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.