
black community,
black woman,
chair sat,
life clare,
race woman,
black white,
mixed heritage,
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Acceptance Essays
