Every individual perceives the world in their own different way and forms their way of life based on that. Centuries ago, life was harder, especially on people of colored skin. People of colored skin could not always get around as easily as a white person could have. The article, CLARE KENDRY’S “TRUE” COLORS race and class conflict in Nella Larsen’s Passing by Jennifer DeVere Brody is about her interpretation of the novel being of race and a mediation of class. She also talks about other literary works to either further back up her interpretation or to contradict their interpretations of the novel. The article mainly emphasizes that race and class are very essential aspects of the novel and that both Irene and Clare do it all for different
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I did get a better understanding of the novel, Passing, by Nella Larsen because this article re-evaluated important aspects of the book. She also challenged other critics to make her point across and used many key quotes that made my understanding of the novel better. One particular point in the article, that I most certainly agreed with was the part in which she states, “Irene is aware that she often feels outnumbered, a sense of aloneness in her adherence to her own class and kind; not merely in the great thing of marriage but in the whole pattern of her life. These details suggest that Clare ironically infiltrates a particular segment of dominant American society whereas Irene yearns for assimilation or absorption into the same world,” (Brody, 1992) and this true. Throughout the novel of Passing, Irene always is seeking a way to understand the world and she does this by essentially, crossing over and getting the white privilege whenever she wants. Irene at times says crossing over like Clare, in totality, is wrong but Irene in doing so whenever she wants is also something that is just as wrong. One particular point in the article, that I disagree with is when she states, “Irene kills Clare in part because Clare is black and most hated,” (Brody, 1992), and I have to say that this is something, in my opinion, that I cannot agree with. I do not agree with that statement because I believe that Irene killed Clare mainly out of jealousy. Jealousy because Irene was very envious of the life Clare lived and also because Clare ruined everything in her life the moment she stepped in. Thus, I believe that Irene did not kill Clare just because she was black nor because she was the most
I did get a better understanding of the novel, Passing, by Nella Larsen because this article re-evaluated important aspects of the book. She also challenged other critics to make her point across and used many key quotes that made my understanding of the novel better. One particular point in the article, that I most certainly agreed with was the part in which she states, “Irene is aware that she often feels outnumbered, a sense of aloneness in her adherence to her own class and kind; not merely in the great thing of marriage but in the whole pattern of her life. These details suggest that Clare ironically infiltrates a particular segment of dominant American society whereas Irene yearns for assimilation or absorption into the same world,” (Brody, 1992) and this true. Throughout the novel of Passing, Irene always is seeking a way to understand the world and she does this by essentially, crossing over and getting the white privilege whenever she wants. Irene at times says crossing over like Clare, in totality, is wrong but Irene in doing so whenever she wants is also something that is just as wrong. One particular point in the article, that I disagree with is when she states, “Irene kills Clare in part because Clare is black and most hated,” (Brody, 1992), and I have to say that this is something, in my opinion, that I cannot agree with. I do not agree with that statement because I believe that Irene killed Clare mainly out of jealousy. Jealousy because Irene was very envious of the life Clare lived and also because Clare ruined everything in her life the moment she stepped in. Thus, I believe that Irene did not kill Clare just because she was black nor because she was the most