Ammarsya Nurshabrina Ayuandita (2022) ‘Fun And Tragic’: The Portrayal Of Stella’s Mimicry Through The Act Of White-Passing In The Vanishing Half. Skripsi thesis, UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA,.

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Abstract

This study aims to explore the issue of racial passing depicted in The Vanishing Half (2020), a historical fiction written by Brit Bennett, through the lens of Homi K. Bhabha's postcolonial theory called mimicry. Questioning the racial relations in the 1950s-1990s between the colonizer and colonized in America and the portrayal of Stella’s acts and motivations to pass for white through mimicking white people, the study uncovers the factors influencing Stella’s decision to alter her racial identity. After examining the object, the study revealed the complex racial relation between Black and white people during the 1950s-1990s due to the internalization of whiteness as a hegemonic value. Furthermore, the study exposed the factors affecting Stella’s decision to pass for white, including colorism, power abuse, and constrained self-exploration. The acts of white-passing in the novel are considered to be a part of mimicry as Stella mimics white people's behaviors, including changing her social status, lifestyle, values, and attitudes. Afterward, the concept of ambivalence and unhomeliness supported the analysis of how Stella’s choice influenced the construction of her postcolonial identity. The novel portrayed Stella’s acts of white-passing as fun and tragic experience, freed in self-exploration while constrained to embrace her biracial identity.

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