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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Quicksand, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Segregation, and Society
Mixed-Race Identity
Racial Shame and Emotional Repression
Race, Beauty, and Exoticism
Religion, Poverty, and Oppression
Summary
Analysis
Helga’s happiness, however, is short lived. As her first year in Harlem comes to a close, she starts to feel restless, and even anguished. She feels trapped. As summer rolls around, Helga starts to feel annoyed by Harlem, her friends, and even Anne. Anne is passionate about “the race problem.” She’s incredibly vocal about how much she hates white people. Yet she copies their clothes, mannerisms, and artistic tastes, and looks down on “the songs, the dances, and the softly blurred speech of the [black] race.” Helga is irked by Anne’s simultaneous hatred of white people and mimicry of white culture.
Helga’s suppression of her whiteness starts to make her feel restricted in Harlem. Meanwhile, Anne’s dislike of white people shows that mixed-race people struggle to fit in anywhere in a segregated society: they are too black for predominantly white environments, and too white for predominantly black environments. Anne’s mimicry of white cultural values shows that a part of her still treats white culture as superior, and dismisses many things that make black culture unique, much like many of the people at Naxos.
Themes
Around this time, Helga bumps into Dr. Anderson at a community meeting. As she sits down, she finds herself thrilled to catch him sitting near her out of the corner of her eye. After the meeting, Dr. Anderson approaches Helga, and she jokes awkwardly about her departure from Naxos. Helga is acutely aware of Dr. Anderson’s gaze on her, and they flirt and talk about life in Harlem as they share a taxi back to 139th Street. Helga is unnerved by a vague feeling of yearning that she feels rising within her, which triggers her anger. Nonetheless, she and Dr. Anderson agree to meet again. Dr. Anderson reflects that it still seems Helga is searching for something. Helga laughs dismissively and goes inside Anne’s house.
The chemistry between Helga and Dr. Anderson triggers Helga in much the same way as her other encounters with him. She is excited and can’t quite understand her feelings of romantic attraction, which she describes as a “vague yearning.” As soon as Helga steps into emotionally complex territory, however, she starts to feel afraid and angry, and pushes her romantic feelings away. Ironically, Helga yearns to be understood, but is dismissive and shuts down the discussion when Dr. Anderson actually does perceives insightful things about her.
Themes
Helga lies around for hours, thinking “angry, self-accusing thoughts” about the way she stormed out of Dr. Anderson’s office at Naxos. She feels “a thousand indefinite longings” and thinks up speeches in her head for how to make a better impression next time. Three days later, Dr. Anderson stops by to take Helga out. Abruptly, Helga feels a strong urge to hurt him, and pretends she’s not home. She runs down the street and hurries to another engagement, feeling overwhelmed with disappointment. The vision of Dr. Anderson’s cool, gray eyes flashes in her mind and she feels disturbed and unhappy.
Helga’s emotions are in chaos after her simple and straightforward encounter with Dr. Anderson. Instead of embracing her attraction to him, she overwhelms herself with self-loathing, and a desire to sabotage her growing connection with him. Helga gets in her own way and runs away out of fear when Dr, Anderson visits. Once again, Helga pushes her emotions away because she is afraid to embrace them, which damages her romantic life and causes her a great deal of mental anguish.
Themes
Helga finds herself at a tea party, feeling frustrated. She finds the conversation—about the race problem, as always—dull and insipid. She learns from Anne the next day that Dr. Anderson no longer works at Naxos, since the community there thought his ambitions were too liberal. Helga sneers when she thinks about “uplift,” and slips away before Anne can start prattling on about “the race problem.”
Through the voice of Helga, Larsen communicates her disapproval of “uplift” strategies in American society, which focus on helping people of color advance in society by working hard and fitting into the dominant culture, rather than pushing for social change to ensure equal rights.
Themes
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