Journal # 5

Larsen's "Passing" focused on the how African Americans chose to cope with racial oppression in the Harlem Renaissance. At first I did not understand what Irene meant by "passing." When she first describes it she talks about Christianity and being saved so I thought that passing might have meant embracing the lord into one's life. As Clare kept prodding Irene about passing and suggested that she and her friends might be able to pull it off as she had done I realized that passing actually meant converting from the being black to being white. Clare's life is a sham, her marriage is a sham because she is hiding her race and therefore her identity in order to attain status, security and wealth. But what kind of security did she really attain? And at what cost? She was forced to give up everything and to live a lie in order to hold on to her marriage.

Irene's dislike towards Clare is complex, because she obviously admires her on some level, yet I think that she could never accept Clare because Clare rejects the heritage that the two women share. Irene also envies Clare's beauty and confidence, this envy turns to suspicion when her husband reveals that he invited Clare to a party. I can not understand why Clare would even go to such a party, I don't understand how all of the people can treat her like one of them when she has clearly rejected their nationality. Irene is the only one that we know dislikes her, and that dislike became so strong that she was driven to reveal Clare's true identity to her husband. John Bellow was able to realize his situation, that his wife was not who he thought she was. When he confronts her at the party alot of tension arises. Did Clare fall through the window? No. When she was confronted by her husband for being a Negro, she retained a confident smile, and Irene could not take it anymore. Maybe she didn't truly mean to do it, but I think she knew exactly what she was doing when she pushed Clare. Brian's reaction to Clare's death told Irene that there really was an affair going on between the two, and through her confused, bitter, anguish she is glad that the deed is done.

The conflicts surrounding this event are racial insecurity (by Clare), prejudice (by her husband) and jealousy (Irene). I thought this was a very interesting story, my favorite so far in the Reader.

Works Cited

Larsen, Nella. "Passing." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 460-485.