This meeting went very well, even in the face of dental emergencies and enraged food service personnel. We started things off by reminding ourselves of the goal for the next few meetings, which is to move beyond simply observing and pointing out themes and motifs in a piece of literature and begin making assertions about them. What is the book revealing about these themes? How do these motifs connect to some deeper source of meaning? I noted that this is particularly important with Invisible Man, as the book is dense and filled with things that would seem insignificant or even totally unnecessary without a larger context of meaning in place to illuminate them.
From there we shared our first impressions of the book, and it was clear that the students had much more of a reaction to this book than Invisible Cities, or at least they were better able to articulate what struck them most. One student commented on the "density" of the book, and when asked what it was that gave her that impression, she replied very shrewdly that she (as a typical reader) was expecting a fairly linear story about race relations and instead was confronted with a very complicated and ambivalent individual facing a huge array of characters with layers of deception and motivation. Others replied that they really responded to the way in which Ellison blows up and exaggerates some of the more grotesque aspects of the story; Ellison plays on the line of "reality" and absurdity, and many found that interesting rather than grating.
While sharing quotes, we found that the themes of "blindness" and the nature of perception were on a lot of the students' minds. Some students mentioned the veil imagery, which gave us a brief opportunity to discuss historical figures such as W.E.B. Dubois and his metaphor of the veil and double consciousness, as well as Booker T. Washington in relation to the College. One student made the brilliant observation that there are unique power relationships in the novel: often power is polarized between to sources (like Mr. Norton and Bledsoe) which feed each other but secretly rely on deception to keep the power relationship in place. I noted that there is sometimes a third agent (i.e. Lucius Brockway) who serves the power relationship by keeping the pressure under control from underground (literary and figuratively). We did not have a chance to think this through and connect it to the Invisible Man's own situation at the beginning of the book, underground and siphoning off power from the major power company. But I did pose the question that haunts the end of the book: what do we do in the face of deep and ingrained cultural corruption that we can not control? Do we hide underground or do we face it?
In this vein, one student mentioned the ironic inversion of what is crazy as opposed sane, and how often the book is so astute at revealing the insanity of cultural compliance, the insistence on stereotyping and self-enslavement. Someone then brought up the great comic moment when the Invisible Man is trying to throw out Mary's black-face coin bank, only to have people tell him repeatedly to pick it up. In a related sense, the letters in the Invisible Man's briefcase -- as well as the endless letters and pieces of paper in his dream -- are a symbol of a constant deferral of one's hopes. Stereotypes are thrown back at you, and your hopes (the Golden Day of achievement) are endlessly deferred.
Next time we get together, we are going to take a moment to look at the language of some of the speeches and dreams. We tried to hone in on some of the parts of the book that no one wanted to think about, namely Trueblood's dream and situation. Take another look at that scene and see if you can come to the meeting with an idea or two about how this episode sits in the greater context of the book.
Our next meeting is planned for Monday, August 6th at 10:15. I know that Mr. Kearns is running his History meeting earlier in the day, and I'm sorry if you'll be experiencing AP fatigue. I'll let you know of any changes. The standard quotation response journal will be due on that day for chapts. sixteen to the end. Ten quotations. Thanks, Mr. Telles.
This book held my interest more than invisible cities. However, the narrator’s relationships with other people were brief, and this bothered me. He would meet somebody and they would make some kind of impact, but then they would be gone for the rest of the book. I understand that this is significant, it was probably intended to emphasize the unhappiness of the narrator’s life. I couldn’t connect to the book emotionally due to the short events and relationships. Things were constantly changing, I don’t mind a shocking plot twist, but the duration of anything was brief. Most of the time the changes were negative. I really didn’t like how things were so terrible for the narrator and everything that seemed hopeful took a turn for the worst (not that I’m looking for a happy, feel-good story). But, this was probably another way to emphasize the difficultly of the narrator’s life. Brockway gave me hope that the narrator might actually have a pleasant lasting relationship with somebody, but I should have expected that their experience would end in an explosion and they were never to cross paths again.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the author described events without actually saying what was happening. (Like later in the book when he was shot.) In most books, events are clearly stated but accompanied by a description. In this book, you had to read descriptions carefully or you could miss important details. I had to keep reminding myself to read more closely at times.
The chapter which took place in the hospital was confusing. I understood what was happening, but I was confused as to why it happened. I also thought that it would impact the rest of the story greatly, but it didn’t really seem to have a huge effect, it just served as another thing to reference, like Bledsoe or Norton.
Overall, it was a decent book. I can believe that it is a very good book and many people appreciate it, but I just couldn’t connect to it.
I liked this book much more than Invisible Cities, although I feel like this was a book where I would have benefited from reading at a slow pace since there was a lot to take in at some points. Especially at points where, as Julia said, the narrator would say what was happening without actually just coming out and saying what was happening. I had to read almost another full page before I knew for sure that Clifton was dead.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to whether we should hide from or face uncontrollable cultural corruption that can't be uprooted, I think the answer to that would have to be face it. This book, although depressing, wasn't written just for the sake of a story existing. It's making a point. The narrator hides away at the end of the book, allowing everything to continue as it had been for some time. He gave up. We watched throughout the book as each wave from the racial divide slammed into him repeatedly, and he continually kept on picking himself up until he felt he couldn't anymore. But the thing is, when he was actively facing it he was making an impression. Something good was coming out of it even though it seemed to him everything was going wrong. He got the people to fight with him for a little while, even though he'd lose them every once in a while. The message I think this book is trying to relay to us is that we shouldn't do what he did. Giving up is almost as pointless as never having done anything and having gone and hidden in the first place. In order for change to become a possibility, someone has to stand their ground.
Invisible Man was a difficult book for me; not only by how ideas were presented, but how the narrator handled situations. As both Julia and Elizabeth stated, every detail is important, and if you miss one small but key point it may take a few paragraphs to realize what had just happened. Also, the abundance of simple characters caused ideas to jumble in my mind as I read. A character could be brought up in one chapter for a page or two and was never found again. The narrator himself was somewhat difficult to relate to on multiple levels. As the audience learned about his life and the situations he encountered, his reactions seemed odd. Our society has taught us that facing our fears and fighting obstacles is a successful way of life however the narrator in many instances does the opposite. The narrator seemed to be able to do no right and was constantly forced back to his starting point. Did he see his escape from society as the single way the tormenting pattern would stop? The novel is effective in relaying a message that seeking change can be immensely difficult and even if you do not fully succeed the first time, once the ground has been laid or the idea is expressed you are one step closer to success.
ReplyDeleteInvisible man was a very interesting book for me personally as a lot of the ideas were abstracted and dealt with point of view. The biggest and most important example being the definition of invisible which meant a lot to the book and the life of the invisible man. I found it interesting the way the author plays around with the meaning of words and lets multiple perspectives be possible. This led to a more interactive reading process for me as I was constantly thinking and evaluating rather than just scanning over information and events being thrown at me. The idea of sane versus crazy or insane as well as invisibility or blindness captivated me and made me continue to find new interest in the book. I believe that the author’s writing techniques proved succesful as from what I can read I found interest in the same ideas discussed in the meeting although I was unable to attend. When an author can provoke the same thoughts and feelings while allowing each reader to use a different thought process to get there I believe the author has succeeded in their task as I believe ellison did.
ReplyDelete