Abstract This paper examines how the stories "Quicksand" and "Passing" illustrate the profound pressures felt by NellaLarsen as a female writer in the male dominated Harlem Renaissance. It looks at how Larsen grapples with the conflicting demands of her racial and sexual identities and the contradictory nature of a black and feminine aesthetic. It attempts to show that while Larsen's literature appears to project feminist concessions to the dominant ideology of romance, marriage and motherhood, it can equally be interpreted as a radical and original critique of female sexual experience, repressed in both literary terms and in Larsen's own contemporary society.
From the Paper "The theme of racial identity is central to the exploration of black womanhood in both 'Quicksand' and 'Passing.' The main protagonist of 'Quciksand,' Helga Crane is portrayed by Larsen to suffer from a dual consciousness arising from her mixed parentage. Helga appears indifferent or even accommodating towards white racism as she accepts her uncle's new wife's racist attitudes, believing that she was 'an obscene sore in all their lives, at all costs to be hidden. She understood while she resented.' Helga is also ambivalent regarding Anne's ongoing racism towards whites in the form of sociological critique, and the condemnation of miscegenation."
Abstract The two main characters in NellaLarsen's "Quicksand" and "Passing" have fundamental similarities in being mulatto women from Renaissance Harlem in the early 20th century. The paper shows how both Helga Crane and Irene Redfield were well-educated women whose identities were more black than white, a product of their social environment.
From the Paper "Irene, on the other hand, had little conflict about being of mixed race. She married a "dark" man, had his children and lived proudly as a black woman. While often curious about what it might be like to "pass" as white (as her friend Clare Kendry did), she never seriously considered it an acceptable lifestyle. Being black was not painful for Irene as it was for Helga. Irene did, however, seem to take vicarious pleasure in the notion of "passing" through Clare, pondering about the inherent difficulties of living such a life."
Abstract The paper offers a discussion of the aspects of motherhood that inhibit artistry, as exemplified in the NellaLarsen novel "Quicksand," particularly in the conclusion. The paper notes the prevalence of the theme throughout literature.
From the Paper "The struggle between motherhood and artistry can be traced throughout much of literature. The image of motherhood as a smothering and suffocating force can be seen in Chopin's "Awakening," in Ibsen's" A Doll's House," in Edith Summers "Kelley's Weeds" and in most of the poetry of both Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. This is of course only a small sampling of evidence of the prevalence of this theme."
Abstract Nineteenth and 20th century American women have, through the years, evolved from being simple mothers, wives, and daughters to being women of true substance; that is, women who gained autonomy despite the stereotypes and stigmas given them by their society. This paper discusses how the novels, "Quicksand" by NellaLarsen, "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, and "My Antonia" by Willa Cather, explore the issue on how womanhood and motherhood are confronted by the lead female characters and how their chosen lives led either to their downfall or success in life. The analyses of women characters in the novels show how Larsen, Chopin, and Cather have differing perspectives in confronting issues about women during their time. Larsen equates freedom among women with freedom from the responsibilities of motherhood, while Cather presents a contradicting view, asserting happiness within the individual as the true measure of a woman's freedom in the 20th century American society.
From the Paper "While advocating for women empowerment and freedom, Cather takes into account the value and importance of family and social interaction of women with society. Choosing the life of a mother, wife, and pioneer woman, Antonia embodies the woman of her period in a more realistic setting and situation, where contentment is achieved not through detachment from the family and society, but by integrating oneself and attaining harmonious relationships among people."
Abstract This paper depicts the representation of race in the novel "Passing" by NellaLarsen and describes the role it plays in the lives of the characters involved.
Abstract The paper examines NellaLarsen's novel as a complex response to U.S. racial and class segregation in the 1920s. It discusses black feminist criticism's concept of social marginalization and the politics of sex and race.
From the Paper "Nella Larsen's Passing is a complex response to and critique of the patterns of racial and class segregation that characterized the US in the 1920s. However, the critique has resonance for the modern period because, despite the demise of legalized ..."
Abstract This paper explores the similarities and differences in "AC/DC Blues" and Larsen's "Passing", and their relation to the representation of female sexuality in African American culture. The author feels that the blue music in the "AC/DC Blues" recording and NellaLarsen's "Passing" are both the products of the "Harlem Renaissance".
From the Paper " The Harlem Renaissance is the most important period in African-Americans? history. During this period, there were many different and significant social issues and cultures playing crucial roles in history. Many new forms of music, arts and literature are presented. For example, female homosexuality was considered a subculture in the Harlem Renaissance. This phenomenon appeared in both blue music and fiction stories. In this essay, I would like to explore the similarities and differences in "AC/DC Blues" and Larsen's Passing."
Abstract This paper examines how Larsen's novels "Quicksand" and "Passing", focus much of their attention toward the enigmatic, frustrating confines of race in early 20th century American culture. It looks at how racial identification and awareness becomes complicated and ultimately causes life-changing conditions for the three main characters in Larsen's novels, Helga Crane, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry.
From the Paper "Born to a Danish mother and Caribbean father, Helga Crane's mulatto complexion, which allows her access to both white, upper-class European society and the upwardly mobile confines of black culture during Harlem's Renaissance, ultimately leads her to motherhood in the deep South, embroiled in the same inner-racial conflict and unhappiness that has plagued her entire existence. In each of Quicksand's various settings, from an all-black schoolhouse in Alabama to Copenhagen's patronizing social scene, Helga finds that "if you couldn't prove your ancestry and connections, you were tolerated, but you didn't "belong"" (Larsen 12). While she is undoubtedly met with cautious acceptance in each of her various habitats, it is Helga's own misgivings surrounding her background, however, which are most important in determining her constant, self-imposed alienation. "
This paper discusses the 'passing' of protagonists in F. Scott Fitzgerald?s, "The Great Gatsby", the 1992 cinematic version of John Guare's play, "Six Degrees of Separation", and Nella Larson's 1929 novel, "Passing", reprinted in 2001.
Abstract This paper explains that 'passing' does not necessarily have criminal connotations, as black men and women once "passed" to take advantage of greater social and economic opportunities accorded to whites, as does the protagonist of Nella Larson's 1929 novel, "Passing". The author points out that Guare's Kitteridges would never acknowledge that they are racist, and yet they are, if blackness does not conform to their worldview; and the society of Gatsby would never acknowledge that it is criminal, yet it is, as it consumes illegal alcohol. The paper states that the sense of class in American society, like the sense of race, is still fragile enough that these protagonists can fully become a part of its fabric.
From the Paper "The introduction of Gatsby and Paul to these societies thus makes the hidden hypocrisies of class and race respectively evident and uncomfortably present upon the surfaces of these surface-conscious societies. Of course, strictly speaking neither Paul nor even Gatsby are "passing" in the traditionally understood racial sense of the Harlem Renaissance or the antebellum South. The true definition, one might contend of 'passing' is to pass for white, not to pretend one is Sidney Poiter's son nor that one is of a higher class than one was born to in New York Roaring 20's society. "Passing" is usually understood to be "passing" for the light skin tone of white in the body of a presumably fair-skinned African American."
This paper is an exploration of the issues of obsession, identification and trying to be something you're not in Winterson's "Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit," and Larsen's "Passing."
Abstract This paper explores how characters from both novels become obsessed with people who can live the life they secretly want. They identify with these people and want to be like them, but end up hating themselves for their secret desires. Winterson's novel deals with sex and religion, whereas Larsen's novel deals with racial issues. Characters in both novels are trying to be something they're not so they can fit in.
From the Paper "In Larsen's Passing, Irene is an African-American woman who, because of her light skin, has the ability to "pass" herself off as a white woman. Irene was also a self-proclaimed race woman who was involved in activism on behalf of her race. She tells Clare, ?I?m on the ticket committee, or, rather, I am the committee (Larsen, 197)? of the Negro Welfare League. Irene doesn"t actively engage in passing, that is, she doesn"t make a conscious effort to convince others she is white, but she does take advantage of the fact that she can pass as white."
Abstract This paper focuses on a moment from Hwang's "M. Butterfly" and Larsen's "Passing", and compares and contrasts the characters and the process of passing. The codes that they have broken also are discussed.
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of the book "The Passing", written in 1929. It shows how, in this period, people were still mainly classified by their skin color. The book deals with the issue of how African-Americans themselves were divided, with the lighter-skinned people being accepted by the "white" society and the darker-skinned people being rejected even by their own.
From the Paper "Passing refers to the practice of light skinned black people trying to ?pass ? in white society. If a black person passed, they were thought of as rejecting their own history and heritage. If they could not or chose not to pass, then they were giving up a whole host of privileges and rights that came from being white. These were the Days before the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, everything was separate, but not any where near equal. If everything was equal, it is hard to imagine a black person who would want to ?pass.? There was this tug of war then, between heritage and rights that played on the people. Indeed, at the beginning of the novel, Irene runs into her childhood friend Clare, while they are both passing at a fancy Chicago hotel, Clare as a matter of course, and Irene, to avoid the summer heat of Chicago."
Abstract This paper analyzes the Harlem Renaissance that concentrates on the artistic expression of various African American artists in their search to redefine black identity. The paper explains the long term influence of artistic output.
From the Paper "Harlem Renaissance: Introduction: Two developments led to a mass movement of African Americans to Harlem, New York during the period when more African Americans relocated to this area of New York in what was known as the Great Migration. The first development that led to this migration was the growing dissatisfaction with many African Americans in the Southern states. The second development was the construction of New York's new subway system connecting for the first time Harlem and the city's downtown area A."
Tags: Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, James Baldwin, Nella Larson, James A. Porter, racism, prejudice, literature, poetry, oppression, jazz, blues
Reviews collection of articles on U.S. military spending during & after the Cold War, looking at global security, demilitarization options and nuclear arms.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 5 sources, 1999, $ 63.95
From the Paper " The issue of military spending and the size and power of the military-industrial complex has been argued heatedly for decades, but the discussion has shifted decidedly in favor of down-sizing the military and reducing military-oriented spending significantly since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the Eastern bloc. The end of the Cold War has given impetus to efforts at reducing military expenditures across the board. Ever since World War II, the size of the military budget has been tied to fears of Communist aggression and the perception that the Communist nations were intent on spreading their ideology to every other nation of the world. The disintegration of the Soviet empire has not removed all of the threats from the world stage, and indeed that disintegration has itself created new tensions in some parts of the world as ethnic groups long.."
Abstract This paper reviews the book, "Sea Wolf" by Jack London. The paper discusses the transformation of the character Humphrey Van Waden, physically, psychologically and philosophically. These traits are compared from the beginning of the story to the end. Included in the paper are quotes from the book that describe transformation.
From the Paper "Jack London's "Sea Wolf" was first published in 1904. London's story is a vivid tale of seal hunters on the high seas aboard a schooner called Ghost., who rescue a lone survivor from a ferryboat accident, Humphrey Van Weyden. A gentleman scholar and literary critic, Van Weyden's experience aboard the schooner becomes of nightmare of shock and terror. The captain of the vessel is Wolf Larsen, the most savage, brutal, ruthless character imaginable. Van Weyden all too soon discovers that there is nothing sacred or humane in the captain's character. London uses the scholar's ordeal at the hands of Larsen to create his powerful and unforgettable themes of courage and survival. He takes a privileged man and pushes him to the brink of reality."
Tags: humphrey, van, waden, wolf, larsen, seal, ghost, captain, maude
