Passing white and Intersectionality in Sula by Toni Morrison (1973) and The Human Stain by Philip Roth (2000)
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Date
2025-07-02
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Université Mouloud Mammeri Tizi Ouzou
Abstract
This piece of research is a comparative study of Sula (1973) written by Toni Morrison and The Human Stain (2000) by Philip Roth, two American novels that explore racial issues. Our purpose is an investigation of the issus of passing white and intersectionality in both woks , that Black Americans face systemic discrimination in contrast to the privileges afforded to white Americans across social, economic, and political spheres. To support this analysis, we employ Critical Theory. We structured our work into two chapters, the first chapter applies Cheryl Harris‟s “Whiteness as Property” to examine how whiteness functions as an unearned privilege that reinforces racial hierarchies. This is evident in Sula through the exclusion of Black communities, while in The Human Stain, Coleman Silk‟s precarious performance of whiteness reveals the instability of racial passing. The second utilizes Kimberlé Crenshaw‟s Intersectionality to analyze how race, gender, and social category compound oppression. We contrast Sula‟s rejection of Black femininity with Coleman‟s male privilege, highlighting divergent strategies of resistance within oppressive systems. Despite differences in their protagonists‟ experiences whether as part of a marginalized majority Sula or an assimilating minority The Human Stain both novels depict the enduring effects of segregation and systemic racism.
Description
53p. ; (+CD-Rom)
Keywords
Racial passing, Whiteness as property, Intersectionality, Double consciousness, Systemic racism, Identity erasure
Citation
Literature and Interdisciplinary Approaches