Issues of Racial Identity during the Harlem Renaissance

Early in the 20th century it was a very difficult time for blacks, especially for young women with problems with their own identity. Their fears are derived from the color of their skin. It is for mixed heritage or dark skin or fair white either. The African American young woman has experienced the problem of ethnic identity. The purpose of this paper is to study these problems in the chosen authoring literature.

Reproducing the "relocation" of the novel in the 1930s is part of the inter-ethnic problem of living in the country of the 1920s (especially Harlem). By painting a woman who conflicted with sharing her true racial identity, Larsen looked up the black upper class of Harlem of this age. Larsen's novel is a fictitious one, but it depicts the solid realism of complex ancestors of the 1920s. Jon Michael Spencer shows a comprehensive view on the role of music in the new black movement. By avoiding the literary work of the time, he focused on music and adopted the revisionist approach to the Renaissance. Spencer believes that the music of the Renaissance created its atmosphere and personality. In addition, he insisted that the Renaissance did not end in the beginning of the Great Depression but lasted for a longer period of time.

Written by Nera Larsen at the peak of Harlem Renaissance in 1929. This novel focuses on changing ethnic boundaries and pressure of white-ruled society. The word "pass" has the meaning accepted by people. The title of the novel is a metaphor of various deceptive expressions and practices of sex, gender, ethnicity. - The story of Nella Larsen is a story that two childhood friends reconnect and their life is following a different path. Through these characters, Larsen knew a warning story about the damage related to the consequences of dual life and the internalization of racial discrimination. Through Clair and Irene, Larsen tells the reader the results of the bicultural lifestyle of the early 20th century.