Quicksand And Passing Summary

Wall’s Passing for What? Aspects of Identity in Nella Larsen’s Novels argues how the ultimate price of passing is paid psychologically as the passers not only lose their race identity, but also face sexual discrimination. By Nella Larsen embedding her past experiences onto protagonists from the novels Quicksand and Passing, she illustrates the attempts of black women escaping from the discrimination of skin color as well as the expectations of femininity from society. In hopes to break out of a world of sufferment, “Larsen’s protagonists assume false identities that ensure social survival but result in psychological suicide” (Wall 98). Presuming a false identity leads to wealth, sophistication, and the illusion of freedom, but at the same time,