Research Paper on:
The House Behind the Cedars by Chestnutt

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this psychological tension, as we wish for our major characters to succeed, and at the same time realize the odds and the history, that they are working against.  BBchstnt CHARLES W. CHESTNUTT: The House Behind the Cedars (1900) Written by B. Bryan  Babcock for the Paperstore, Inc., July 2001 Introduction The success of "passing" for white dangles in front of those with "mixed blood," in the South of the post-Civil war.  Education and training may make "the passing," easier to accomplish, but still maintains a social fragility, that is always in danger of collapsing. Chestnutt mines this psychological tension, as  we wish for our major characters to succeed, and at the same time realize the odds and the history, that they are working against. John Warwick Those of  "mixed blood" in the South after the Civil War passed for "white" only at great risk to themselves and their families of origin. In The House Behind the Cedars  we learn of the depth, of that deception, as a man returns home after ten years: "The sound of her voice gave Warwick a thrill. It was soft and sweet  and clear -- quite in harmony with her appearance. That it had a faint suggestiveness of the old womans accent he hardly noticed, for the current Southern speech, including his  own, was rarely without a touch of it. The corruption of the white peoples speech was one element -- only one -- of the negros unconscious revenge for his own  debasement." "And you are a gentleman now, John, aint you -- sure enough? Nobody knows the old story?" "Well, mother, Ive taken a mans chance in life, and