Harlem Renaissance Assignment

Now that we have read Nella Larson’s Quicksand, let’s examine the historical and social context that surrounds Larson's work. For this assignment, we will be exploring Helga’s attitude toward rural life in Alabama. First, take a look at the class glog and consider the following questions:

• Why would the images on the left fall under the category "black skin, white mask?"
  
• Looking at facial expressions, clothing, and body language, how do the portraits on the left compare to the portraits on the right?

Next, click on the image of Langston Hughes and read his essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.”

• What kinds of attitudes do the essay and images imply about African American identity during the Harlem renaissance?

You may also want to look at this separate glog to see more representations of the group on the right.

• Do the paintings portray the people in a positive or negative light?
  
• What formal qualities within the paintings support this depiction?

Drawing on your answers to the previous questions, post a short response (four or five paragraphs) to your blog which answers the following prompt:

As the Harlem Renaissance redefined the African American experience, many writers like Hughes began to question more conventional representations of blackness, embracing new identities. Hughes's essay and the glogs address these conflicting attitudes about blackness during the Harlem Renaissance: whether "the folk" should be celebrated or denigrated. Your assignment is to situate Helga Crane within this context. Using textual evidence from Quicksand, "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," and video and images the class glog, explain how Helga’s ambivalence toward her own identity and her attitude towards the folk reveal some of the assumptions many other middle-class African Americans held. How do you think Langston Hughes would react to Helga's outlook? What is the significance of his reaction?