Blog post # 3: Due 5 pm Feb. 24 (150 words, 5 points): Passing
How does Part II (Re-Encounter) change or deepen our understanding of Irene? What kind of person is she? Be sure to quote from the novel to support your ideas.
What has stood out to me the most after reading the first two parts of "Passing" is Irene's understanding of herself. In part I, Irene seems confident and proud of who she is and where she is from. She seems to be turned off to the idea of passing herself off as white when her and Clare converse over tea. She explains how her husband is not white alluding to the fact a few times that she could pass as white herself, but made a conscious decision not to. She seems secure in herself and comes off as decidedly confident and happy with how her life has unfolded. The turning point seems to come when Irene reluctantly meets up with Clare again and has an uncomfortable encounter with her racist husband. "It was, Irene thought, unbelievable and astonishing that four people could sit so unruffled, so ostensibly friendly, while they were in reality seething with anger, mortification, shame." It is on this moment I feel that Irene questions herself, her happiness and perhaps even her life choices. This leads to a subtle, yet poignant transformation in Part II. She allows herself to dwell on the meeting she had with Clare and her racist husband. She even becomes angry with herself for allowing the exchange to have such an effect on her, even though some time has passed. It is in Part II that I feel Irene is shown to be less confident and proud than she came off initially. She is allowing herself to question her identity and her insecurity begins to show. She is more susceptible to the pervasive ignorance and hate than she seemed at first.
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ReplyDeleteWhat has stood out to me the most after reading the first two parts of "Passing" is Irene's understanding of herself. In part I, Irene seems confident and proud of who she is and where she is from. She seems to be turned off to the idea of passing herself off as white when her and Clare converse over tea. She explains how her husband is not white alluding to the fact a few times that she could pass as white herself, but made a conscious decision not to. She seems secure in herself and comes off as decidedly confident and happy with how her life has unfolded. The turning point seems to come when Irene reluctantly meets up with Clare again and has an uncomfortable encounter with her racist husband.
ReplyDelete"It was, Irene thought, unbelievable and astonishing that four people could sit so unruffled, so ostensibly friendly, while they were in reality seething with anger, mortification, shame."
It is on this moment I feel that Irene questions herself, her happiness and perhaps even her life choices. This leads to a subtle, yet poignant transformation in Part II. She allows herself to dwell on the meeting she had with Clare and her racist husband. She even becomes angry with herself for allowing the exchange to have such an effect on her, even though some time has passed. It is in Part II that I feel Irene is shown to be less confident and proud than she came off initially. She is allowing herself to question her identity and her insecurity begins to show. She is more susceptible to the pervasive ignorance and hate than she seemed at first.