There Is Confusion · Question
How does There Is Confusion develop the theme of Art and Self-Expression?
Answer
There Is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset develops Art and Self-Expression across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Dance, music, and theater are portrayed as powerful means of personal and cultural expression, with Joanna’s artistry symbolizing the struggle for recognition and the potential to transcend racial boundaries through creative achievement.
Joanna's spontaneous dance and her teaching of the barn dance highlight the theme of artistic expression as a joyful, communal activity.
Joanna's audition and the Board's serious discussion of dance emphasize art as a means of expression and overcoming prejudice.
Joanna finds solace among Miss Sharples' artist friends and uses her art as a means of expression, though she begins to see it as covering up life's bare bones.
Evidence in the book
- VII
Joanna's spontaneous dance and her teaching of the barn dance highlight the theme of artistic expression as a joyful, communal activity.
- XXVII
Joanna's audition and the Board's serious discussion of dance emphasize art as a means of expression and overcoming prejudice.
- XXVIII
Joanna finds solace among Miss Sharples' artist friends and uses her art as a means of expression, though she begins to see it as covering up life's bare bones.
