Jessie Redmon Fauset's Plum Bun

Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral tells the story of Angela Murray, a light-skinned African American woman who makes the decision to pass for white, in order to provide herself with better opportunities.This important coming-of-age story explores the African American female identity in the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, through a critique of racism. Throughout it, Fauset wrestles with colorism in and out of the black community, providing a vivid portrait of the identity struggles that come with being a black person who is deemed more “acceptable” to the white community than their black peers. Set during the Harlem Renaissance - a time when African Americans were beginning to reclaim their identity - Fauset provided a strong …show more content…
Although the subtitle of the novel implies that the story is “without a moral,” it is very clear that Fauset had one. It seems that, to her, potential and opportunity were not synonymous with race. As opportunities come and go, the only thing people have left are their true selves, and the people who accept them for it. Fauset seems to be arguing that, while being white might make life easier, that ease is not worth losing one’s heritage.
With the very first paragraph of the novel, it becomes clear that Angela Murray, the heroine, is more than unimpressed with her situation. The street she lives on, Opal Street, is described to the audience in unflattering details; the author writes that it is “narrow, unsparkling, uninviting” with “no mystery, no allure; either of exclusiveness or downright depravity” (Fauset). With these words, it’s immediately apparent that Angela’s home situation - whatever it might be - is definitely not one of wealth. However, while wealth might not be in the picture, there