Independent Reading blog #2

     In my last post, I traced a motif of whiteness. Over the next 100 pages I have noticed a few more instances. In the night, the narrator compares the moon to a "white man's bloodshot eye" (110). The moon "sees" everything, as does a white man's eye. The power of whiteness is ubiquitous in this young man's life, constantly surrounding around him, like the moon orbiting the Earth.
     The narrator also notices "sheer height of the white stone" when he travels North in search of a job (165). He gets kicked out of the school for "improper behavior" towards Norton, but is guaranteed that one of the seven recommendation letters Bledsoe gives him will get him a job. When he travels North, he still sees whiteness as intimidating (i.e. the tall building), but overcomes some fear. "After staring for a moment," he walks in the building along with other business people (165). He breaks down barriers just by walking in to an establishment full of white people.
     Later, when the narrator goes to Mr. Emerson (one of the letters' intended recipients), he sees "ebony pedestals," holding up "glass specimen jars" (180). A shift! Ebony (black) versus white. This detail could be analyzed as either a) black people are strong or b) black people carry weight the society's judgements put on them. To support the message I think Ellison is trying to make, I'm going to choose option a. The narrator has travelled North, both a physical and societal change. He is astonished that people treat him equally, or at least without negative interest. He is shocked when a plump woman on the subway does not scream when he brushes her skin, and doesn't "pay him the slightest attention" (158). Life is different now -- but better? We would think so (as readers in the 21st century), but the narrator is so shocked he can't decide whether this is "desirable or undesirable" (168).
    This whole equality thing relates to the title (Invisible Man). In the North, the narrator feels that despite general politeness, people "hardly see [him]" (168). He is more invisible in the North. This is ironic because invisibility seems like a undesirable fate. The North should be more accepting, right? More willing to see blacks as actual people? And yet, the narrator doesn't feel seen at all. He's just another body walking in the street. This is ironic because the narrator had a decent life in the South; getting an education and thriving mentally. Now he is ignored, likely to get lost in his own thoughts and perceptions simply because he has no relations.
     Perhaps invisibility is a good start; a blank slate. But since the narrator has already experienced prejudices in the South, he can't fathom or enjoy the equality in the North just yet. To illustrate this, Ellison uses an analogy. While the narrator waits in Emerson's office, his attention is drawn, by a "savage beating of wings," to an "aviary of tropical birds" (181). He feels an urge to "stand near the cage for a better view," but resists this temptation as it would appear "unbusinesslike" (181). The birds symbolize his own state of being. He is trapped in a cage. His resistance to his attraction to the birds is also symbolic. He doesn't want to admit that he's in a cage. In fact, he doesn't even really know that he is in one. He hears a "harsh cry from the cage," and sees a "fluttering and beating of wings," only to settle down "when the door opens and the blond man" enters (182). Just like the birds, his instinct tells him to obey and mimic whites. They birds are rowdy when the narrator is in the room, but immediately settle down when the white man comes in. The narrator clings to the idea of white power because it has been a reality throughout his life.

Independent reading blog #1

         The first scene of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison occurs in a sketchy ballroom of a hotel, to which the nameless black, male narrator is invited to give his high school graduation speech in front of the town's "leading white citizens" (17). Instead, he is blindfolded and thrown into a boxing ring to fight like an animal against other black men. Beaten almost to death, he is finally allowed to give his speech and is rewarded a scholarship to the state college for blacks. At college, he drives Mr. Norton, a white guest, around the town at his request. Norton insists on talking to Jim Trueblood, a poor black sharecropper who claims to has accidentally impregnated his daughter in his sleep. Hearing this story, Norton goes into a state of shock, and the narrator agrees to get some whiskey at the Golden Day to calm him down. Both characters end up in the Golden Day, surrounded by insane war veterans and prostitutes. Violence ensues, putting Norton in a further state of shock. When they finally return to the college, the narrator is apologetic, apprehensive that he will be blamed. But Norton assures Dr. Bledsoe, a school official, that the narrator is not to blame.
         First, I will address point of view. It is first-person, but the narrator is nameless. This unconventional approach works on multiple levels. I think Ellison's intention is for readers to take in the actual words and not connect them to a character. Without a name, this is much easier since Ellison has given us a head start. Also, the anonymity makes narrator symbolic in a way. This "invisible man's" struggles apply to more people than just himself. Since race is emphasized, it seems African Americans are most likely being "symbolized." But perhaps Ellison just wants to emphasize the fact that the narrator is invisible and doesn't have an identity.
         A motif of whiteness has popped up several times in just the first 100 pages. I will just mention a couple instances. The narrator comments on Norton's "silk white hair" (37), expressing his admiration and awe of whites. He is at once scared and impressed by this "white-suited St. Nicolas" man (107). The instances of whiteness also convey that the narrator is surrounded and controlled by whites. The officials in the "whitewashed reviewing stand" judge him (36). The "white dividing line of the highway" contains him (98). His tears blur his vision, creating a "world of whiteness" (100). It's obvious that Ellison is emphasizing the color white. He keeps bringing it up because whites are dominating the narrator's life (and there are several more examples I didn't mention). After all, it is because of whites that he goes to college; because of Norton that he gets caught up in so much violence and trouble.
         Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the "stolid-faced man" (74). This stranger appears out of no where and warns the narrator that "'the great all-embracing, absolute Armistice, the end of the world, will occur at 5:30'" (74). This is happening in the Golden Day, before all hell breaks loose. The stolid-faced man appears again shortly thereafter, saying "'I told you it would occur at 5:30. Already the Creator has come'" (79). Perhaps this wat veteran is just a minor character; perhaps he is there just to demonstrate the insanity of the vets. But maybe his presence is something else. I'm not quite sure yet, but I hope to find out. That part was creepy to read, almost science-fiction-y (which could interpreted as a whole different message...). But I'm enjoying the novel so far! Sorry for the long-ish summary.