Literary Analysis For A White Woman Essay - 900 Words

In Passing, Clare Kendry ‘passes’ for a white woman to marry a white man and, in masking her identity, loses touch with her African-American roots. Irene describes Clare as â€Å"selfish, and cold, and hard. And yet she had, too, a strange capacity of transforming warmth and passion, verging sometimes almost on theatrical heroics† (Larsen 10). Clare is charming, attractive and there’s something uncanny about her stare. She is no angel, but she does carry herself differently than the other women of her race. She has a mask of confidence and security in being married to a white man, but she is less secure than anyone else because she must keep her identity a secret. She is an African-American woman whose life began with her being controlled by a domineering alcoholic father, like Sara’s conservative father. He loomed over her like Woolf’s â€Å"Beadle†, and now she is stuck in a marriage with a racist man who believes her to be white. Clare married for financial security and the desire to be accepted, which came more easily if she ‘passed’ as white. She must â€Å"endure some things and give up others†¦everything must be paid for† (Larsen 71). Clare learns too late that the price wasn’t worth losing herself and her heritage. When Clare re-encounters Irene, she says, â€Å"’I’m beginning to believe†¦that no one is ever completely happy, or free, or safe’† (Larsen 67). She means that even though she chose the security of a white husband and a white lifestyle, she is not happy because she isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Literary Analysis on Revelation794 Words   |  4 Pages Literary Analysis â€Å"Revelation† Flannery O’Connor short story entitled â€Å"Revelation† was swayed by her personal upbringing in the South. She lived in the time where people from the South were very intolerant and narrow-minded towards people who had a different lifestyle and who were of a different race. 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