Thursday, January 17, 2008

Invisible Man

The novel Invisible Man was such a dense book that it is hard to choose one thing to write about. One thing that was one of the biggest themes was the search for identity. The narrator constantly faces on a daily basis the problem of society attempting to mold him into something that he was clearly not. All of this tore the narrator in deciding what side to choose. An example of the narrator's ultimate struggle for identity is seen in one scene where the narrator is living with Mary Rambo. He wakes up one morning preparing to leave for his new life within the Brotherhood. As the narrator is leaving, his eyes fall upon the statue. This statue, which has been there the whole time he is living with Mary, basically sat invisibly in the corner of the room. Trying to ignore the statue, he continues on his way, but he stops when he gets angry at it. He claims the statue is mocking him. Enraged, he breaks the statue which symobolizes the inner conflict of heritage vs. giving it up for the Brotherhood. He also finds the statue offensive at how it portrays blacks with it being a coin bank (pg 319). The bank represents a greedy, obedient slave which again shows his internal struggle. When the narrator finally leaves Mary's house, he brings the statue with him so she would not get upset over its broken fragments. However, as he makes several attempts to abandon it, the statue always ends up back in his hands. This represents the guilt that he faces with leaving his hertiage behind and joining the Brotherhood. It is not until the end of the novel where the narrator's search for identity is complete.



After reading Heart of Darkness, I thouroghly enjoyed this novel. It had so much in it that can be interperted and discussed. I am very impressed with the way Ralph Ellison utilized every page to the best of his ability. Every time I turned a page I discovered something new. This kept me interested which is always good. In the end I would rate it an eight. The only thing I did not like about it was the fact that it was incredibly long. But like I said earlier, not a single page went to waste.



"Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through.”
This quote is from the liberty paints scene which I have to say was one of my favorite scenes from the book. The author did such a great job with all of the black and white references within it. The plant is basically a representation of the racial dynamics within society. This is seen between the interactions of the workers along with the paint as well. The main property of the Optic White paint is its ability to cover up blackness. This is a symbol of white power in the narrators society, like the white paint, trying to assimilate and change and hide the black identity.
One day while procrastinating reading that nights worth of homework for this novel, my dad saw the book on my kitchen table. He asked me what the book was about, and I gave him a brief summary. He then went on to tell me that it sounded like the song "The Invisible Man" by Queen. Now while thinking typing this thing up, my mind raced back to this conversation with my father. I pursued looking up the lyrics to the song and found many similarities and thought I should share the lyrics:
I'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
Incredible how you can see right through me
When you hear a sound that you just can't place
Feel somethin' move that you just can't trace
When something sits on the end of your bed
Don't turn around when you hear me tread
I'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
Incredible how you can see right through me
I'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
It's criminal how I can see right through you
Now I'm in your room and I'm in your bed
And I'm in your life and I'm in your head
Like the CIA or the FBI
You'll never get close never take me alive
I'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
Incredible how you can see right through me
I'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
It's criminal how I can see right through you
Hah hah hah hello
Who goes there?
Hah hah hah OK
Who goes there?
Hah hah hah hello hello hello hello
Never had a real good friend - not a boy or a girl
No-one knows what I've been through - let my flag unfurl
So I make my mark from the edge of the world
From the edge of the world
From the edge of the world
Now I'm on your track and I'm in your mind
And I'm on your back but don't look behind
I'm your meanest thought I'm your darkest fear
But I'll never get caught you can't shake me shake me dear
I'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
Incredible how you can see right through me
Watch meI'm the invisible man
I'm the invisible man
It's criminal how I can see right through you
Look at me look at me
Shake you shake you shake you dear

2 comments:

anonymous(yes,me) said...

That's an interesting observation on the coin bank. I hadn't even thought about how long it had been there. Now, I'm posting this comment far after I read the book, so I forget how long he had actually been in the room and what he'd been doing, but I would agree with you on the invisible part. Funny how he only saw it then. Perhaps it was even foreshadowing, since he only saw it as he was leaving for the Brotherhood, and if it was then it was an omen of sorts showing what awaited him in the organization. It was a warning of what awaited him as he tried to work for Brother Jack and the others. Also, the narrator saw this when he was getting ready to start over again, trying for a new life in the Brotherhood. When he goes to start over again for the Brotherhood after the job for women's rights, he ends up finding Clifton selling the Dancing Sambo dolls. Maybe it's conveying the idea that whenever he thinks he's starting anew on the right path, he's really not changing anything, and is really just headed for trouble again. It might be saying that the Brotherhood was never the right path, and he never saw this but instead tried to destroy all other stereotypes (doll and bank) while trusting in the very people that supported those images. Blinded, if you will, by what's in front of him.

How in the heck was all this missed? Again, nice observation.

Mr. Klimas said...

Your analysis is good, but it only scratches the surface. You are relying too much on summary.