The passing
Abstract
The paper answers the questions on the two contrasting characters, Irene and Clare. Irene is a white woman who has special love for the black Negros while Clare is a mixed-race woman who has decided to pass into being white. The Passing is based on the change in the definition of some concepts like race with the race being associated with class and not skin color, people choosing to like other people’s competition and individuals from different races having contrasting character traits. The love for blackness makes Irene to get married by a black husband. Clare makes a difficult choice of passing into the white race to seek acceptance by the white race. The novel is set at a time where the only method of communication is by use of letters and narrates the lives of two contrasting characters, Irene and Clare.
Essay Outline
- Introduction
Passing is set at a time where the only method of communication is by use of letters and narrates the lives of two contrasting characters, Irene and Clare. The love for blackness makes Irene to get married by a black husband. Clare makes a difficult choice of passing into the white race to seek acceptance by the white race.
- Irene’s Marriage
Irene has an exemplary love for blackness and ends up being married by a black husband. The definition of race appears to have changed in the Novella, and Irene chooses a working doctor because according to Irene, working and being white was similar. Irene has an affective relationship with blackness and is not only obliged by duty.
- Clare’s Passing
Clare made a difficult choice to pass due to her hatred of poverty but did not hate being black. Unlike other passing subjects, Clare views passing as a play and not merely for love. Before the death of her father, Clare had lived a life that denied Clare both love and money.
- Time and Setting
The setting of the novel is at a time when passing is a normal practice by the American women. The fact that communication is not easy between regions creates diversity in characters and peer influence is not a common issue. Clare and Irene only communicate through letters and thus do not have enough encounters to influence each other’s way of thinking about passing.
- Conclusion
The love for blackness makes Irene to get married by a black husband. Clare makes a difficult choice of passing into the white race to seek acceptance by the white race. The novel is set at a time where the only method of communication is by use of letters and narrates the lives of two contrasting characters, Irene and Clare.