Second Fiction Blog

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Vikram Iyer
Fiction Blog 2
Language Arts

                I decided to do a character diary on Irene Redfield, who is the main character in my book, Passing. The background information is that she is American and she lives in Harlem, New York, and she is part African American, but small enough that she can “pass” for a white woman, and not be treated differently. This takes place in the 1920s, during the Harlem Renaissance. She has an old friend named Clare Kendry, who she met after a long time at a restaurant. She at first did not really like her, because she has a husband who is very racist towards African American people, and Clare Kendry herself is part African American, it is just that she also passes as a white woman to her husband. After three years, Clare writes a letter to Irene, who does not want to respond because of her recollection of her mean husband, but eventually, Clare is so insistent on meeting, that she visits Irene at her house. I decided that I would write some diaries for Irene from this point in the book.

Diary Entry 1: Today, Clare came to my house, which greatly surprised me, because I didn’t even know she knew where I lived. Anyway, I was not happy to see her at all, just like how I was not happy to see that she had written to me. As soon as I saw her in the living room, the bad memories from our last encounter started flowing in. To be truthful, her husband was the one that was in the center of those bad memories, not her, because he was being so racist towards African Americans, and he did not even know he was married to one! I had just wished she had told me about her husband before then, and also that I had to keep her identity a secret from him. When I saw her, she immediately asked if I did not answer her letter on purpose, and I just had to make up an excuse that it might be dangerous for her to be seen around where I live, which is mostly African American homes. We just were talking and eventually got on the topic of a dance hosted by Hugh Wentworth, and she insisted on coming with me. I really don’t know what her problem is, because I just want her to leave me alone, and then three years later she comes, and wants to go to a dance with me, even after I ignore her letters. She really doesn’t give up.
Diary Entry 2: Well, it took some time, but I am starting to tolerate Clare Kendry being around. It seems that whenever her husband, Jack, goes out of town, she wants to come to Harlem for some tea party or the other. I thought it was interesting that she was coming here, because when I saw her in Chicago, I got the impression that she did not feel a connection to her African American heritage because of Jack. Now, however, she wants to come and embrace her people with me. I think that this could be the beginning of an unlikely friendship.
Diary Entry 3: Lately Brian and I have been feeling some tension in between us. At dinner, he was telling our kids how people in America hate African Americans, and I told him that it was too soon for them to know about that. I want them to live a happy, carefree childhood, but Brian told me that they need to know about the world so they can be prepared for how they are treated out in the world. On top of that, I suspect he is growing distant from me and towards Clare, which would be absolutely horrible. I just wish my life would stay the same, without any big changes or surprises.
Diary Entry 4: I have been thinking of ways to get Clare out of my life, so that I could have Brian to myself, and I thought of an idea, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Who knows what would happen to her if I told Jack that his wife was African American. But then today, he saw me walking with one of my black friends, which leaves so much in uncertainty, because when we met, he thought I was white.
Diary Entry 5: Last week something truly terrible happened. I hosted a party at my house today, with Clare present, and Jack came midway and stormed through the front door. When he looked at Clare, his face was a mix of anger and betrayal. What happened next I cannot truly say, because it was all just a flash for me. One minute, Clare was backing away towards the window, the next, she was gone. Everybody rushed down to the ground floor, I think. I remember just standing there, shocked. I truly felt sad that I wanted her out of my life, because now that she was, it felt terrible. It took everything I had to write this a week later. I just wanted a stable life with no changes, but now it will never be the same.

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