Analysis of Passing by Nella Larsen
Irene and Clare are both light-skinned and can "pass" for white.Irene chooses not to. She and marries a black doctor and lives in Harlem.Clare does pass for white, and marries a wealthy racist who has no idea ofher black origins. He says, "'I don't dislike them, I hate them . . . .They give me the creeps. The black scrimy devils . . . . And I read in thepapers about them. Always robbing and killing people.' And, 'he addeddarkly, 'worse'" (Larsen 172). Clare lives a wonderful life, and Irenelives the "white" life vicariously though Clare after they meet again inlater life. In fact, both the women turn their backs on their roots andlive troubled lies, which eventually leads to mental deterioration in Ireneand the accidental (or is it') death of Clare. Irene, in one of hercoherent moments, tells her husband, "'. . . I'm really not such an idiotthat I don't realize that if a man calls me a nigger, it's his fault thefirst time, but mine it he has the opportunity to do it again'" (Larsen184). The novel is a sad testament to racism in our country, and shows howracism affected whites and blacks, and
Sadly, she even begins to wish"for the first time in her life, that she had not been born a Negro"(Larsen 225). how many blacks were reverseracists, and did not even believe it. Thus, the conflict is not between the races, but really howthe races view themselves, and what they feel they have to do to conform ina white and racist society. There relationships are complicated, and their lives take sudden twistsbecause of their refusal to live in their own worlds. Thus, thetheme delves not only into the hatred whites feel for blacks, but thehatred some blacks feel for themselves, and how it can lead to theirdestruction, both physically and mentally. They cannot accept their own identities, but they cannot fit ina world where they do not belong. Clare and Irene cannot accept what they are,and so they lead unhappy lives filled with lies. The two characters play off each other and are in conflict witheach other. They are both educated black women, but they hide theirblackness to fit in a white world, and they are complicated because of it. The ultimate theme of the book is racism in America, and what it canlead to, and Larsen wrote it at a time when these themes were not commonlyexplored in the white world. They are alike, yetthey are different, and so, their differences add to the complicationsbetween them. However, this theme goes deeper to look athow the races see themselves. In conclusion, "Passing" is a novel of great depth and socialawareness. The two women characters are at once appealing and sad at thesame time.
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Acceptance Essays
