"Passing" is basically becoming white. Although he is a black man both by birth and birthright, his complexion is light enough, therefore he can be seen as a white man. His skin color is a paradox within itself. It is what saves him and also what curses him, at the same time. The protagonist is light enough that he does not fit in with the majority of the other blacks. Similarly, he is not dark enough to appear to be a Negroid. This lightness of color saves him because he is able to blend in with the other whites. This ability enables him to escape the harsh treatment blacks faced. Paradoxically, his skin color is also a curse, as blending with the whites causes him to lose his heritage.
Because he "passes" and denies his heritage, he is therefore unable to find his identity. He is black, yet his skin appears white. Is he black or white? This is the inner battle and identity crisis he struggles with. Passing, although it is helpful in some ways is overall destructive. It creates a man without an identity. Passing sets standards, which say one cannot be both, black and white. By passing he has denied himself of his entire culture; he has become too involved with the white culture to be a part of his own.
In the first chapter, the protagonist feels somewhat like a criminal in his secret. .
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This however was because of the codes set by society in 1912. Segregation was a norm for this time. Blacks were unequal and inferior to people of lighter color: whites. The black boys and girls in the class were looked down upon. When the protagonist first used the word "nigger" his mother became tenacious that he should never use that word again. .
In fact, the narrator grows up thinking that he is white until an incident in school. He didn't know he was black until the principal asked all the white scholars to stand. When the narrator stood up with the white children, he was asked to sit down and to wait for the "others".
