1、QuicksandNella Larsen Born as Nellie Walker on April 13,1891.Believed to be a mulatto Afro-Caribbean immigrant from the Danish West Indies.Worked as a nurse and a librarian once.Died in 1864.An American novelist of“Harlem Renaissance.”Published two novels,Quicksand and Passing and a few short storie
2、s.Not only the premier novelist of the Harlem Renaissance,but also an important figure in American modernism.Helga Crane teaches at Naxos,a Southern school.She decides to leave this place to pursue a freer,more independent way of living.Helga sits in her room and begins to realize the difference bet
3、ween her colleagues and herself.She recognizes that she does not fit in the school.Helga remembers a white preacher,who asks all the black people to be satisfied in the estate to which they are called.Helga thinks that Naxos becomes a machine instead of a school and this place is filled with self-sa
4、tisfaction without any individualism.Helga recalls her experience and realizes that her zest is blotted out gradually.Helga considers her lack of financial help and decides to ask Uncle Peters assistance who is her only“kind relative”in her life.Helga also decides to end the engagement with James Va
5、yle.James Vayle becomes completely“naturalized”in Naxos while Helga never achieves“the unmistakable Naxos mold.”At last,Helga goes to bed hurriedly,leaving her room disorderly for the first time.Setting:Time:eight in the evening.Place:a dimmed but comfortable room in Naxos.Room:the personal space fo
6、r Helga to relax 1)“only a single reading lamp,dimmed by a great black and read shade”2)“It was a comfortable roomso large that the spot where Helga sat was a small oasis in a desert of darkness.”3)“She loved this tranquility,this quiet.”4)“this was her rest,this intentional isolation for a short wh
7、ile”Function of Setting in the story:sets the stage for the story.sheltered and comfortable;the personal space and a small oasis for Helga Crane.1.Racial Identity Helga Crane is a daughter of a Danish white woman and a black man,and she senses her differences from her colleagues.She wants to identif
8、y with both two races but fails.“Helga,on the other hand,had never quite achieved the unmistakable Naxos mold,would never achieve it,in spite of much trying.”2.Racial Discrimination The white mold in a black school.1)“If all Negroes conduct themselves in the manner of the Naxos products,there would
9、be no race problem.”2)“This great community wasa show place in the black belt exemplification of the white mans magnanimity,refutation of the black mans inefficiency.”3.Class Differences within the same race 1)“The family of James Vayle,they never liked the engagementthey were a first family.”2)“Neg
10、ro society was as complicatedas the highest strata of white society.”3)“If you couldnt prove your ancestry and connection,you were tolerated,but you did not belonged.”Helga Cranes character:discontented about her life in school.reflective and longing to search for a different path.feeling a bit inad
11、equate about her lack of relations and ambitious about her plan of a new beginning.Person vs.Society Helga is different from other teachers.Most teachers in the Naxos want their students to“achieve in the Naxos mold,”but Helga realizes that she is not fit in this school“without any individualism.”It
12、 is the serious tension and the main conflict between individuals(Helga)and the society(Naxos).Person vs.Person Her fianc,James Vayle is content with the life in Naxos but Helga is not.James is unhappy about this difference.“Helga,on the other hand,had never quite achieved the unmistakable Naxos mol
13、d,would never achieve it,in spite of much tryinghe had become content with life.”Person vs.Self The story reflects the struggle of Helga Cranes mind.If she chooses to leave this place,she may find a freer and more independent way of life,but she will lose everything in Naxos.If she chooses to contin
14、ue to stay at this school,she can not get used to the culture here.Keys to the QuestionsLook through the excerpt for descriptive words about color and coloring.What message does such description carry and how does it affect the characterization of Helga?Many words about color,such as black,blue,whit
15、e,shinning brass,dark,gold and so on.From this story,we learn Helga Crane is a mulatto.Helgas love of colors and shades of color is a reflection of her identity as a“mixed”child of white and black.On what does Helga couldnt agree with the school Naxos?Individualism:Naxos does not encourage individua
16、lism.Attitude:Naxos does not respect black people.Helga Crane can not agree with this school on its idea of education and attitude to black people.What is Helgas attitude towards her fianc James Vayle?Is this attitude different from her attitude towards the school?Helga couldnt agree with James on h
17、is adapting to life in Naxos,as Naxos suppresses creativity and individualism.Helgas attitude to James and to the school is basically the same.She couldnt agree with them on matters of principle.What is Helgas idea of herself?As a mulatto person without family,Helga Crane thinks she is a person who believes in the individualism.She believes she has seen the real problem of the school and takes pride in her difference.What type of conflict does the excerpt present?Chiefly external conflicts:person vs.society person vs.person Secondly internal conflict:person vs.self.The End
