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The Triumphs And Downfalls Of Passing By Nella Larsen

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Chepiga Yuliya Professor Dani Spinosa AP/EN 3350 November 27, 2017 The Triumphs and Downfalls of “Passing” in Nella Larsen's novel Passing On April 26, 1929, a novel Passing by Nella Larsen captured public attention, conjuring a memorable story within the controversial box of one’s desire for recognition and fear of rejection. These oppressing emotions are complicated by the demands of assimilation. Passing explores the role of African American culture in molding one’s identity in the European-influenced western world. Through nostalgic and heart-wrenching flashbacks, the readers are submerged in the internal struggles of two dynamic women of color, Irene Westover and Clare Kendry, whose destinies are deeply intertwined through their appearance, …show more content…

The novel begins a brief flashback that takes the readers into the lives of two light-skinned woman from Chicago who were born into different social classes, but still shared the experience of growing up as black females. Although, at first, Irene Westover seems to be born a silver spoon in her mouth, she appears to sacred of her position in her family. She is completely absorbed in maintaining the perfect image she has established for her family members. Classifying herself as “practical and determined” (LARSEN 63), Irene simply conceals her overprotectiveness she imposes on her sons. She reprimands her husband for making observation regarding the issues such as racism and lynching before her sons. Being influenced by her carefree childhood in the Westovers’ South Side, where she was shielded from the reality of racial segregation, she strongly believes that she could recreate the same conditions for her own children. Occasionally, her tendency to shelter her sons, Junior and Ted, leads to the fight with her husband Brian Redfield, a successful physician. Unlike Irene, he positively accepts his sons’ curiosity toward the knowledge of sex, recognizing in this, their eagerness to discover more about the world. He insists on widening his sons knowledge by not tucking away the facts of life, especially the frightful facts of racism.

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