Nella Larsen’s Passing is a great read that I enjoyed. Her depictions of 1920 society and the emphasis on the benefits and downfalls of skin color made this book an interesting novel. Skin color in Larsen’s Passing was a big deal. One could receive benefits solely because of skin color. So why was skin color so important and why did it matter to the main characters Clare and Irene? Maybe the history of skin color differences in America, the emphasis society has on skin color, and finally the effect is has on a certain individual. America, whom was now full of Europeans at this time, needed a work force and people who could survive the harsh condition that were present. The major factor that was affecting people from creating crops was
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Passing was seen as a way to better one’s life. It was the gate to success and greater possibilities. Clare would have rather lied to her husband, let him downplay her race, and sneak around Harlem before she would have lived her life as a black female. The lengths that people with black skin went to just to be treated as a normal person in society were beyond unfair. Society put Clare into a struggle with her inner self. She did not know if she would rather have a wealthy life with her husband and kids, or have a disadvantaged life, but have her family and friends by her side. Irene even passed for at two points at a time, one for a restaurant to cool down in, which would probably never accepted her in if they knew she was black, and once when she was to meet Clare’s husband. This is the kind of pressure that was believed to be the cause of Clare’s death. Clare could never really be who she wanted to be because she passed. She was vivid and lovely on the outside, but on the inside she was tormented and
Passing was seen as a way to better one’s life. It was the gate to success and greater possibilities. Clare would have rather lied to her husband, let him downplay her race, and sneak around Harlem before she would have lived her life as a black female. The lengths that people with black skin went to just to be treated as a normal person in society were beyond unfair. Society put Clare into a struggle with her inner self. She did not know if she would rather have a wealthy life with her husband and kids, or have a disadvantaged life, but have her family and friends by her side. Irene even passed for at two points at a time, one for a restaurant to cool down in, which would probably never accepted her in if they knew she was black, and once when she was to meet Clare’s husband. This is the kind of pressure that was believed to be the cause of Clare’s death. Clare could never really be who she wanted to be because she passed. She was vivid and lovely on the outside, but on the inside she was tormented and