Nella Larsen

I am writing this letter concerning an uprising issue with your digital library service. Recently, I read a novel, “Quicksand” by Nella Larsen, on your site and it made me realize that some parts of the novel are difficult to understand by an average reader. For example, an important theme, racism is used in many parts of the novel, and some of these parts require further explanation. So, therefore, I propose that you enhance your digital book by adding annotations to the text. These annotations…

the events and circumstances occurring during the time it was written in. It is also influenced by events from the author’s life and the author’s view of the time period. Nella Larsen, an influential author of the late 1920s, is known as the novelist of the Harlem Renaissance. In her novel Passing, which was published in 1929, Larsen portrays her opinions about racial identity, families, and friendship, and also gives readers insight to her view of…

Nella Larsen was a writer during the Harlem Renaissance movement. She wanted to uncover the truth about the mistreatment of bi-racial women during that particular time. Quicksand is a story about a bi-racial girl seeking to matter during the Harlem Renaissance. Helga Crane is a half black half white educated woman. The story opens with Helga’s disappointment with her own life. She’s a teacher in school but she is not happy with the traditions of the school. She makes the decision to leave and…

The story “Sanctuary” by Nella Larsen has a very interesting chain of events that take place, all that can be evaluated in many different ways. Although the story is not very long, it has a very significant, in depth depiction of what the term “sanctuary” actually means. This story displays a literal definition of the word, as well as a spiritual awareness of the characters sanctuary within them. Through the use of symbolism and language it also provides a better understanding of each character…

Nella Larsen was a novelist of the Harlem Renaissance, born in Chicago, Illinois to a white, Danish mother and a black father from the West Indies in the 1891. As a child, Larsen’s father died and her mother remarried a white man, so Larsen grew up as a black woman in a white household, and in a white community. The 1920s was an era of epic changes in society. People were experimenting with their sexuality, racial boundaries were being crossed, the black community in Harlem was growing at a…

In Passing, Nella Larsen explores the options the African American women had and the choices they made in 1920s. The novel’s plot delves into the relationship between Irene Redfield, the protagonist, and Clare Kendry, who is, arguably, the novel’s antagonist. Even though race is a major theme in the novel, but a closer reading would conclude that pursing security in marriage and society is what drives every main character in the book. Irene Redfield, a complex biracial character, is…

“ Passing” by Nella Larsen explores racial identity and the internal struggle of biracial women in the 1920’s. This was a time of burgeoning artistry and pride in the African American community, but was also still a great time of discrimination. There two women faced the ultimate decision of which culture they would be a part of. This changed their social standings, lifestyles, and in the end, quality of life. The 1920’s were a time of racism and discrimination. Many African American’s…

either fool someone or protect themselves, became commoner with the increase of tension and anxiety with identities in the 1920s. [Transition to the specific text] In the novel, Passing, Nella Larsen bases her story off of black women passing as white to create better opportunities for themselves. [Thesis] Larsen uses a strong change in tone and diction to help describe the strained relationship between Clare and Irene and how Irene was more accepting of Irene in the beginning of the novel than…

Quicksand is a novel written by Nella Larsen who was a novelist during the Harlem Renaissance. She relates her issues of growing up with problems of race and sexual identity into this short story. The story is a satire of the movie Rosenwald. Rosenwald is about a white man who is placed inside many black schools located in the American South. Quicksand begins with a mixed race woman teaching in a black school in the south. These two stories both show what happens when race, wealth, and power all…

Passing is an extraordinary novel that examines the several aspects of the second class race experience. Nella Larsen, the author of the novella, presents a multitude of complex characters who each have distinct relationships with the act of passing and race during the 1920s America. The novella mainly focuses on the lives of two biracial women who pass as white women to reap the benefits and privileges of the first class citizens. The first character Irene, has a Type A personality. She is…