Vo 1 Aneka Vo Professor Patterson English 250 20 November 2012 Passing as a Social Experiment: Traversing and Identifying Racial Boundaries

Nella Larsens Passing examines the concept of race and its construction. In the novel, two African American women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, are able to pass as whites due to their fair skin tone. What construction of race enables them to pass and cross racial boundaries? Irene and Clare exploit the power of visibility and concept of the Panopticon as a laboratory to expose race as an ideologya concept based on social identification rather than biology. While they are being watched and must be careful of their actions while passing from African American to white society for fear of being exposed, they also have an upper hand over those watching them, as Irene and Clare know how to act and exist in both societies. This creates a somewhat ironic situation, for those displaying power are also subjected to it. Although the two women differ in the extent of their passing, for Irene uses it only for the sake of convenience (100) while Clare has chosen it for her lifestyle, the distinctions between the two sides of the racial divide are reflected in both their lives. Risking exposure and the consequences resulting from it, Irene and Clare conduct what can be viewed as a social experiment of passing, revealing the socially constructed boundaries used to define race through the responses of those surrounding them. It is the differences in how they are treated by whites as a member of black versus white society that discloses race as a social rather than physical construct. The idea that the Panopticon can be used for experiments is argued in Michel Foucaults Discipline and Punish. Foucault claims that Benthams Panopticon is a laboratory; it could be

Vo 2 used as a machine to carry out experiments ... and monitor their effects. That is, the Panopticon, which functions to control behavior by exploiting visibility, can also be used to modify behavior. Different circumstances can be imposed on subjects, and their behavior can be observed by the guards to reveal the effects. The act of passing, where an African American pretends to be a white member of society, can be viewed as a social experiment. In Passing, Irene and Clare are able to participate in both black and white society due to their clever social manipulations, and through their experiences with others in doing so, they are able to reveal that race is built upon social rather than physical distinctions. In the act of passing, both women experience what it is like to be a member of white society and are able to compare it to their experiences as a part of black society. Living and acting as different characters invokes different responses from those surrounding them in society. These differences and their knowledge of what it takes to cross the racial boundary shed light upon the constructions of race and what exactly those boundaries are. In the words of Foucault, he who is subjected to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon himself; he inscribes in himself the power relation in which he simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes the principle of his own subjection. Irene and Clare are aware that they are closely watched in society and by using this knowledge they are able to turn the tables and also watch those who are watching them. So while the whites are observing Clare and Irene, they are also unknowingly being watched. In line with Foucaults claim that power has its principle ... in an arrangement whose internal mechanisms produce the relation in which individuals are caught up, it is their own rules that lead to a reversal of roles and subjects them to Panopticism.

Vo 3 What allows these women to pass in society is not their physical appearance but rather their social interactions, highlighting the fact that appearance is not of great significance in determination of race. The unimportance of appearance in determining race is shown in Irenes reaction to possibly being identified as African American by Clare at the Drayton before she learns of her identity. She thinks to herself that it is Absurd! Impossible! White people were so stupid about such things for all that they usually asserted that they were able to tell; and by the most ridiculous means, finger-nails, palms of hands, shapes of ears, teeth, and other equally silly rot (16). Irenes instinctive responses are that it is absurd! and impossible! Such surprise and denial shows how rare and uncommon it would be for her to be successfully identified as a fair-skinned African American woman by a white person solely based on appearance. By listing off various body parts, Irene conveys to the audience the focus whites place on appearance when they attempt to determine someones race, when in actuality it is deemed insignificant as they are unsuccessful. Equating their methods to silly rot shows how ineffective their methods are and mocks them for their ignorance. While some may argue that appearance is important in determining race, of even greater significance is how someone presents herself socially. A persons acquaintances can often tell much about her, for it provides information about her social circle and possibly her upbringing. In the scene noted above, Irene also notes that never, when she was alone, had [whites] even remotely seemed to suspect that she was a Negro (16), confirming that when they could not associate her with blacks, they had no idea that she was one. This shows that while appearance may be a prerequisite in assigning someones race, it is with whom one associates that decides which side of the racial boundary one belongs.

Vo 4 The importance of ones acquaintances is highlighted by the relationship between Irene and John Bellow, Clares husband. When Irene and Bellow first meet, he treats her as white, assuming that she is, for she is an old [friend] of Clares (42). Believing that his wife is white, Bellow assumes that Irene is as well, for there would be no other reason for the two women to be friends. However, his perception of Irene completely changes when he runs into her with Felise, an African American friend: His hat came off. He held out his hand, smiling genially. But the smile faded at once. Surprise, incredulity, andwas it understanding?passed over his features. He had, Irene knew, become conscious of Felise, golden, with curly black Negro hair, whose arm was linked in her own. She was sure, now, of the understanding in his face, as he looked at her again and then back at Felise. And it was displeasure. (99) Initially, by stating that his friendly greeting faded as surprise and disbelief passed over his face, Larsen shows that Johns reaction is gradual, leading the reader to believe that he is overcome with confusion. Using surprise and incredulity to describe Bellows expression indicate that he is shocked by what he sees and is having difficulty processing what is occurring because he is in such disbelief. At this point, it is somewhat unclear to the reader what Bellows understanding is of. Clarification comes when his understanding is brought up once again, this time in connection with displeasure, when Bellow has made the connection that Irene is part of the African American community. By presenting the situation in this way, Larsen invokes in the reader the same feelings of confusion and displeasure as Bellow but which are targeted at Bellow rather than Irene.

Vo 5 Relationships and social interactions are the foundations of racial boundaries. This shows that race is socially constructed rather than solely based on biology. While biology may contribute to appearance, Irene and Clare show that it is circumstantial, depending on ones social environment. Among whites, they are viewed as whites, even though they are of African American heritage. Foucault would argue that these racial boundaries create the constant division between the normal and the abnormal. In this society, it divides the normal whites from the abnormal blacks. Social interactions and relationships, he would argue, are components of a whole set of techniques and institutions for measuring [and] supervising the abnormal beings. Their existence is to enforce this division. By choosing companions of another race, Irene and Clare are able to cross the boundary and become a member of the other race. In traversing these lines to another society, they show that the lines are crossable and therefore social, not biological, as they have not changed their biology. Social components, such as relationships and ones acquaintances, work to separate blacks from whites in their society because the barrier is often established from stereotypes passed on by word of mouth; they are concepts that do not require a physical presence to understand but can be imbedded in social interactions. Whites are often ignorant of their situations, although they believe they know best. Their idea of race is often not conceived by physical experiences but rather what they hear from others in a social setting. Passing in the novel then serves also to highlight and mock their ignorance. They claim to be able to recognize blacks due to certain distinct features, yet they are unable to see the ones right in front of their eyes. When conversing with Clare, Irene, and Gertrude about Clares darkening skin, Bellow put out his hand in a repudiating fling, definite and final. Oh, no, Nig, he declared, nothing like that with me. I know youre no nigger, so its all right. You can get as black as you please

Vo 6 as far as Im concerned, since I know youre no nigger. I draw the line at that. No niggers in my family. Never have been and never will be (40). Bellows body language, demonstrated by his repudiating fling, definite and final, indicate that he is disturbed even by the thought that it might be true that his wife is African American and refuses to accept the possible validity of it. His unwillingness to even consider the idea is emphasized in his repetition of the words no and never. His repetition of the derogatory term nigger is evidence of his obliviousness of the situation, for he is surrounded by African American women. Additionally, it shows the extent of his animosity towards the African American community. Furthermore, Bellows dislike of the race is rather unjustified, showing the ease by which it is to pass on ideas of racial divides. When Irene questions him about whether or not he has ever met an African American, Bellow answer[s]: Thank the Lord, no! And never expect to! But I know people whove known them, better than they know their black selves. And I read in the papers about them. Always robbing and killing people. And, he add[s] darkly, worse (41). Bellows claim that his acquaintances know them, better than they know their black selves, once again highlights the irony of the situation. Also, revealing and even taking pride in the fact that he has not met an African American but rather bases his judgments on what he read[s] in the papers and from people whove known them is evidence of how the racial boundaries are socially constructed and passed on. Foucault claims that the Panopticon is a privileged place for experiments on men, and for analyzing with complete certainty the transformations that may be obtained from them, and Irene and Clares passing models this. Their social experiment is successful in revealing racial constructs and their formation by observing the transformations in the whites behaviors. They exemplify the fact that while they may be watched as subjects in the Panopticon, they are able to

Vo 7 use the power yielded to Panopticism to reverse roles and use it against those that are watching them. This is only made possible because race is based on social constructs that can be manipulated rather than physical ones that cannot. In doing so, they are able to reveal the dependence of racial divides on society.

Vo 8 Acknowledgments I would like to express my appreciation for those who have helped me in writing this essay. Firstly, I would like to thank Professor Patterson for reading my initial proposal and draft and indicating inconsistencies in my paper and identifying that my paper did not have a strong argument. I would also like to thank him for his efforts in meeting with me to discuss the formulation of a stronger argument, which I found necessary in order to write a well-developed essay. Because of this, I ended up changing my argument and paper completely to something that would provide a stronger and more interesting argument. I would also like to thank Stephanie Morey for reviewing my initial draft and helping me identify ways to ensure that my argument was consistent throughout my paper and identifying how my textual evidence could be used more effectively. Additionally, I would like to thank Connor DiMaggio for reading my initial draft and posing questions that made me realize inconsistencies and disconnections in my argument and paper as well as helping me develop ways to include Foucault more in my essay. Although Professor Patterson, Stephanie, and Connor only reviewed my initial draft, before I changed my research question, the insight they provided was applicable when I began to write my next draft. I would also like to thank Allie Draper for talking with me about my ideas for my essay, posing questions that made me think critically about what I was writing, for reviewing my revised draft and helping me identify areas of my argument that were unclear, and for answering my various technical questions about essay writing.