Determinism in Nella Larsen’s Quicksand During the Harlem Renaissance, many literary works concentrated on celebrating African American heritage. However, many other writers also began concentrating on the darker theme of naturalism. Nella Larsen’s Quicksand illustrates many elements of this movement. These include a biological determinism, where man is conceived of as controlled by his primitive animal instincts and a sociological determinism, whereby the weak are destroyed and the strong survive
Nella Larsen's Passing The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point for many African Americans. A vast amount of literature was created specifically for this group during this era. It was a period when the African American "was in vogue" and "white thinkers and writers were devoting a considerable amount of attention" to them (Taylor 91, 90). For the first time, African Americans were being told that it was okay to be proud of who they were. This new consciousness and self-awareness was prominent
The first encounter with Helga Crane, Nella Larsen’s protagonist in the novel Quicksand, introduces the heroine unwinding after a day of work in a dimly lit room. She is alone. And while no one else is present in the room, Helga is accompanied by her own thoughts, feelings, and her worrisome perceptions of the world around her. Throughout the novel, it becomes clear that most of Helga’s concerns revolve around two issues- race and sex. Even though there are many human character antagonists that play
Helga's Problem With Commitment in Nella Larsen's Quicksand In Nella Larsen's Quicksand, Helga Crane passively opts out of situations; her actions are consistently reactionary. Helga’s anxiety is the figurative “quicksand” in which she sinks throughout the novel: Helga is too afraid to commit to a decision and thus flees geographically, failing to realize she can not find happiness through avoiding decisions. Naxos is the first place Helga leaves to flee from commitments. Her engagement to
Human Relationships in Nella Larsen's Passing Works Cited Not Included The Harlem Renaissance was a turning point for many African Americans. A vast amount of literature was created specifically for this group during this era. For the first time, African Americans were being told that it was okay to be proud of who they were. This new consciousness and self-awareness was prominent in many works of literature, but several writers began exploring the darker side of this movement with literature
This essay will focus on how the novel Passing by Nella Larsen engages with the theme identity. Before proceeding, it is worth defining identity in order to understand how that definition does and does not work in the analysis of Passing. According to the Oxford dictionary, identity means ‘the fact of being who or what a person or thing is’, it is ‘the characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is’. A person retains a sense of self identity, or a sense that they belong in a culture
The first encounter with Helga Crane, Nella Larsen’s protagonist in the novel Quicksand, introduces the heroine unwinding after a day of work in a dimly lit room. Alone. Or, is she? Although no one else is present in the room, Helga is accompanied by her own thoughts, feelings, and her worrisome perceptions of the world around her. Helga’s anxieties and fears are perhaps some of her most challenging adversaries. And while there are human character antagonists that will soon play a significant role
Everyone feels lonely and sad at times throughout his or her lives, but when that feeling is never satisfied, it becomes like an illness. Trying to desperately find where you fit in and feel at home can be exhausting and in some cases never ending. In Nella Larsen’s Quicksand, there is a constant theme of isolation and alienation, which subsequently affects every aspect of the main character, Helga Crane’s, life throughout the novella. When we first meet Helga in the beginning of Quicksand we right away
According to Psychology Today, Jealousy is usually regarded as the emotional reaction to a threat to one’s relationship with a real or imagined romantic rival. In the short story Passing by Nella Larsen, the aforementioned description can be attributed to the story’s main protagonist. Within the story, Irene Redfield develops feelings of jealousy towards her friend Clare Kendry. Although the two women are initially close, the relationship between the two is severed when Irene starts to believe Clare
The Root of Jealousy In Nella Larsen’s Passing, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry show us a great deal about race and sexuality in the 1920s. Both are extremely light-skinned women of African-American descent. However similar they appear to be, their views on race, a very controversial issue at the time, differ significantly. Clare chooses to use her physical appearance as an advantage in America’s racist and sexist society, leaving behind everything that connects her to her African-American identity
In Nella Larsen’s Passing, Clare Kendry passes variously as black or white, but never represents herself as the biracial individual she is. Despite being predominantly white, Clare is considered black by white society because her grandmother was black. She is in fact distinctly biracial, yet society rejects the possibility simultaneous inclusion in two racial groups, and Clare is forced to pass as white and conceal a part of her identity in order to live in a society in which identity is perceived
Nella Larsen’s Passing, published during the Harlem Renaissance, attempts to demonstrate the role that racial passing plays in society. The novel revolves around Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, whose fair complexions present them the opportunity to pass as white. However, as society progresses, the ways that Clare and Irene pass are no longer relevant or necessary. Societal norms no longer warrant a full transition into whiteness, as Clare does in the novel. Despite this change, many still feel
very broad term, one that people identify themselves with, or one used to describe ethnic background. Although some people may see it fit to choose their race depending on the situation, race cannot be chosen. This paper will show with examples from Nella Larsen’s Passing that race cannot be chosen, no matter how hard one may try to perceive themselves as another race. Through the story of Irene and Clare, both women use passing as white to their advantage as well as disadvantage. Their storylines interlink
Identity and Duality in Nella Larsen’s Passing The Harlem Renaissance was a 1920’s cultural movement that allowed African Americans growth after years of discrimination hindered them culturally. There are many well renowned writers associated with the movement, however although unrecognized Nella Larsen was a very relevant and important contribution with her novels Passing and Quicksand. Her novel Passing in particular, focuses on the lives of Irene and Brian Redfield and John Bellow and how their
much simpler than uncovering an African American character. The foundation of passing can be credited to racism and its furtherance is attributed to the prejudice against misogyny, sexism, ethnocentrism etc. A famous literary account of passing is Nella Larsen’s novel Passing; in this novel she reveals that passing is more than just a racial conflict and that it is about social status and identity.
In Nella Larsen’s Passing, the final scene of Part Two: Re-Encounter highlights Clare’s confession of her selfish nature and Irene’s ignorance of her own flaws, emphasizing the introspective view that both causes suffering for Clare and allows her to remain more perceptive of her own actions and their consequences. As Clare asserts that “children aren’t everything,” the work identifies her self-satisfying nature that positions herself above even her family, implicitly illustrating her newfound love
the margin and the shape of the text, how it fits into the big picture of categorization, begins to take form. African-American literature has a rich tradition that exemplifies this concept: From Equiano and Harriot Jacobs' slave narratives to Nella Larsen and James Wheldon Johnson's "passing;" from Phyllis Wheatley and Countee Cullen's solemn classical poetic forms to the eloquent anger of the 1960s Black Arts movement, the universal thread of discord and displacement influence the overall
Race is a concept that is commonly regarded as definitive, unmissable, and, most importantly, unchangeable. Society in the Jim Crow era drew a line through laws and social norms and was perceived to be untraversable. However, the line may have been drawn but many crossed it, as it lacked rigidity and was impossible to enforce. Although many people thought the categories for race during this era were clearly divided, they weren’t as mixed racial people had equal claims to both sides. The fact that
Passing: Control Manifest Cannot Last Forever Racial passing occurs when an individual born with one racial identity is also able to fit in as a member of another racial group. Nella Larsen’s novel Passing presents the theme of control manifest as a facet to explain the internal struggles of both race and attitude in the lives of two individuals, Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield, who are accidentally reunited on a rooftop deck both “passing” as white women after growing up together in a black society
Nella Larson was an African American writer during the Harlem Renaissance. After Larson was born in 1891, her Danish mother left her mulatto father and remarried a white man. Being the only member of color, Larson was an outcast with her family and their peers. At the same time, she was lighter skinned than most people of color, so she was an outcast to them as well. This left Larson struggling both with identifying herself and with whom to identify with. Larson uses this personal struggle as the