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When Larsen wrote Quicksand it was a daring novel, and to
this day it retains an aura of strangeness. It is the story
of a young woman of mixed blood, a woman who in her formative
years can move among different social and ethnic worlds,
and live between worlds, neither white nor black, neither
European nor American. Like the protagonist Helga Crane,
the novel itself seems to dwell in an odd space in our literary
landscape, showing kinship with novels by famous white American
writers and writers of color; but Quicksand also seems off
by itself somehow, seeking connection to American traditions
and resisting them at the same time.
Explorations
1. Think about Quicksand in comparison with three other American
novels you have read, which also tell of growing up on
the edges of a social world or as an exile. Some possibilities:
The Great Gatsby, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The
Catcher in the Rye, Invisible Man, Song of Solomon, The
Scarlet
Letter, Maggie, The House of Mirth. Compare the pace and
themes of the three novels you select to Quicksand. Where
are the strongest similarities, and most remarkable differences?
2. Think about how Larson develops Helga Crane as a character.
Is she designed to win our sympathy, our affection? When
an artist centers a long narrative on a character like this,
what are the challenges with regard to holding an audience?
If Helga’s personal charm does not draw you into the
novel and hold your attention, then what about her does?
3. In the classification and analysis of the American population,
the mixed racial or ethnic background is still controversial
as a category. There were public debates about it with
regard to the most recent national census, and with regard
to social policy decisions. On the Web, locate four recent
articles or editorials on this question, and consider how
effectively they encompass or understand the predicament
of someone like Helga Crane.
Other Sites to Consult
http://voices.cla.umn.edu/authors/NellaLarsen.html: Biographical
information, selected bibliography, and links from Voices
from the Gaps, a Web-based University of Minnesota project.
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/larsen.html:
Selected bibliography and study questions from PAL: Perspectives
in American Literature.
http://www.nku.edu/~diesmanj/harlem.html: Resource guide
for the Harlem Renaissance.
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