Novella Passing: The Thesis / Main Point of the Article?

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Research Paper – Novella Passing
Research Essay
Despite the many assurances from the world leaders, racism continues to be a major malaise that works to divide social integration between people from different ethnic backgrounds. In the US, protests like the most recent Black Lives Matter only but confirm the truthfulness of the above statement. Racism has managed to penetrate even the most socially welcoming of platforms like sports. There have been numerous instances in, for example, soccer, where players have used the “n” word against their black opponents or even, used other words like ‘monkey’ or throw some racial slurs. These are a testament to the fact that racism is still real and that the world is yet to rid itself of it. The US is a country that has been trying to rid itself of racism but with little success. The early 1900s were bad for the African American race because even the federal government believed in racially segregating its citizens. Laws like the Jim Crow Laws only helped to sever any efforts meant to unite the people and break any racial lines. African Americans had to use tricks such as passing for them to enjoy the same privileges as their white counterparts. According to calculations by one of the most renowned sociologists, Charles S. Johnson, more than 350,000 African Americans passed as whites from 1900 to 1920. In her novel Passing, Nella Larsen explains the concept of passing while also combining it with aspects of racism by using the lives of two women, Irene Westover and Clare Kendry. Passing was a response that helped to showcase how insecure the African Americans were about their ethnic background despite it being propagated by the vicious and open racism at the time. However, there is a strength in wanting to be identified with one’s race and unlike the past, the African American community has accepted and is fighting for their identity more viciously and with a sense of purpose.
Knowing and accepting one’s identity is essential to overcoming the racial walls that the world has intentionally and unintentionally erected. In the 1920s, being white was the only way that one could get some privileges and also be allowed to visit some places. It was a ticket to some events, the pass to some restaurants, and for some, the license to live in some places or be a politician. Everything about being white was made to look unique and worthy of doing everything to be recognized as white. In the novel, Irene represented all that Clare never had and yearned for. Clare even confessed to Irene once when she said, “You had all the things I wanted and never had. It made me all the more determined to get them, and others” (Larsen, 159). Backed by the government, the whites were by default the superior race while the African Americans were meant only to serve like they did during the slavery era. Clare always admired the life of Irene and even wanted to be like her, that is, be accepted as white. She knew that to lead a life like Irene’s she had to be her, and since plastic surgery was not invented yet, Clare had to settle for passing.
By adopting passing, Clare had to suspend her race and true identity, but acco...