Invisible Man Observations

While I definitely see the literary value of Invisible Man, it is nonetheless a very difficult book to get through. There are a lot of images to notice, and frankly, the plot moves relatively slowly. Thus, in the midst of attempting to index/annotate everything important while also attempting to stay awake, the reading process is slow. Although, I have discovered a process that really helps me get through the book quicker. If I sit down with the book and force myself not to annotate, only highlight words to index, and read for an hour, I get through the book much quicker. Then, for about 15 minutes, I go back and annotate the sections I read. This helps me read the book quicker while also covering the necessary material. It’s a good tip for anyone struggling with the same thing that I am.

On a side note with Invisible Man, it is interesting that the narrator introduces a lot of blood imagery and Biblical references. With these images, I cannot help but think that the narrator is, in a sense, a Christ figure and maybe even a tragic hero. Of course, I have not read enough of the story to speculate, but from the prologue, it appears that he sacrifices his personal freedom and desires in order to infiltrate white society, and basically destroy it from the inside-out. This is similar to the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. However, while many doubted Christ’s holiness, he was a well-known figure in his area, far from invisible. Thus, that slightly breaks his connection with the Invisible Man. Also, the man’s irrational act of violence during the prologue seems far from Christ-like, although he makes it sound like this loss of control is an anomaly, not a regularity.

Also, there is a lot of fruit imagery, connecting the story to Adam and Eve and the fall of man. This connection would make sense considering the book focuses on many of man’s faults including discriminatory attitudes.

As I have read the book, I have begun to question the purpose of the school the narrator attends. It appears, as the narrator seems to slowly discover, that the school is enslaving it’s students in yet another manner. It is forcing them to believe the white man’s views, thus enslaving the students in their minds. As a result, the students feel inferior to the white men and are thus emotionally enslaved.

With this idea, one must consider the purpose of the headmaster. He seems to have power, but puts on the appearance of inferiority when white guests come to visit. This seems similar to the narrator idea to infiltrate white society wearing a cloak of invisibility. Thus, is the headmaster the initial invisible man? Did he give the narrator the idea to live apart from society?

One other question I have is when does the narrator become invisible? It appears that, at the start of his life at college, that he is not invisible, but rather one of the favored students. What changes this?

Working on Poem Presentation

Today I worked on my poetry presentation for William Carlos Williams’s “This is Just to Say.”

I started by completely annihilating a tri-fold board in my living room. I tore both of the side pieces off so I could use the center as my platform. It’s kind of ironic that the poem is about the destruction of relationships/the fall of mankind, and in order to make the project, I had to destroy a board. I see a common theme here. Just a little AP Lit irony for you.

I then drew a leafless tree (to the best of my abilities) using a printed picture of a dead tree. Much to my surprise, the picture actually came out decently, which is good considering the tree is central to my entire project. The tree connects the poem to the Garden of Eden and the fall of man. Furthermore, the death of the tree references the death of relationships and the coolness referenced in the poem.

Then, much to my mother’s and the environment’s chagrin, I tore up a bunch of brown construction paper so I could color the tree with various shades of paper. The fragmentation of the tree further references the gap between the narrator and whomever he is referencing. The many different colors of construction paper come together to form a tree just as the narrator and the center of his interest, whom are very different according to the poem, come together in a relationship. Similarly, the tree then dies just as does their relationship.

Hanging from each branch is a torn heart that replaces the leaves that would normally hang from the tree’s branches. Again, the broken hearts correspond to the broken relationship. Moreover, the hearts replace the leaves, and thus the tree takes on an unnatural form, as it becomes adorned with a foreign substance. Similarly, the narrator alienates his lover/friend/relative by destroying their sense of communion (eating their plum) and continuing to demand (not ask for) forgiveness, demonstrating that they show little to no remorse for their actions.

I also picture a leaf falling to demonstrate the fall of man, and I have some leaves lining the bottom of the poster as another reminder of the replacement of leaves with hearts as well as of the death of the tree.

Although I have yet to add these features to the poster, I also want to depict a snake wrapped around the tree, referencing the form Satan took in the Garden of Eden and thus referencing the fall of man. Furthermore, as plums are the center of the original poem, I want to depict some rotting or eaten plums at the base of the tree with the leaves, although I do not know how I am going to do that yet. The eaten plums will demonstrate the many layers of a human being—one being sweet (like the meat of the plum) and the other very cold and heartless (like the pit of a plum).

On a really quick English language side note: Today, I was reading my history text book, and I noticed that the author used “till” instead of “until” numerous times. Also, one of my newspaper writers tried to get away with a similar feat. So sad. If texting lingo takes over this planet, I’m moving to Mars.

Poem Presentation

I began planning my poem presentation last week for the poem, “This is just to say.” Although the poem only discusses the narrator eating someone else’s poem, various poetic and structural devises demonstrate that he is actually talking about the coldness and lack of communication in his relationship with the unnamed person. In order to communicate this coldness and pain, I decided to center my presentation around a leaf-less plum tree.

To begin with the tree will be bear. In the poem, the narrator discusses how the plum is both sweet and cold. The contrasting images demonstrate how his companion appears sweet and caring on the outside (like the tender meat of a plum) however actually has a cruel, cold soul (like the pit of a plum). Similarly, when a tree is covered in leaves, it appears beautiful and gentle. But it’s true, cold core appears when fall rolls around and all the leaves fall off. Thus, the bear tree demonstrates the same idea of a cold inner core as does the image of a plum.

Furthermore, the poem has a lot of references to the fall of man. By focusing the presentation around a tree, the presentation will indirectly reference this fall of man, as Eve ate from a fruit tree, as the story goes. To further draw this connection with the fall of man, I will have a snake slithering up the trunk of the tree, referencing the form the Devil took in order to trick Eve.

Burned, wilting love letters will be hanging from the bear tree limbs. The outdated, destroyed nature of these letters will demonstrate the loss of love and inability to communication in the narrator and his companion’s relationship. I also might hang a few divorce papers from the limbs of the tree, as divorce is obviously the epitome of a destroyed relationship. Although, in both of these cases, I will have to stress the fact that the narrator does not specify the type of relationship he is speaking of. While he may, very well, be referring to his lover, he could simply be referencing a friend or a family member. No evidence exists either way, and thus no assumptions should be made.

Dead leaves and squashed plums will be lying at the base of the tree. The dead leaves will symbolize the death of the relationship, or the death of the life of the relationship just as the leaves died. Furthermore, the fact that the leaves fell from the tree references the fall of man. On top of this, the leaves fell away from the tree as the narrator falls away from his companion. Thus, the fallen leaves demonstrate the destruction of the relationship. Similarly, the dead plums, or maybe I will do eaten plumbs, will represent the death of the relationship. If I do eaten plumbs, I can have the pits resting at the base of the tree, demonstrating that the narrator has seen through his companions fluffy exterior to her cold soul, thus the pit of the plum is exposed.

Women in Invisible Man

I have noticed a very interesting trend in Invisible Man involving women. I guess it started with the title, which, among other things, speaks of a man’s inability to be recognized by society, primarily because of his race. However, in the title, as elsewhere in the story, the fight for recognition and dignity does not involve women. The author generally depicts them as battered souls or distant entities, making their wants and desires appear both unimportant and unexpressed.

It all begins with the narrator’s dream (another interesting image!) in the prologue, where, while high on drugs, he meets a woman who fathered the children of her slave master who, as a result of these births, both hates and loves the man. Like the women introduced later in the novel, she is sexually abused by men. The female’s connection with sexual abuse in this novel is no coincidence. Although the author could be highlighting their plight, the fact that he gives them little voice in the novel, as of yet, evidences the women’s lower societal position during the time period.

Another sexually abused women is the stripping-dancer in chapter one, in whose eyes the narrator saw “terror and disgust.” Even as a white woman, she is victimized by the watching men, who chase her around until she runs from the room. This episode demonstrates that, during that time period, women were faced with sexual pressure and indecency, no matter their color. Again, the author seems to high light the problems in their life, but gives them little voice, in an effort to symbolize the fact that women had no say in the social or political world at that time. Their mouths were effectively taped shut.

The third female introduced, the beautiful daughter of the school’s founder, appears different than the other female characters; however, evidence exists that her father may have sexually abused her as well. He seems obsessed with her beauty and her memory, and when Trueblood explains how he rapes his daughter, the founder is engrossed and even excited about the story. He asks Trueblood if there is anything he can do for him, suggesting that the founder feels compassion and understanding for the rapist. This affinity could possibly arise from the founder’s undiscussed relationship with his daughter who, if this is the case, is as much a victim of the male-dominated world as the other female counterparts.

Possibly the two most victimized women are Trueblood’s wife and daughter, as evidenced by the fact that he impregnated his daughter. However, despite his horrific act, the white men protect Trueblood, and even send men to study him. Throughout this time, they take little care to ensure the safety of the victimized daughter and wife. Even when the founder comes to visit, he ignores the daughter, listening to only Trueblood’s side of the tale. This story is probably the best evidence of the victimization of women in Ellison’s society, which he symbolizes by giving the women no voice and a sad story in his novel.