Racial Passing in the US of Today: From Nella Larsen (1929) to Danzy Senna (1998)

Abstract

Much has been said and written recently about racism in all its forms, and how people confronted to such situations would react to avoid it. Racial passing was one of the means African-Americans adopted to escape racism and discrimination. Passing (1929), a novella written by the African-American writer Nella Larsen and From Caucasia, With Love (1998), a novel written by the American writer Danzy Senna, are two selected works of literature meant to show how and why people were passing for white from the past to the present.In this respect, the present dissertation aims to show that racial passing still exists in the United States of America; a supposedly post-racial country which celebrates difference.