This class agenda covers an author lecture on Nella Larsen and discussion of her novel Passing. It also includes a lecture on parts of an argumentative paper and an author lecture on Toni Morrison. The discussion questions analyze themes and characters in Passing, including whether Clare chose to pass as white and her relationship and intentions with Irene's husband. Students are assigned to read and discuss "Who's Passing for Who?" by Hughes and "Recitatif" by Morrison ahead of next class.

1. EWRT 1B
CLASS #5

2. AGENDA
• Author Lecture:
• Nella Larsen
• Discussion:
• Larsen’s Passing
• Lecture: Parts of an
argumentative paper
• Author Lecture:
• Toni Morrison

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

4. Group Discussion:
Passing by Nella Larsen

5. PASSING BY
NELLA LARSEN
Summary?

6. 1. Q: Did Clare really choose to 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. Question: What were Claire’s intentions with Irene’s
husband?
5. Q: What was Clare’s selfishness behind affair with Brian,
Irene husband?
6. 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 didn’t Irene tell Clare sooner about the encounter
with Mr. Bellew?
4. Q: How would Irene feel about the idea of “passing” in the
way that Clare does if she was in fact given the opportunity
to do so?
5. 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

12. DEBORAH MCDOWELL
“IT’S NOT SAFE. NOT SAFE AT ALL”

13. CLARE AND IRENE: IS THERE AN ATTRACTION?
THE THESIS STATEMENT: AN ASSERTION OF WHAT
THE TEXT SHOWS

14. IRENE: THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR
A DISCUSSION OF THE CHARACTER

15. THE LETTER: EVIDENCE AND
EXPLANATION
Evidence
Explanation/
Analysis

16. AN EXPLANATION/ANALYSIS OF THE
EVIDENCE

17. Evidence
from close
reading
A CLOSE READING: THE FIRST MEETING
PRESENTING EVIDENCE
Context

18. MORE EVIDENCE
Evidence
Evidence

19. EXPLANATION AND MORE EVIDENCE
Context

20. THE ENDING
Evidence
Explanation/ Analysis

21. AN ASSERTION AND EXPLANATION

22. AN EXPLANATION/ANALYSIS OF
MEANING

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!