Character Comparison Book Review (Book Review Sample)

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CHARACTER COMPARISON
Introduction
‘The living is Easy' book by Dorothy West is mainly about the black middle class that is built on counterfeit white values. This brings about the issue of racial denial and also class elitism in the society. To illustrate this, Dorothy uses the characters who are mirror the life of her father and mother who are Bart and Cleo respectively in the book. Cleo moves to Boston in search of a higher class of living. She weds Bart in hope of becoming part of the elite black middle class. She has no value for marriage as is seen in her relationship with Bart. Cleo does everything to protect her identity. She denies her race in the pursuit of elitism.
In the book ‘passing' by Nella Larsen is based on a biracial woman, Clare Kendry. 'Passing' is a term used to describe a situation in which an African American pretends to be of a white origin. Clare lives as a white woman and is difficult to tell her race as she is light-skinned. She is married to a white man who doesn't know anything pertaining to her race. She enjoys all the benefits and privileges of being a white woman. The book also brings out the theme of homosexuality and heterosexuality even though it has not named it in an explicit way. This is brought out clearly by her friendship with Irene Redfield, who is jealous of her and is full of obsessions about Clare. The book revolves around the theme of identity. She does everything to ensure she succeeds in her pretense to be a white woman. However, her life ends under mysterious circumstances. The end of the story ambiguous as it gives Cleo the chance of rebuilding her life. She still lives with her sisters. Even though they are sufficient financially, they can makeup with Cleo. She still has an opportunity to have her husband back. There is light at the end of the tunnel in Cleo's life as she calls for love in the end. It seems that she has realized the mistakes she has done in life and is ready to change. The description in the end signifies a new beginning for Cloe.
Comparison between Clare and Cleo
Both Clare and Cleo are African American women who lived in the period of racial discrimination. Clare is of mixed races as she is a result of a marriage between a White and African American. She was brought up in a humble background and was raised up by her nasty father but even then she was still hard cold and even selfish. However, Clare, had the ability to transform herself into a charming and warm person when necessity arose. This is clearly seen in the second chapter after Clare meets with her longtime friend Irene. In the second part of the book, we learn that Clare goes to live with her aunts who are whites. Her white aunts are also racists and have intensions of instilling ethics in her. She deeply struggles in search for her identity both racial and gender. She desserts her race and is an outsider with respect to her race. ‘Tragic mulatto' is fulfilled by Clare. This refers to a person of both white and black origins who can't fit in either of the black or white world. This stereotype implies that a person of both black and white descent are constantly confused of their identity in life and society, and the only way they can liberate themselves is by taking away their lives.
The major reason for Clare's passing is so that she can obtain social worth, status and money. Clare's passing is affirmed when she crosses to the barricaded economic zone by marrying John Bellew. John was both prestigious and a racist. He even alleges that Clare was becoming darker after their marriage. John knew little about Clare's origin. Clare's light skinned complexion and her white aunties made it difficult for his husband, John, to ever doubt about her racial background. Her whole life is dependent on her husband on such things as security, social stature, material wealth and also for identity. The conversation with Gertrude confirms that she is ready to go to any extent so as to prevent Jack from knowing that she is passing. She reveals to Gertrude that she is not ready to get another child lest he is dark skinned. The fear is also derived from his husband, Jack, who says that there will be no dark skinned people in his family. He made this racist remarks assuming that all those who were present in his house are whites. Later on in a letter addressed to Irene, Clare regrets about passing to be a white. Clare believes that it was a good decision for Irene to marry an African American. This indicates that she was not happy about passing and living a lie. Clare interacts with the African Americans for excitement and not for racial solidarity. On her last day before, she dies she is in a party in where the majority are African Americans. Clare is also a selfish character and also enigmatic. Clare bares so much pressure that she is unable to cope with, and she ends up dying by falling from a window when Bellew discovers that she is not white.
Just like Clare, Cleo is depicted as a poor migrant from the South, who heads to the North in search of opportunities such as social advancement. Similar to Clare's case, she entirely dependent on her husband, Bart Judson, for her social advancement. Her main aim is to gain access to Boston's black middle class. Cleo is a schemer and manipulator as she devises a plan to move to Brookline where should would embezzle funds without her husband's knowledge. She misleads her sisters to jilt their husbands and head to Boston to leave with her.
Just like Clare, she also suffers deeply from lack of self-identity. She is openly resistant to wifely expectations and to the constraints of domestic tasks. She is portrayed as wanting to reverse gender roles between men and women. Cleo can be said to lack gender identity as she is locked in the wrong body and gender roles (duCille). As a child she is a free spirit, challenging, daring and adventurous. When she moves to the North, she develops a desire to become part of the black elite circles. Similar to Clare's situation, Cleo was not proud of her race. This can be clearly seen when she moved to the north. She spends a lot of time training herself to pronounce words as the Northerners, memorize words in the dictionary every day of the week (West 25). Interestingly, she would also train herself to laugh in a manner that was common with the Whites and involved showing a minimum number of teeth while laughing. She was trying to fit and become legitimate in the North. Cleo lacks her identity as a woman. She does not marry her husband, Bart, for love or companionship but for her social advancements. This portrays her as being selfish. She is resentful about marriage, and she considers it to being a slave to a man. She uses her position as a wife not for the profit of the marriage but for her own selfish ambitions. Cleo accepts that marriage of cultural significance and obligation but makes the best out of it for herself (Jean). This case is similar to that of Clare, who passes as a white and marries a white man to legitimize this. Clare also uses her husband for her selfish reasons like acquiring social status. Cleo does not understand her role and identity as a woman as she sees her husband as being a competitor and rival in providing for the house. Just like Clare she looks down upon her fellow Southern immigrants. Another similarity between Clare and Cleo is that they are manipulative. Cleo fabricates the rent of the house and then she persuades her husband to buy to purchase. She is a social climber who is desperate and possesses a deep selfish ambition to join the exclusive black community. This is because they middle class African Americans would be considered the best in the race as they behaved like the white Americans She even manipulates her own sisters. Cleo manipulates them because they are weak, and they need her (duCille 114).Cleo does not see the value of her husband, Bart, until one day that he starts discussing death. It is then that she starts to realize the value and impact of Bart to her life. But even then she thinks of what benefits her in the marriage such as security, legitimacy and validation. This brings out her individualistic nature. For Cleo, it seems that the marriage is a door to preservation but due to her self-denial lack of self-identity it ends up leading to her downfall.
Cleo's lack of identity makes her rebel against the patriarchal society. Cleo possesses attributes that are usually masculine. They include aggressiveness and competitiveness and not love. On the contrary, her husband, Bart, is seen as exhibiting stereotypically feminine traits such as love and affection for their children.
Comparison between Cleo and Irene.
Irene is the main protagonist in the book. She grew up in the same place with Clare. She is also from a mixed race descent just like Clare. Irene is light-skinned and from an African American background. Irene may ‘pass' when it seems convenient to do so. She is married to Brian Redfield, who is a physician and has two children, Junior and Ted. Her husband is a successful doctor. Irene is a middle class woman, and she holds parties on a regular basis. At the commencement of the book, it seems that all is well until she meets her longtime friend, Clare.
The book begins with Irene is described as reading a letter from Clare and recalls receiving similar a one some two years back. It seems that Irene was not pleased with Clare's past. She identifies herself as black and participates actively in the black community.
Irene, just like Cleo, is passing a different identity. Matter of concern is the relationship between Irene and her husband Brian. Their relationship lacks intimacy and their marriage is sexless. Another similarity between Irene and Cleo is their lack of gender identity, even though it may not be expressly stated. This is however implied by the fact that ...