Tell Me Through A Song

The use of songs is present all the time in the novel. There was a song when the protagonist walked alongside the homeless man and after reading the letter, on the bus ride a man was whistling a song. The songs relate to what is happening to the narrator and match up to his mood.

The song from the bus, reflects the mood of the protagonist that he has been used and left to suffer:

" O well they picked poor Robin clean
O well they picked poor Robin clean
Well they tied poor Robin to a stump
Lawd, they picked all the feathers round from Robins rump
Well they picked poor Robin clean." (pg 193)

The protagonist relates to Robin since he was also in a way used. He reflects on the idea that they don't explain why they did all this to Robin. He also has no idea why Dr. Bledsoe has let him down in such an extreme way. Being a smart person the protagonist wants to know how they got from point A to point B and the fact that there is no real explanation up to now, only makes him seek revenge.

Lose Yourself

There are times in life when we don't fully understand who we are or are doubtful of       what we want in life. This could become a loss of identity since we become more concerned with how the world views us rather than ourselves. The protagonist of Invisible Man has this loss of identity or rather he chooses to lose himself to achieve what he wants.

In page 178, the protagonist pretends he is not southern. He feels insulted after the countermand offers him a very southern breakfast since he assumed just because, he would want it. He decries all this as the change he wants to be accepted in the college as a better man.

The protagonist says he "would be basically the same ... Yet so subtly changed as to intrigue those who had never been North" (pg 178). From this the reader can infer that the narrator wants to trick those around him thinking it is a good idea but in reality, he will basically be losing himself to appearances.

On the Bus

In chapter 7, the narrator gets on a bus to go up north. He is not the only one in the bus and the reader is surprised to find that the vet is in the bus as well. It is in this chapter that this character stands out as the foil to the narrator. While the narrator always wants to please his superiors particularly “the white men”, the vet speaks openly against this behavior. He describes them as a big man that “pulls your strings until you refuse to be pulled away anymore” (pg 154).

The metaphor the vet says shows his dislike of the white man and how they only use the people. He also generalizes whenever he speaks saying that “they” envelops every person that is white. While the narrator has hoped that some white person will help him, the vet only antagonizes them. It’s also interesting that the person who sees clearly how the narrator is being used is a crazy person and not the educated one.

Even after all the conversation with the vet the narrator still firmly believes that he is on a righteous path. Clearly the fact that the book starts with him in such a dark position and what the vet says, shows that this path he believes is his destiny, wont take him there. There are clear warnings about this and he chooses to ignore them. Even though the book begins with the ending, the reader could foreshadow the characters fall through his interactions.

Colors and Turning Away

Continuing with the reading of Invisible Man, the reader begins to notice the importance of colors. It is clear that the novel has the theme of racism in it but Ellison uses the colors to show the distinction of the colors through the eyes of the narrator. In class we discussed how color is a social construct and and in this novel, the author uses color to highlight the importance of how things are described. A house is not just a house it is a “white house” and windows are not windows they are “black windows”. Ellison doesn’t use all the colors of the rainbow in these descriptions but uses those that go with the racial differences of the time like brown, white, or black, to name a few.

Directly linked to the idea of color is how the narrator uses a lot of imagery. Descriptions aren’t simple but seem to absorb every detail that surrounds the narrator. It also seems as if the surroundings go with the feelings of the narrator. For example when leaving the Golden Day the description of the gray concrete has a metaphor which is that it is like “the weary tones of a distant bugle blown upon still midnight air” (pg 98). Despite that the late afternoon sounds seemingly pleasant; this metaphor highlights how the narrator is fearful of the consequences of his actions by using such a drastic metaphor to explain something so simple.

The reader notices that in the novel white and black is used to show something that the narrator makes seem opposite or impossible, in other words a pun. For example when discussing the future of the narrator, Dr. Bledsoe doesn’t have a positive response to what the narrator says. The narrator then describes the situation as though he had said that white is black. The reaction of Bledsoe could be that idea of not dealing with the topic and letting it linger in the air.

Oh Syntax, You Did It Again

The classification of the characters becomes clear again because of the use of syntax. After leaving the Golden Day and returning to the university, the reader notices that everyone in this setting speaks dramatically correct. The narrator even describes this difference in page 47 by saying that "us" as in the people of the college and the peasants were different. Ending the part about the Golden Days there are aphorisms like “high as a Georgia pine"(pg 87) and also what I think is an allusion when the vet says "a little child shall lead them"(pg 95). Somehow this aphorism and allusion add to the effect of the setting. Since the character finds himself with Mr. Norton in what has become a mad house, the reader can see how the prostitute that said the aphorism is different from the vet that said the allusion by tge display of different backgrounds. This goes back to the idea that the invisible man is surrounded by all of this and has a close mind dowager all of it because he thinks he us superior.

Simile

There are similes throughout the novel like the description of an unconscious Mr. Norton as being like “a formless white death" (pg 86) and when describing Supercargo kicking like "a fungo hitter batting out flies" (pg 83). By using these similes the reader gets a perspective on how the narrator views things. Probably for a white narrator the fact that Mr. Norton looked like death wouldn't have put so much emphasis on the fact that he looked like a white death.

Another Short Annalysis

The change in syntax in the novel is present again at the Golden Day. While some of the men in this bar speak regular, others have the change in syntax that Trueblood had. I think this demonstrates a variety of characters and how they each have a different view on Mr. Norton or his generalization, white folk, as well as the school. The Golden Day is filled with prostitutes, vets (who are shell-shocked), and normal customers. In this chapter the reader really notices how this text is subjective because of the different responses to the events the narrator has. Being thrown into this new setting of chaos highlights this more even though with Trueblood it was also present.

Preparing for the AP with Invisible Man

As the reading of Invisible Man continues, one can identify different uses of syntax. When the invisible man takes Mr. Norton through the old log cabins and they talk to Mr. Trueblood, when Trueblood speaks, his words are different. Instead of writing “before they heard about what happened", the author writes " 'Fore they heard 'bout what happenen" (pg 52). By using this syntax the author highlights Truebloods lower status and gives him the characterization of a southern accent. It gives the reader an idea of the difference in social classes involved in the novel and how the character of the invisible man is considered above the other characters because he speaks correctly. Here one can see a difference in decorum. Trueblood’s story goes according to his social station as well as Mr. Norton who is nothing but appalled by the story.

Invisible Man

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is our next (and final) book before the Ap Exam. I have gotten to the end of chapter one and up to now, it’s pretty good. The writer uses an informal register and the tone is nonchalant up to now. The narrator is in first person and from what I have understood, is an African American living in the South in a place called Greenwood when he was “visible” and when he became invisible, relocated to New York.

The narrator’s diction is highlights that he is smart. When he gives the speech in front of the white men he is described as knowing “more big words than a pocket sized dictionary”, and he holds true to this by using words like extol and social responsibility. Maybe the words are not that “big” for the reader but to the rest of the characters he delivers his speech to, it is.

The syntax varies between the characters. The invisible man narrates clearly and when giving his speech, the order of the words is normal. The rest of the characters are also written out in this way but their diction is more vulgar because of the use of bad words and derogatory terms. The narrator must be have been given this diction to put him in a higher pedestal than the rest. Maybe showing his mental superiority and a distinction between what the author implies as good or bad.

The author used personification in the prologue when talking about death after beating up the man that insulted the invisible man: “Would Death himself have freed him for wakeful living?”(pg 5) This adds to the idea that to be awakened from such a nightmare of fighting something he couldn’t see, death, which is the ultimate slumber, would have been the one to awaken him. This kind of makes me question if the character will keep on bringing death because the personification stood out.

I think it is safe to assume that a theme in this novel will be racism. When the character brought up social equality and social responsibility in his speech, the other characters (who are white) reacted badly. As well during the whole first chapter the derogatory term “nigger” was used multiple times. It seems that this poses a challenge for the main character but he seems to have a lot of pull to keep pushing forward. Yet, having read the prologue, the reader questions what happened to the young man who was so bent on giving his speech but then turns into a man who is invisible and lives in a hole.

Hamlet: Theater Festival