History 105 Group Review

Giulia Russell, Gage Battles,

Negusu Hizkias, Meaghan Pickles

Prof. McKinney

March 22, 2016

In Plum Bun by Jessie Fauset, Fauset’s characters and their dilemmas point to real dynamics playing out in black communities all over the south. For years black folk were called dark, ugly, lazy, and a multitude of other names constructed by society. Not until the Harlem Renaissance did genuine and concrete racial pride begin to blossom in and motivate the minds of black folk. Racial pride in the 1920s played a crucial role in the development of black identity, and was an intentional vehicle constructed by blacks to combat the societal constructs put in place by white supremacy. In Fauset’s novel, we see Angela constantly grappling with the power of passing as a white woman despite her African-American roots. Angela’s desire for freedom as a white woman in the context of the black community out of which she emerges, establishes a tension between the claims of the community versus the assertion of her own individuality. For Angela, the societal pressure around her has to do with the ways in which the white society “defines” being black. Angela is a “victim” of this pressure, and thus desires to be seen as white. Therefore, giving up her former identity to be white.  In Plum Bun by Jessie Fauset, Angela embodies the societal shackles placed on African Americans by white supremacists through societal pressure, personal pressure, and eventually Angela’s growth towards racial pride.

In the 1920’s racism and segregation were both deterrents to black peoples' success in America. Despite their intelligence, kindness, and friendliness black people were at a disadvantage to any other race strictly because of the darkness of their skin. These social constructs convinced Angela that colored people were unable to become successful. From her youth, Angela assesses the disparity between whiteness and blackness in the way society is built, causing her to come to the eventual conclusion that “possibilities for joy and freedom… seemed to her inherent in mere whiteness” (Fauset, 14). In a society that predetermines one’s success depending on the pigment of their skin, such as Angela’s did, it is hard to argue with the decision she made to attempt passing. As a result, she is confronted with the personal pressure of succeeding in a white community although she doesn’t truly fit in. Angela then faces the question whether she would let the white community define who she should be or accept her color and return back to her previous lifestyle.

Race, purely a difference of skin color, is at it’s core an arbitrary construct: and yet it is a construct with overarching, detrimental societal impact and ramifications. Although the difference between white and black Americans is innately aesthetic, the ways white people have suppressed black people points to a fabric of cultural tension in which the majority race determines not only the black community, but blackness itself. Even though Angela lacks the aesthetic differences that normally separate blacks and whites, white society has determined that someone with even a drop of African blood is considered a “Negro”. This societal construct places Angela in a precarious position, as her ethnic ambiguity becomes just as much a moral burden as a ticket to social freedom. White society has defined the parameters against which she feels ashamed about her blackness, and feels drawn toward the lure of whiteness. Angela believes that the “great rewards of life - riches, glamour, pleasure - are for white-skinned people only” (Fauset 18). Is it Angela’s fault that she sees society this way, or white supremacy’s fault for forming society this way? There are elements of Angela’s decisions that can render her culpable of moral judgement, such as her treatment of her family, yet it is difficult to argue that she could be held culpable for the moral dilemma she is thrust into simply by virtue of being able to “pass” in a society that does not know how to handle her.

By implementing themes such as societal pressure, personal pressure, and personal growth, Plum Bun serves as a “coming of age” story for Angela. Angela’s youth play’s one of the biggest roles in her decisions. By the time she moved to New York, all she had seen in life was the constraint placed on the black community in lieu of the epidemic that is white supremacy. By choosing to “pass” she gives way to the power of white supremacy and is forced through a gauntlet of trials that she could have never foreseen.  One can see how all of these trials that Angela faced throughout the novel has forced her into becoming a proud, young, black woman. One quote by philosopher Aeschylus sums up Angela’s growth to racial pride perfectly as it states, “He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop on the heart and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God”. While Angela’s earlier actions in the novel made her seem selfish and weak, it is apparent by the end of the novel that all of the backlash that she’s received from trying to pass sharpened her into someone who could not only stand up for herself, but for her community as well. Plum Bun by Jessie Fauset serves as an unparalleled example of how one's hard headedness can lead to profound, albeit painful, personal growth.

White America’s determination of blackness creates enormous pressure for Angela as she struggles to navigate a complex racial, social, and cultural landscape. Angela’s trajectory from shame in her blackness to an eventual pride is rocky, fraught with the arbitrary way race figured into the American consciousness in the 1920s. At the beginning of the novel, Angela declares that she will “choose” the racial identity which brings her “the greatest happiness, prosperity, and respect” (Fauset, 80). Fauset is saying less about Angela’s personal selfishness and moral decisions at this point, and more about the world which forces her to make these decisions - and when she finally makes the choice to stand up for her race, this runs directly contrary to the efforts of white supremacy to subdue and shame. The fact that the opportunity she is given in her ability to “pass” appears so irresistible means that American society is structured in a way which is inherently built for black Americans to fail. The author is able to utilize the archetype of Angela to highlight the moral outrage of white supremacy and the way it permeates and defines the culture, social status, and overall livelihoods of black folk.