Question

Directions: Last class, we read Part 3, chapter 1 of Passing (pages 87-97). We are going to write an analysis paragraph about these pages. However, we before we do that, remember some details about analysis writing. Analysis writing

is focused on PART of the reading, but doesn't need to be all of it (like a summary does)
starts with a sentence that restates the prompt and gives a short answer to the question (TOPIC SENTENCE)
next, goes into some BACKGROUND INFO about the text to avoid confusion
then, gets into QUOTES from the text, making sure each quote is paired with CONTEXT so that the quote blends into your own writing
and then ends by EXPLAINING, in your own words and for a few sentences, how that evidence answers the prompt question
Prompt: You have read Part 3, chapter 1 of Passing. Write a paragraph that analyzes how the author, Nella Larsen, uses literary elements and techniques to create tension in the chapter. Be sure to use evidence from the chapter in your answer.

Choose ONE literary device that helps to reveal the tension: setting, dialogue, character thoughts, point of view, plot events or character actions

***********

Sample Prompt for pages 33-46: You have read Part 1, chapter 3 of Passing. Write a paragraph that analyzes how the author, Nella Larsen, is able to build mystery, tension or surprise in the chapter. Be sure to use evidence from the chapter in your answer.

Sample answer for pages 33-46:

In Part 1, chapter 3 of Passing, Nella Larsen is able to build tension with dialogue. Prior to this chapter, the main character in the book, Irene Redfield, had randomly bumped into an old friend from childhood, Clare Bellew. Clare was happy to see Irene but Irene wasn’t thrilled to see Clare; both women are Black, but Clare has been pretending to be white for many years and Irene thinks that this is dangerous and foolish behavior, especially since Clare’s husband doesn’t know she’s really Black. In chapter 3, Clare has badgered Irene into coming over again for a visit, which Irene does unwillingly. While she’s at Clare’s house, Clare’s husband comes home unexpectedly. When he greets his wife, he calls her “n**” and says that “she’s getting darker and darker” every day. He says that if she’s not careful, “she’ll wake up one day and find she’s turned into a n****r” (Larsen 41). This language would be tense for anyone to witness, but it’s especially tense considering that Clare’s husband is talking to a Black woman about another Black woman! Things get even more tense when, after Irene asks Clare’s husband, Mr. Bellew, if he dislikes Negros, he replies by saying “You got me wrong there, Mrs. Redfield. Nothing like that at all. I don’t dislike them, I hate them” (Larsen 41-42). This hateful dialogue from Clare’s husband causes a lot of tension for Irene, since she has to sit there and let him talk since correcting him would be revealing her own race and Clare’s too. This dialogue from Mr. Bellew is a major source of tension in Part 1, chapter 3 of Passing.

Answer 1

In Part 3, chapter 1 of Passing, Nella Larsen creates mounting tension primarily through Irene Redfield’s interior thoughts. After Clare’s reappearance in Irene’s life and the awkward intimacy of their renewed friendship, Irene’s mind repeatedly circles hostile possibilities—about Clare’s motives, about what Clare might do or reveal, and about how others (especially Irene’s husband) might react—so that the reader experiences the scene almost entirely through Irene’s anxious speculation. Larsen’s close third‑person focalization and moments of free indirect discourse let us hear Irene’s private judgments and fears: Irene mentally rehearses conversations, imagines Clare’s behavior at social gatherings, and repeatedly catches herself “wondering” whether Clare’s friendliness hides a dangerous design. Those inward musings are interrupted by ordinary events (a casual remark, a social invitation), but because the narration stays inside Irene’s head, those ordinary facts take on ominous significance. By privileging Irene’s obsessive thoughts—her quick leaps from small detail to worst‑case scenario—Larsen squeezes the scene with psychological suspense: the reader is left waiting for whether Irene’s suspicions are justified and what consequences they will bring, which intensifies the chapter’s tension.