Principle” and The House Behind the Cedar’s Charles W. Chesnutt, a well-educated mulatto man, lived his life on ‘the color line.’ Chesnutt’s skin was very light and was sometimes mistaken for a white man. Chesnutt chose to identify himself as a black man, but in his works, his characters move back and forth across the color line and struggle with the world they exist in. The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line was published one year before The House Behind the Cedars and included the
Concealment in Chesnutt’s The House Behind the Cedars Who has something to hide? Everyone in The House behind the Cedars has something to hide. With the possible exception of a few minor characters and children (innocents/ innocence), most characters have something to conceal. Taking this into account, this is more than likely Chesnutt’s acknowledgement of human nature before he gets into the varying motives. Is concealment ultimately worthwhile? Who is hurt and who is helped – or is there
and thus the negative view of the society towards blacks and mulattoes. This impartial distinction of mulattoes foretells the various problems and prejudices that were exper... ... middle of paper ... ...ings of Chesnutt and Wilson were helpful in bringing out the reality behind the inequality towards these individuals. Both writers boldly wrote about issues that were highly controversial in their day and did so successfully especially Wilson who in the autobiographical novel stressed the importance
Charles W. Chesnutt Though born in Cleveland in 1858, the grandson of a white man and the son of free blacks, Charles W. Chesnutt grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina where his family, having left the South originally in 1856, returned after the Civil War. Chesnutt who had little formal education taught himself and also received tutoring from family members. Chesnutt is known as one of the great American novelist and short-story writers of the late 19th century. Chesnutt lived most of his childhood
Charles Wadell Chesnutt was one of the first African Americans to receive serious and popular attention from the predominantly white literary establishment and audience of his day. He was one of the initial African American writers to be published by a major American magazine and publishing company. His literature was written during a time when the social and economic hopes elevated by emancipation, and the Civil War were debauched as white supremacy was reaffirmed in the South and blacks were committed
In the memorable novel by American author Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, we are driven to examine and understand the predicament of the privileged woman at the beginning of the 20th century. The main character, Rena Walden, is given the opportunity to pass in a high, white society thereby attaining great hopes for status, luxury, and prominent marriage. However, she is required to leave her racially coloured past behind her in order to successfully cross the colour line. Rena’s