Passing by Nella Larsen - Essay Example

?Max Caputo Passing Writing October 25, The Ghost That Lies Within Nella Larson’s novel “Passing” depicts a side of racism which is rarely ever shown or discussed, racism that occurs between different members of the same race. In Passing, racism is shown between two characters Irene and Clare on the context of skin color in the African community. Because Clare’s skin color is light, she can easily pass off as a white but Irene cant. The story projects different issues that arose between Irene and Clare due to this. At a crucial point in the novel, Clare’s husband, a racist white man insults Irene and she does not reciprocate. It is shown that Irene does not counter due to her loyalty towards African American Heritage. Nella Larson effectively used Logos, ethos and pathos to relay her message in this novel. Ethos is an appeal which is based on the reputation of the narrator. Nella Larson does have a huge reputation and this novel came out 4 years after her immensely successful “The Great Gatsby”. Thus the name is a very revered name in the world of literature and she is someone, people would probably by heed to and look too. This does not mean that we restrict Larsen’s skills by drawing comparisons with Gatsby; Passing holds its own in the eyes of the reader and is commendable. It is a carefully depicted saga of racial, sexual, economic, personal and national identity. The narrative of the novel is strong enough to hold its own in the eyes of the reader. So the novel stands tall on its conviction in ethos. Pathos is conveying the message to the readers by using an emotional appeal. Through pathos the author tries to evoke a very emotional reaction out of the reader. There are different instances in “Passing” where pathos appeal has been used. The story begins with a letter being received. Larson allows the reader to peak into the contents of the letter without giving away everything. This stirs curiosity as here the reader has to come to terms with the authors, limited, emotional and deceptive narrative style. Irene does not open the letter which was sent by a child hood acquaintance to her, Clare Kendry. She then recalls a time 2 years ago, when she and Clare met at a roof-top restaurant in Chicago. Back then, they were black women who could be easily passed off as white so they both decided to meet at a white restaurant. However, now Irene is shocked to know that Clare is not just passed as white but also has entered into a marital bliss with a wealthy white business man. He is a violent racist and his racism compels Clare to disavow her ethnic identity. Larson takes the reader through different emotional phases like this right from the beginning on. The reader can’t help but feel bad at the plight of the society we live in and the way certain stereotypes victimize people. In the remainder of the novel, strained ties develop between Irene and Clare. Similarly the way Larson has used minor characters to compel the reader to raise questions over America’s discourse of racial “identity”. Let’s consider the husbands of these characters. Brian Redfield who is Irene’s husband and Jack Bellow who is Clare’s husband are completely opposite characters. Brian has been shown as someone who is completely fed up of the way black people are treated in America and wants to relocate to Brazil. It is shown as his dream, a fantasy, and this idea of an ideal world. The madness with which he yearns for such a life does raise many emotional questions in the eyes of the reader.-are things really that bad; this bad that people are now actually craving to move out? Thus the reader does find himself or herself confronted with these kinds of questions. On the other hand Bellew, is a white American racist. He is a nasty character and he does not stir any kind of sympathy in the eyes of the reader. He detests black people and even his pet name for Clare “Nig” troubles the reader about his notions. There is also enough logos appeal in the story. Logos is the appeal towards logic. If one looks at the marriages of Irene and Clare, then these marriages do raise logical questions in the minds of the reader regarding family dynamics of traditional marriages, why there is such a problem in the first place and why should America be such a huge victim to racial discrimination. Clare at some point in her marriage does find herself drawn back to racial roots and that is only logical. She can’t just let go of who she is even if this means the end of her marriage and her daughter. The novel is set in a time span of 2 years during which Clare confronts her own challenges as well as Irene’s husbands. Irene is in a dilemma herself. She doesn’t know what she should do. Should she unveil the truth to John or will it be logically and ethically wrong. The novel ends on a very tragic note, Clare choosing death over admitting the fact that she is black. I don’t think she is pushed out of the window by Irene or her husband but that she jumped from the window so she wouldn’t have to deal with any of the stress that her husband had on her due to him being an insane racist. This demonstrates the extent of racism that exists in America till today. There are people who dread to confess that they are guilty-charged, black and would rather die instead of letting their secret out. The situation out there is very deplorable and needs to be rectified. Irene’s wish is granted on the other hand, that her friend Clare wont be tempting her husband to cheat anymore, like what she thought was happening all along. However, even though she is able to see Clare come out of this immediate life, she can never really erase her from her memory. Read More