The Relationship Between Colour and Identity in the Literature of Nella Larsen and Richard Wright

Abstract

The fiction of Nella Larsen and Richard Wright explores the struggle of African-American men and women to forge an identity for themselves that is free of the bonds placed on them by society. The protagonists of Quicksand, Passing, and Black Boy all try to create identities for themselves that transcend racial boundaries. Because of this desire, they all have trouble relating completely to either white society or black society and, as a result, feel estranged from their communities.