Thoughts on Death

In this blog entry I would like to share what the book expressed to me in regards to the cause of Clares death at the end of the text. I feel that Irene pushed her out the window. She was so close to losing everything that she had and the only way to hold onto it was to get rid of the "competition" and the obstacle in her life. I think the last straw for Irene was when she saw Clare clinging onto Brains arm while walking up the stairs. This seems to be the last show of affection that Irene takes in as a hint of betrayal. This betrayal was on both sides of the spectrum. That is from her husband and her old friend. With Clare’s husband coming in and finding out that Clare was a black person, Irene had no other alternative. If he found out, with 100% certainty, that she was black, Clare would of moved out to Harlem and taken Brian away. This was that last thought in Irene’s head that lead her to push Clare out the window.
The moments after where she was just waiting while everyone was going downstairs show the nature of this act. She was spellbound with what she had just done and becomes paralyzed. These are my thoughts on this incident.

First Entry: Passing

Throughout this text I noticed a lot of times in which Irene was drawn into doing things that she did not really want to do. This was through the physical pressence that Claire emitted. In the beginning of the text, Irene starts with talking about Claire in such a derogatory manner. When she meets up with her at the restaurant and is in her physical presence, she is completely spellbound. She changes her portrayal and actually seems happy to see her. When they are physically apart she goes back the feeling of not liking Claire.

When she is subdued into going and meeting up with her later on in the week, Irene is upset. Again, when she is in Claire’s presence, Irene is "...even a little glad that she had come (p. 44)." I find this strange. How could the presence of someone be so enticing that simply being around them causes such a change.
It seems that Irene is overcome with so many mixed emotions through the first part of this book. At first she shows resentment and hatred for her. A little further on she is happy that they met up. She doesn’t want to see her again, but is happy to be around her when she meets her at Claire’s house. Irene than shows anger towards Claire when she is put in the position of having to "pass" in front of her husband. It seems that Irene has some type of physical or emotional attraction towards Claire, which I hope is better portrayed at the end of the text.

Response to Video

I found the images that were portrayed in the film to very dentramental to the African American effort to pick themselves out of the pit of racial inequality. With the institution of such characters as the Sambo, mistral, zipco, black mammy, and the baffoon there seemed to building up of more and more physical, as well as behavioral flaws in the portrayal of African Americans. They presented characters in blackface and huge lips. They also gave characters such as the mammy to be large in size and given roles that made her seem almost asexual in nature. There was never an instance where the mammy gave an image of beauty or desire. The characters would merely entertain, serve, and be submissive.
These images were accepted as a cultural norm for most people who were not involved with the culture first hand. They took what they saw and let it be fact. They saw these cartoons, advertisements, and movies and took the life of a slave to be that of solitude and happiness. The women in the society were the dominant figure and the men were more submissive. This alone hinted at the race being inferior in nature.
Even after the Civil War these caricatures were reinforced with displays of brute behavior. They portrayed these people as savages. Even with African Americans volunteering in the war the movies would show them as mere puppets in a game where they were brought for entertainment. These images of the past have an adverse effect on the present. When I was growing up I remember seeing images of racial inequality portrayed through such cartoons as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye. Even walking down the supermarket in the 21st century you will come across images such as the Aunt Jamima Syrup container that shows a now slender mammy. These images will be with us for years to come.

Fauset

I find that within Faucet's poetry there is the reoccurring theme of love. This is in regards to the poems that either relates to a love that the writer is experiencing within her text or as an onlooker. One poem that sets itself apart from this common theme is Oriflamme.

At first I took this as a mother figure, or elderly women of some sort, sitting down in a chair looking up at the stars. These stars give her a sense of serenity, hope, and inspiration. Upon careful conclusion however, this mother figure seems to be part of the stars themselves. There is a type of ancestry in the stars that the African people can look upon and gather hope from. This ancient women that has been through so much give the people a sense of determination and the ability to fight for what they believe in. I feel that without this guiding star that the mother figure gives to her sons, that there would be a lot of despair and sorrow that would cripple the fight for equality.