Considering its initial publication in 1892, during the Civil War and Reconstruction era, Frances EW Harper uses the meaning of racial improvement through passage. During the era of slavery, the phenomenon of racial passing was a common practice as it gave way to freedom. Mixed-race subjectivity was often allowed to pass; if an individual could pass for white, they were granted "special" privileges through black eyes, but inherent typical privileges through white eyes such as education and fair treatment. The strategic use and manipulation of the act of passing throughout the novel symbolizes the racial solidarity needed to overcome difficult times, while also showing the lengths people were willing to go to achieve economic success by earning a career. In some ways, passing as white can be seen as a strategy to gain knowledge during a time of oppression against minorities; it is also a pure survival tactic that reflects the power inequalities within slavery. The act of passing into Iola Ler oy, or Shadows Uplifted not only signifies an internal desire for inherited privilege, but shows a sense of relinquishing an identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The novel furthers this understanding of racial passage more broadly through Iola Leroy's upbringing and her parents' decision to raise her as white. Given that she is actually a mixed-race woman who is held in slavery when her white father Eugene dies unexpectedly, the vital decision of her mother, Marie, and her mixed-race father, Eugene, to disguise her identity racial was one that was selfish and ultimately harmful to Iola's identity. Speaking to Eugene, Marie states: “No, no, it's not that I regret our marriage, or feel the slightest contempt for our children because of the blood that flows in their veins; but I do not wish them to grow up under the contracting influence of this racial prejudice. I don't want them to feel like they were born under a proscription from which no value can redeem them, nor that any social progress, any individual development can erase the prohibition that grips them" (72). Maria and Eugene's cunning choice to hide Iola's identity highlights the importance of the transition during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Marie not only vividly expresses that she wants the best for her children, but she also expresses that she does not want them to feel worthless and cannot be compensated by their courage for their black heritage that they possess. However, the tradition of passing as white to gain better social, economic, and political opportunities affirms an internal dissatisfaction that is evident through thoughts of “whiteness” equated with a “good” life characterized by the privilege and opulence of the white upper classes. class and “darkness” that offer a locked-in life with no escape route. In some cases, being white has afforded opportunities that people of African descent did not necessarily have, but the strategic choice to pass as white shows a dissatisfaction with life that nothing can help alleviate and a denial of identity personal. Neglecting or deliberately choosing not to identify as one half of one's ethnic identity shows internal conflict resulting from denial of one's background. Mixed-race subjectivity meaning denotes or refers to people whose parents or ancestors come from different ethnic origins. That said, choosing to pass as white.