3. AUTHOR: NELLA LARSEN
Nella Larsen is best known as
the author of two of the most
famous novels of the Harlem
Renaissance, Quicksand
(1928) and Passing (1929).
Both novels deal with the
complicated lives of light-
skinned African American
women who are faced with both
discrimination and the
temptation to forsake their
heritage and “pass” for white.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koj6EvctbQE
6. 1. Q: Did Clare really get to choose whether she can pass or
not? In relation to that, even if she did get to choose, did it
make her happy?
2. Q: What is she getting from being a white?
3. Q: Does passing change Clare’s behaviors and attitudes
which leads to her death?
4. Q: What was Clare’s selfishness behind affair with Brian,
Irene husband?
5. Q: Was the affair between Brian and Clare real?
QHQ: PASSING: CLARE
7. 1. Q: Why was Irene so hesitant to keep in touch with Clare?
2. Q: Did the guilt Irene felt from “passing” to Jack Bellew
drive her to question the security of her family?
3. Q: Why doesn’t Irene tell Claire’s husband john the truth
that she’s not white
4. Does Irene despise Clare because she secretly wants to be
her, have the life that she has, and lastly does she wish she
could pass permanently just as Clare has? In addition,
does race loyalty play a part of Irene keeping Clare’s
identity a secret and does that further cause her underlining
dislike for Clare?
QHQ: PASSING: IRENE
8. OUT THE WINDOW
1. Q: Could it be that Irene pushed Clare and killed her?
2. Could it be that instead of Clare being murdered by Irene, she
committed suicide in an attempt to keep her secret from being
publicly revealed?
3. Q: When Irene thinks, “What would the others think? That Clare
had fallen? That she had deliberately leaned backward? Certainly
one or the other. Not-“ (Larsen, 1929), was she only concerned
with whether people would think she pushed Clare out the window
or whether they caught her pushing Clare out of the window?
4. Q: Is there a chance that is was John Bellew who did the push and
not Irene considering they were just as close to Clare and they
were near each other at the time of the push.
9. 1. If you get married while passing as something or someone
can you actually be happy?
2. Q: Given this time period, when is the right time to tell a
romantic partner the possibility of being partly black? Is it
worth the consequence?
3. Q: Is it worth it to pass as a white?
4. Q. Does the title of the book “Passing” serve a greater
significance in the book?
QHQ: PASSING
10. A RESPONSE TO LIT ERATURE: EXPOSING A DIFFERENT
KIND OF PASSING
Q: Does the title “Passing” only refer
to Claire’s racial passing?
11. Cheryl A. Wall suggests, even before the abrupt ending,
Larsen has failed to make her own intentions clear.
Because her attitudes toward Irene and Clare can be so
variously interpreted, it has been argued that the book has
two themes, passing and infidelity. Alternatively, it has been
suggested that Clare, representing black female sexuality,
is a sympathetic character and the real protagonist of the
novel. It has even been suggested that the real subject of
Passing is the desire of Clare and Irene for each other.
PASSING IS OFTEN CALLED
AMBIGUOUS
23. TONI MORRISON
1931-
• Toni Morrison was born in Lorain Ohio.
She is the author of seven novels, a play,
and a work of literary criticism. ‘‘Recititaf’’
is her only published work of short fiction.
Since 1987 she has focused mainly on
writing but has also taught classes at
Yale and Princeton Universities.
• Morrison is one of the most loved and
respected writers of the late twentieth
century. Several of her books have been
bestsellers, and she is the recipient of a
number of prestigious literary awards. In
1993 Morrison was awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature, becoming the first
African American to win this honor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxVUB
4g2IUI
24. Read: Hughes: "Who's
Passing for Who?” and
Morrison: “Recitatif.”
Post #6: QHQ "Who's
Passing for Who?" or
“Recitatif”
Study Terms! Test one at
our next meeting!
