Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles W. Chesnutt and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-03-20 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1900, this groundbreaking novel by a distinguished African-American author recounts the drama of a brother and sister who "pass for white" during the dangerous days of Reconstruction.
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles W. Chesnutt and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2007-08-31 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1900, this groundbreaking novel by a distinguished African-American author recounts the drama of a brother and sister who "pass for white" during the dangerous days of Reconstruction.
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles W. Chestnutt and published by Graphic Arts Books. This book was released on 2020-11-17 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House Behind the Cedars (1900) is African-American writer Charles Chesnutt’s debut novel. Inspired by his own experience as a Black man capable of passing for white—which Chesnutt consciously chose not to do—as well as by Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, The House Behind the Cedars explores themes of identity, race, and class in the post-Civil War South. Controversial for its portrayal of interracial romance, Chesnutt’s novel was critically acclaimed in its day, but failed financially. It was adapted into a 1927 silent film by pioneering Black director Oscar Micheaux. After years of living in the city, John Warwick visits his hometown to see his mother and sister. Hearing of his success as a lawyer and father, Rena, his sister, is intrigued with city life and decides to join him when he returns. With a black mother and white father, the two are able to pass for white, which allows them—Rena soon discovers—a certain amount of social mobility in the South. It being only a few years after the Civil War, there is of course some risk to this, but the opportunity is too enticing to pass up. Rena soon meets George, a wealthy white man and business partner of her brother, and the two fall in love. When she is called home to care for her sick mother, and as George begins to grow suspicious, it becomes more and more difficult to keep her secret—and her family—safe. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Charles Chesnutt’s The House Behind the Cedars is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.
Download or read book THE HOUSE BEHIND THE CEDARS BY CHARLES W CHESNUTT written by Charles Waddell Chesnutt and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles Waddell Chesnutt and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-08-10 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House Behind the Cedars is the first novel by American author Charles W. Chesnutt. It was published in 1900 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The story occurs in the southern American states of North and South Carolina a few years following the American Civil War. Rena Walden, a young woman of mixed white and black ancestry, leaves home to join her brother, who has migrated to a new city, where he lives as a white man. Following her brother's lead, Rena begins living as a white woman. The secret of her identity leads to conflict when she falls in love with a white aristocrat who learns the truth of her heredity. The ensuing drama emphasizes themes of interracial relations and depicted the intricacies of racial identity in the American south. Chesnutt's autobiography informed the novel's themes. Being of predominantly European ancestry, Chesnutt was light skinned enough to pass as a white man, although he openly identified with his African-American roots.Additionally, his portrayal of interracial romantic relations in The House Behind the Cedars was controversial. Although the novel was critically well received, its controversy contributed to poor financial performance. Plot summary--The novel opens "a few years after the Civil War" with John Warwick, from Clarence, South Carolina, leaving a hotel in Patesville, North Carolina. He walks around the town in which he used to live, and tries to visit Judge Archibald Straight, but he is not in his office. Warwick's attention is captured by a striking young woman, who he does not recognize as Rena, and follows her to the house behind the cedars. Warwick cautiously approaches the house, worried about being seen, and is invited in by Molly Walden. He says that he has a message for Walden from her son, but she then realizes that Warwick is her son who she has not seen in years. Warwick joyfully reunites with his mother and his sister Rena, and tells them what his life has been like since leaving home. He reveals that he has become a successful lawyer, and that he was married, but his wife died and left him with a baby boy. Warwick asks Rena if she would come live with him and help take care of his son Albert. Molly is reluctant to send off her only daughter and Rena does not want to leave her mother alone, but John ultimately convinces his mother that Rena will have a better life with him. The next morning, Warwick visits Judge Straight, his mentor for whom he used to work as an office-boy under the name John Walden. Straight warns him not to stay in town for too long or else people may start to question his presence. He then contemplates that it would have been better for John to move further away from home than South Carolina "even though the laws were with him." Rena says goodbye to her mother and Frank Fowler, one of their workmen who is a close friend of the family and is deeply in love with Rena..... Upon their arrival to Clarence, John and Rena attend a tournament where men dressed as knights participate in a jousting competition. The Warwicks are seated among the most prominent white guests when Rena drops her handkerchief into the ring and one of the knights catches it and uses it as a token of good luck. The knight, George Tryon, wins the tournament and names Rena his "queen of love and beauty." As the winner, Tyron invites Rena to accompany him to the annual tournament ball..... Charles Waddell Chesnutt (June 20, 1858 - November 15, 1932) was an African-American author, essayist, political activist and lawyer, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity in the post-Civil War South. Many families of free people of color were formed in the colonial and early Federal period; some attained education and property; in addition there were many mixed-race slaves, who as freedmen after the war were part of the complex society of the South.
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles W. Chesnutt and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reproduction of the original.
Download or read book The Literary Career of Charles W Chesnutt written by William L. Andrews and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 1999-03-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The career of any black writer in nineteenth-century American was fraught with difficulties, and William Andrews undertakes to explain how and why Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858-1932) became the first Negro novelist of importance: “Steering a difficult course between becoming co-opted by his white literary supporters and becoming alienated from then and their access to the publishing medium, Chesnutt became the first Afro-American writer to use the white-controlled mass media in the service of serious fiction on behalf of the black community.” Awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1928 by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Chesnutt admitted without apologies that because of his own experiences, most of his writings concentrated on issue about racial identity. Only one-eighth Negro and able to pass for Caucasian, Chesnutt dramatized the dilemma of others like him. The House Behind the Cedars (1900), Chesnutt’s most autobiographical novel, evokes the world of “bright mulatto” caste in post-Civil War North Carolina and pictures the punitive consequences of being of mixed heritage. Chesnutt not only made a crucial break with many literary conventions regarding Afro-American life, crafting his authentic material with artistic distinction, he also broached the moral issue of the racial caste system and dared to suggest that a gradual blending of the races would alleviate a pernicious blight on the nation’s moral progress. Andrews argues that “along with Cable in The Grandissimes and Mark Twain in Pudd’nhead Wilson, Chesnutt anticipated Faulkner in focusing on miscegenation, even more than slavery, as the repressed myth of the American past and a powerful metaphor of southern post-Civil War history.” Although Chesnutt’s career suffered setback and though he was faced with compromises he consistently saw America’s race problem as intrinsically moral rather than social or political. In his fiction he pictures the strengths of Afro-Americans and affirms their human dignity and heroic will. William L. Andrews provides an account of essentially all that Chesnutt wrote, covering the unpublished manuscripts as well as the more successful efforts and viewing these materials in he context of the author’s times and of his total career. Though the scope of this book extends beyond textual criticism, the thoughtful discussions of Chesnutt’s works afford us a vivid and gratifying acquaintance with the fiction and also account for an important episode in American letters and history.
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars Novel by Charles W Chesnutt Classics written by Charles W. Chesnutt and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-03-01 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House Behind the Cedars is the first novel by American author Charles W. Chesnutt. It was published in 1900 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The story occurs in the southern American states of North and South Carolina a few years following the American Civil War. Rena Walden, a young woman of mixed white and black ancestry, leaves home to join her brother, who has migrated to a new city, where he lives as a white man. Following her brother's lead, Rena begins living as a white woman. The secret of her identity leads to conflict when she falls in love with a white aristocrat who learns the truth of her heredity. The ensuing drama emphasizes themes of interracial relations and depicted the intricacies of racial identity in the American south.
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles W. Chesnutt and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2021-01-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House Behind The Cedars by Charles W. Chesnutt: This novel by Charles W. Chesnutt explores themes of racial identity, passing, and social barriers in post-Civil War America. The story revolves around the lives of siblings Rena and John Walden as they navigate issues of race and identity. Key Aspects of the Novel "The House Behind The Cedars": Racial Identity: The novel delves into the complexities of racial identity and passing, as the characters grapple with their heritage and societal expectations. Social and Cultural Context: Charles W. Chesnutt provides a rich portrayal of the post-Civil War South, addressing issues of race, class, and family dynamics. Character Development: "The House Behind The Cedars" offers a deep exploration of the characters' growth and the challenges they face in a racially divided society. Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) was an African American author and essayist known for his contributions to American literature. His exploration of racial themes and social issues in his works, including this novel, made a significant impact during his time.
Download or read book Whiteness in the Novels of Charles W Chesnutt written by Matthew Wilson and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2009 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of race and audience in an American innovator's writings
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles Waddell Chesnutt and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-13 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House Behind the Cedars is the first published novel by American author Charles W. Chesnutt. It was published in 1900 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The story occurs in the southern American states of North and South Carolina a few years following the American Civil War.
Download or read book The Marrow of Tradition written by Charles W. Chesnutt and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2009-10-28 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Books for All Kinds of ReadersReadHowYouWant offers the widest selection of on-demand, accessible format editions on the market today. Our 7 different sizes of EasyRead are optimized by increasing the font size and spacing between the words and the letters. We partner with leading publishers around the globe. Our goal is to have accessible editions simultaneously released with publishers' new books so that all readers can have access to the books they want to read.
Download or read book Passing in the Works of Charles W Chesnutt written by Susan Prothro Wright and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2010-06-17 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Passing in the Works of Charles W. Chesnutt is a collection that reevaluates Chesnutt's deft manipulation of the "passing" theme to expand understanding of the author's fiction and nonfiction. Nine contributors apply a variety of theories---including intertextual, signifying/discourse analysis, narratological, formal, psychoanalytical, new historical, reader response, and performative frameworks---to add richness to readings of Chesnutt's works. Together the essays provide convincing evidence that "passing" is an intricate, essential part of Chesnutt's writing, and that it appears in all the genres he wielded: journal entries, speeches, essays, and short and long fiction. The essays engage with each other to display the continuum in Chesnutt's thinking as he began his writing career and established his sense of social activism, as evidenced in his early journal entries. Collectively, the essays follow Chesnutt's works as he proceeded through the Jim Crow era, honing his ability to manipulate his mostly white audience through the astute, though apparently self-effacing, narrator, Uncle Julius, of his popular conjure tales. Chesnutt's ability to subvert audience expectations is equally noticeable in the subtle irony of his short stories. Several of the collection's essays address Chesnutt's novels, including Paul Marchand, F.M.C., Mandy Oxendine, The House Behind the Cedars, and Evelyn's Husband. The volume opens up new paths of inquiry into a major African American writer's oeuvre.
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles W Chesnutt and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-05 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House Behind the Cedars is the first published novel by American author Charles W. Chesnutt. It was published in 1900 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The story occurs in the southern American states of North and South Carolina a few years following the American Civil War. Rena Walden, a young woman of mixed white and black ancestry, leaves home to join her brother, who has migrated to a new city, where he lives as a white man. Following her brother's lead, Rena begins living as a white woman. The secret of her identity leads to conflict when she falls in love with a white aristocrat who learns the truth of her heredity. The ensuing drama emphasizes themes of interracial relations and depicted the intricacies of racial identity in the American south.
Download or read book The Conjure Woman written by Charles Waddell Chesnutt and published by IndyPublish.com. This book was released on 1900 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The House Behind the Cedars written by Charles Waddell Chesnutt and published by IndyPublish.com. This book was released on 2009-02-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
