AN ANALYSIS OF THE DETRIMENT OF "PASSING" IN JAMES WELDON JOHNSON'S NOVEL, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLORED MAN Is it rational for a black man to attempt to "pass" himself off as a white person? "Passing" is defined as a detrimental intermediary preventing the narrator's ability to find his identity. The narrator is tossed between living as a black or white man. What causes people to struggle between two races? There are many detrimental elements that …showed first 75 words of 1668 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1668 total…thus realizing that his identity is missing, and his children will never know their true Williams 6 identity. By selling his birthright he has practically sold his soul. He has sold out to all the black men that have fought for freedom and equality. "Passing" is definitely a detrimental intermediary preventing the narrator's ability to find his identity. It is not rational or productive for a black man to "pass" himself off as a white person.