An Analysis Of Fauset's There Is Confusion

Fauset was a cultured, well-bred woman, a close associate of Du Bois viewed France as fair and free, however based on her writings which utilized French settings, philosophy, and education abroad in her writings. In her novel, There Is Confusion, published in 1924, she notes the hardships due to segregation in the U. S. Army that had already been notated by Dubois in The Crisis. To continue, Fauset wrote stories beginning in a visit in 1924 depicting American soldiers in France, clearly stating how racial prejudice was brought to white American soldiers which contrasts how she describes the French countryside as dumb and dull. To follow, Fauset believed, “France bleeds to keep men free,” yet the negative imagery of the setting, shows her belief that although free in France, Black people abroad would enjoy the splendor of America if it was not for racism and they did not necessarily feel at home abroad after even studying and immersing themselves in their culture, as she had done.
Fauset more so kept her correspondence to her American contemporaries such as Hughes, Locke, and McKay while in France, refusing to translate Maran’s Batouala due to what she viewed as crude imagery of America which would embarrass her high society.
Fauset also felt she was better than Blacks outside of America; despite being a critically acclaimed writer, Maran failed to impress her saying, “there is no question American Negroes are the best there are.” However, one of the younger generation of writers, Gwendolyn Bennett at twenty three, a graphic artist, writer, and professor at Howard read Batouala French, highlighting the younger generation of the Harlem Renaissance choosing to change course of the philosophies of the movement with the goal of taking these principles worldwide. When Bennet returned to Harlem in the early 1930s she was shocked by the once vibrant community, like many other parts of the country, in the grip of the nation’s worst financial
crisis. Like her other Harlem Renaissance contemporaries, Bennett continued to create poetry and artwork after she returned to the New York area but with few publishing outlets available little of it was published. Now, rather than trying to build up her race and promote community between diverse groups via her published poetry, short stories, columns, and artwork, Bennett pursued her vision through various appointments that would provide hope to numerous African Americans, including administrator on the New York City Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Project, member of the Harlem Artists Guild; director the Harlem Community Art Center, director of the George Washington Carver Community School, and director of the School for Democracy. As part of this work, Bennett wrote countless newspaper and journal articles describing the plight of the Harlem communities and their need for assistance. Bennett’s work helped educate thousands of African Americans and enabled countless artists to maintain a livelihood despite the bleak economic climate. Bennett was regularly praised in the media for her efforts and in 1939 she was one of a select group of women who were award medals for their service in their chosen fields at the World’s Fair.
Paris changed after the Great Depression, once a booming city of lights to Locke it became lusterless and dull as any other city. Hughes did not return for some years but Locke continued to visit Maran and through him he met the younger generation, specifically the Nardal sisters, who were busy launching the Revue du Monde Noir. Just as early scholarship about the Harlem Renaissance focused on the men in the movement, until very recently there was almost no information about women writers in the negritude movement. There were references to the Nardal sisters in much of the scholarship, especially regarding famous intellectuals who had been introduced to each other by the Nardal sisters. However, there was scarce and often conflicting historical information about who the Nardal sisters were. Born on the small Caribbean island of Martinique at the turn of the twentieth century, the seven Nardal sisters were among the very first