Response to Passing Post

One thing that I kept noticing in the first section of Passing was the importance of peoples eyes. Good. This is nice and neat-you've got a clear "what," and you could easily link it to a "so what." Irene kept talking about Clare's eyes. They seemed powerful. They showed emotions even before anyone had a chance to say anything. Evidence? Clare's eyes seemed to control people, like Irene, and her husband. Evidence?Irene and Clare would be talking and Irene would just give in to Clare's request, while mentioning something about her eyes. I think that in this story eyes are a metaphor women being seductive, that nobody can withstand a woman who knows how to make people do what they want. OK, so then does that take you to a queer reading? If eyes represent a woman's seductiveness, and I'd really like to see the textual evidence that suggests this to you, then is the connection between Irene and Clare shaped by this seduction? This certaintly is Clare, even from the begining, when she is living with her aunts and snitching time to go visit her old friends. People always wanted to see Clare and always talked about her afterwards, which is what Clare wanted, to be the center of attention. Later in the story, around the high 180's to low 190's Irene is the one who is having her eyes mentioned, and she is also the one winning. She is not inviting Clare to the dance, and this is a victory for Irene, that she is able to stand up against Clare. Clare is strong character, but also a selfish one. Everything she does is for herself. Irene is different, but also the same. Irene convinced her husband to keep with his profession because it was the best thing for him. But was that really why? No way! She just wants to keep her family intact! If he left what would happen to Irene? Yup! A lot of what Irene does is for herself too, which I think says that it is human nature to want things better for yourself, but that going to extremes, like Clare, is a bad thing. I think you left the eyes motif by the end of this. What you want to do is to keep a staedy what--the eyes--and then come to your "so what." It's possible that what you're saying is that the author uses Irene and Clare's eyes to show that both are selfish creatures who "see" only what is best for them. Exposing human selfishness? That is very different from your earlier motif of woman's seductiveness. Or is this about showing that Irene is every bit as controlling and seductive as Clare, even though she tries to sit in judgment of Clare?
If you write about this, then be SURE that you are doing close reading of lots of passages about eyeballs!