| dc.description.abstract | The 1920s Harlem is famous for its cultural renaissance which included captivating literature, painting, expressive art of dance, theatre, and film, as well as the enchanting rhythms of jazz and blues that enraptured enthusiastic individuals eager to immerse themselves in the richness of Black American culture. Harlem was the symbolic epicenter of this cultural renaissance and its social spaces such as nightclubs, music halls, cabarets, speakeasies, ballrooms, and house parties, made it a popular entertainment destination. Nella Larsen’s novels Quicksand and Passing are notable exemplars of the kind of social life that brought together Black Americans in various gatherings. From the outlook, these events were intended to create spaces for Black Americans to engage in unfiltered conversations around race, foster Black racial consciousness and unity, and provide racial security. However, Larsen’s portrayal of these gatherings in her work reveals a more complicated and fraught reality. Instead of unifying, social scenes are atomizing and alienating. The coming together of Black Americans brings out deep-seated differences that individuals are unwilling to confront. Despite the hopeful and optimistic relationships that emerge from the social spaces of Harlem, Larsen’s vision highlights the fragility of these connections and undermines this hope by exposing their flawed foundations. I argue that Larsen draws attention to the differences between individuals, in an attempt to repair the fragmentation that plagues Black relationships. She exposes this fragility as an invitation to fashion alternative ways of forging stronger and more realistic relations among the Black community. Regrettably, the attempts at reparation in the novels prove futile as the social settings eventually become alienating to a lethal extend. My analysis of these two novels demonstrates that racial solidarity cannot be taken for granted; instead, it must be deliberately and actively generated through actions that recognize, address, and accommodate individual differences. | |
