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Passing
by Nella Larsen
When does a cup become a bowl?
The Tragic Mulatta & Racial Passing
"Cross" by Langston Hughes
"Cross"
My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wished her well
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm going to die,
Being neither white nor black?
Defining black & white
Terms like quadroon, octaroons, and mulattoes (yes, like mules) used to refer to African-Americans with primarily white ancestry
Racial Passing
The Tragic Mulatto
Almost always involving a female able to pass as white, so that a white "knight" could offer her a "better" life. However, becoming white meant subsequently abandoning her black identity, leading to her tragic ending.
Check out more about the tragic mulatto and the history of other racial segregation at the Jim Crow Museum: https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/mulatto/homepage.htm
The Tragic Mulatto
"Neither White nor Black"
Nella Larsen
Raised in white family in Chicago (2% black population in 1910)
Attended Fisk University; lived in Denmark for four years after being expelled
Quicksand -story of homelessness
Moved to Harlem in 1920s with husband; began literary career
Divorced in 1933, returned to nursing until she died in 1964
Career Killer
Short story "Sanctuary" accused of plagiarizing Sheila Kaye Smith's "Mrs. Adis"
Larsen denied claims; accusations never proven.
"Sanctuary"
Passing
In Your Reading
- Title is ambiguous; besides racial passing, what other kinds of passing take place?
- Passing of Protagonist
- Sympathetic characters
- Typical ending, but ambiguous