Chapter 1
Who does Irene get a letter from?
Clare Kendry
What is the setting in Chapter 2?
Chicago
What does Clare decide to do?
She goes to see Clare despite her doubts and disdain.
What does Irene receive at the beginning of Chapter 4?
A letter from Clare
Who is Claude Jones?
He is a Black Jew
What does Clare exclaim in her letter to Irene?
She has a yearning desire to see Irene and reunite
Where does Irene go?
The Drayton Hotel
What makes Clare decide to see Irene against her better judgement?
She feels that Clare is charming and convincing
What does Clare name in her letter to Irene?
She names that her way may be the best option afterall, she also apologizes for the things that Irene heard from her husband.
Chapter 2 is a flashback of Irene's notable encounter with Clare Kendry at the Drayton Hotel
What are Irene's sentiments when she reads the letter from Clare?
She is indifferent.
Why does Irene go to the Drayton Hotel
She goes to cool off since she was about to faint.
Who is Gertrude and how is she similar to Clare?
She is a childhood friend, and she is married to a white man
Why is Irene's way possibly better?
Irene is able to be free in her racial identity without restrictions like Clare.
Is Irene passing as a white woman
No; however, she does go in primarily white spaces and does not state that she is Black.
Irene's perspective
What is discussed with Irene and Clare?
What worries do both Gertrude and Clare have? Why does Irene not share the same concern?
True or false.
Irene is soothed by reading Clare's letter?
No, she is not conciliated. Although she recognizes Clare's charming nature, she is still humiliated by the encounter at her home.
Why does Irene not ask Clare about how she manages to pass?
She is not sure that she desires to know the answer
How are readers aware of Irene's feelings?
The narrator directly shares the emotions of Irene and not Clare.
How does the end of Chapter 2 build suspense?
What is the significance and irony of John Bellew's comments?
John Bellew calls Clare a racial slur as a joke, not knowing that she is a Black woman. Irene is outraged with his comments, but she cannot say anything without putting Clare in potential danger.
What is revealed about Irene and Brian's marriage?
Irene and Brian have a strenuous relationship, needing repair
What central themes are expressed in Part One?
Tensions of race, identity, secrecy, social responsibility, and the risks of crossing social boundaries