Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Prologue
Why is the narrator “invisible”?
Why does he steal the electricity for his lightbulbs?
The narrator foreshadows situations and characters that will emerge later in the book. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything.
What is interesting about the style in the prologue? Sure, it’s kind of confusing; but why is it written the way it is?
Chapter 1
Notice images of prey/predator, true/false, nimals
There are several layers to images in Ellison’s novel. The smoker is not only a smoker but a defining event in the narrator’s life and also a metaphor for the whole country; yet it also is a positive force for the narrator because he gains an actual prize and also a new perspective and a step towards understanding his grandfather’s words.
Chapter 2
Who is Norton? What/whom does he represent? Is he right or wrong? Do you like him or not? Do you trust him? Why does the narrator react to Norton the way he does?
Who is Trueblood (and why that name)? What does he represent? Why is Norton so fascinated by his story?
Trueblood tells of a dream; this makes three dreams so far in the novel, right? Is there any continuity or parallel aspect to the three dreams?
What do you think will happen? Will this incident be forgotten?
Chapter 3
For all the chaos and discomfort the narrator feels, there is some humor in this chapter. Yes?
What’s the connection between the customers at the Golden Day and Supercargo? (OR: Who are these customers that act so strange?)
The vet’s discussion with Mr. Norton is very interesting. In what way/s is the vet an example of the grandfather’s words?
Notice the vet’s words on P. 94-95. What’s so interesting about that section?
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Is this really working?!?
ReplyDeletePrologue Response:
ReplyDelete1. The narrator says that he is not literally invisible (duh) but that he is invisible in the sence that people refuse to "see" him.
2. I think that the narrator steals electricity for his lightbulbs because he's kind of taking advantage of his invisibility and proving to himself that he is in fact invisible to people. He makes a big deal about how the company knows that someone is taking it, but can't find out where, I think that the narrator gets some kind of satisfaction about this.
....yes...sarah, it's working...lol
ReplyDeletela de da de da!!!
ReplyDeleteChapter 2:
ReplyDelete1. I'm not totally sure what Norton symbolizes for certain, but I think he's a very deep character. He starts out seeming like an ok guy, I mean he's a school founder and a white one at that so it makes you want to like him for what he does, but as I found out his story...I slowly began to think that he's in his buisness for the wrong reasons. He keeps saying "Tell me my fate" but he's a college founder, he should be worrying about others fates and not his own. He talks about his daughter and how he does everything to idolize her, not to help the people who need his help. The narrator is kind of conditioned by this point in his life to like him. He knows he should, because Norton is a high class white man, but I feel the narrator has some held back feelings about Norton.
-My own tidbits-
I find it very very very confusing and aggravating how the Whites treat Trueblood after what the did. It almost makes me ashamed to be white. He tries to get pity for what he did...HECK NO! THERE IS NO PITY FOR HIM!!! ARHRGHRHGHD!!!!
Granted, they give him money after he did something bad . However, apparently in those days it wasn't looked down on as bad as it is today. He went from broke to nearly rich after the incident.
ReplyDeleteBut...I wouldn't show pity for him either. His daughter yes but not for him. Must of been some crazy dream...
ReplyDeletechapter 3 questions
ReplyDeleteI think the vet realizes that the narrator has been sorta brainwashed into truely believing what the high class white men in society believe. He is entirely too dedicated to pleasing them and almost has no mind of his own. I think he is doing exactly opposite of what his grandfather told him to do in that he is not only agreeing with what white men say but he believes in it too.
Prologue: The man is invisible only because people "refuse" to see him. The old man steals light for two reasons: to feel alive and to take revenge on the power company for taking so much of his money before he wisened up. The style of the prologue is great; the way the prologue is written allows the reader to jump right into the man's head and follow his thoughts as he is thinking them. This allows for a greater connection between the reader and the narrator, thus allowing a deeper understanding of the his story.
ReplyDeleteChap.2: I don't think that there is any evident parallelism between the three dreams, except that terrible things happen in each of the dreams-they all end in doom. The second and third both have passing time and are related to people of the white race. That's all I got. :)
ReplyDeleteChap.3: The monologue of the veteran is great! It's a wonderful forshadowing of the events to come because he calls the narrator invisible and lists why he is this way. I love his reasons: they are invisible because they are viewed on the surface only, and this is because neither of them processes anything. If they digested what they read and heard and felt, then they would be something of substance. After reading the insert I realized that a lot of people are "invisible" due to the fact that they are so shallow.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it seem as if the narrator is almost celebrating his invisibility rather than objecting to it? He's stealing the electricity, etc., as a way of taunting "the man." But he tells us at the end of chapter one, "First I had to go to college." That is, this celebratory perspective is something that he has to develop over time. He will try out a lot of things (identities) before he settles on invisibility.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with DP. The narrator seems not to be depressed or angry with his position in society, but content with his invisibility.
ReplyDeletepoo on procrastination arggg.
ReplyDeleteanywhoo, response to prologue, Q1:
i agree w/ cdawg. the narrator's view of himself being invisible is mainly due to the fact that he feels no one can see him. i think there is a bit more to it though. personally, i think the guy is warped in the mind but that's a rant for another time. basically the narrator is obsessed with what others think/how they see him. If he wasn't so focused on these elements to the point where he over analyzes every little thing, he might not get all hypochondriachalic and think he is INVISIBLE! i understand that, yes, this whole "invisibility" mess is a point that goes deeper than the surface and holds some weight in a metaphorical sense. At the same time, I wonder if the guy isn't slightly loony; his thought process, after years of steadily analyzing society and his place in it, and then coming to the conclusion he is "invisible", have certainly been over worked and warped. It isn't highly unpossible for his mind to take this metaphor for invisibleness and turn it into a physical state.
Prologue Q2:
ReplyDeletei think it's ironic that he steals the lightbulbs for his electricity but i guess that's kinda the point. i just want to say, also, that the guy lives in a BASEMENT and so he's a total creeper but anyway... one thing i noticed in my reading of the prologue (which i found sem-interesting) is the fact that, after the narrator had the epiphany of his invisibility, it's as if he _tries_ to be invisilbe. He pushes it and tests it and tries to see to what limit he can take it. This stealing of the light is just one example of how he does this. Not only does he try to be invisible now, but he feeds on it. The whole point of the prologue is to distinguish his invisibility and one of the key points is that it sets him apart from every other member of society. It's as if he is "enlightened" enough to see the truth but all the others aren't. Thus, the invisible man probably believes that he is just a bit more special and priveleged than the rest of society; this privelegeness allows him to do things, such as steal lightbulbs. Because, if he _so_ invisible, he will never be suspected, seen/found, caught, and certainly not punished.
*if he IS so
ReplyDeleteblurp on ch 3 q1:
ReplyDeleteonly, i repeat, ONLY,
you could find humor in this novel.
it would be funny if my book were to spontaneously combust and disintegrate to dust so that i may never have to read it again.
i would find humor in it then. ")
Ch 3, Q3:
ReplyDeletei found this part to be a bit intriguing. i think that the vet and the grandfather are similar in many ways. The narrator was probably reminded of his grandfather firstly by the fact that the vet is elderly and looks as if he has been through things in life to gain "knowledge" similar to that of the grandfather. The vet was a veteran of the war and the narrator's grandfather was a vet also, in the sense that he was a veteran of the times of slavery and emancipation. The vet's and grandfather's words are similar because they both act as warnings against the white man and invisibility. The grandfather said the boy shoudl act by "overcoming with yeses and undermining with grins." These words are almost a call for the boy to be seen and heard and, in a sense, to do everything he can to not be invisible. That was "the before" and the vet's words acted as "the after" when they proclaimed that, alas, the boy is invisible. That vet also calls him a "mechanical man" which is interesting b/c it's similar to how the grandfather was characterized, as a "meek man", obedient and odd, overall a mechanical figure.
*should
ReplyDeleteCh3 Q4:
ReplyDeleteIn the section the vet describes the narrator as "a mark on the scorecard" to Norton and Norton as God. The vet says that the narrator has become "invisible" by attending the college. The vet sees the college as a tool for whites to indoctrinate and pacify blacks with. The vet sees the narrator as a pawn of the whites and Norton as a slave master.
CH3 Q3
ReplyDeleteThe vet is describing the narrator in the same the narrator's grandfather described himself. The narrator by attending the college is becoming a traitor like his grandfather. He is becoming a pawn and spy like his grandfather by attending the white-funded college. He has given up his black identity to be welcomed by the whites.
Prologue.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator is invisible because others ignore him and choose not to make note of his existence. His actions and thoughts are just useless tidbits that are meaningless. I think he steals the electricity for his light bulbs to try to solidify his existence as a human being because he’s never been treated as one. There’s irony because he steals the electricity to bring light so he can finally be seen.
Chapter Two.
Norton is a trustee that has come to visit the narrator’s school. He is very educated and seems cordial. He gives off a certain persona that does make me like and trust him. Trueblood is the man who raped his daughter in a dream. I believe he was exiled from the black community for this. However the white people praised him and even rewarded him for his disgusting actions.
Chapter Three.
I find it interesting that the vet calls out the narrator. He is making his inner most feelings and thoughts known. The vet says, “He registers with his senses but short-circuits his brain. Nothing has meaning. He takes it in but doesn’t digest it. He is a walking zombie”.
So, it's not that the narrator is totally without guidance or precedence on his journey; he has his grandfather and the vet who give him pretty good warning....
ReplyDeleteObviously everyone can see the connection between the Vet and the Grandfather. What I like the most about that connection is how the vet was not only an ex-soldier, but a DOCTOR. ...It's kind of interesting that he's now in a bar...drunk...insulting people. Most people like this are usual considered outcasts and well..."invisible". After finishing the book and looking back on the character of the vet, it's really cool to see how the vet and the narrator are so much alike. They were both college graduates that are now "invisible" to society.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. Anything else, anyone?
ReplyDeleteok...i think this has already been said like 20 times but what the hey...he is not really invisible, people just dont see who he really is. he steals electricity to prove his invisibility. hmmm what else...well norton is a rich white guy been driven around by the narrator (very driving ms. daisy) and trueblood is a very disturbed individual that need psychiatric help, not white pity...
ReplyDeletePrologue:
ReplyDeleteThe narrator is invisible because no one in society truly sees him as an equal. He decides to steal the electricity to prove that he is an actual person. In a way he seems to be bragging about the fact that he can get away with stealing. He doesn’t seem bothered by his invisibility. Instead, the narrator embraces it as a fact of life.
Well like Beth said, everyone's pretty much said everything already, but you said we had to comment.
ReplyDeleteNorton is one of the white founders of the black college. I'm not exactly sure what he represents except the few white people who seem to want to educate the black population, although he says he helps found the college for his daughter's memory, not necessarily the education of the blacks. I'm kind of mixed in my opinion of him because he seems okay at first, but then he just seems strange. I mean after learning about this black guy and how he had a baby with his daughter, he decides to go talk to him about it like he's an exhibit at the museum or the zoo. I guess maybe that's the point, but it makes me not like him. He seems like he's going to protect the main character though, so that makes me dislike him a little less.
Chapter 2:
ReplyDeleteNorton is one of the original founders of the school, and the narrator is responsible for driving him around town. The narrator envies Norton because he is a rich white man, but I think that Norton’s interest in the college comes from selfish reasons. I didn’t like the fact that he gave Trueblood money after hearing how he raped his daughter. It seems like all of the white townspeople are rewarding Trueblood for what he did.
In response to what Heather said, I agree that the narrator has come to accept his invisibility and has embraced it as part of his life. I'm not sure if he steals the electricity to prove his invisibility and to show that he can get away with it. Or if he does it in hopes that maybe someone will eventually discover him proving he isn't really invisible, although he does say that he didn't think he'd ever get caught. Maybe in reality he is bothered by this state of living that he's come to know and is reaching for a way out of it.
ReplyDeleteChapter 3:
ReplyDeleteTrueblood is a poor black man who lives near the college. All of the students see him as an embarrassment because he raped his own daughter. Strangely enough, all of the whites have given him more attention after the news of his actions spread. Since Trueblood doesn’t want to uproot his family and move to a different town, he learns how to work the system to get what he wants.
I have to admit that there is a little bit of humor in Chapter 3. The fact that the only place the main character can think to go is the local bar/whore house (sorry, but that's pretty much what it is). Then knowing that it's full of crazy, drunk veterans who keep getting in his way is pretty funny. Even the bartender laughs at him when he says he wants a drink for some white man he's been driving around and actually won't give it to him. Making his situation much worse yet funnier for us, the main character has to drag the white guy inside. It's all ironically humorous and that's what makes it so effective in the novel.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this humor is effective, I agree with Sammy Sosa! in that the only true way of making this book hysterically funny is if it really were to spontaneously combust and turn to dust. :)
Prologue: At first I thought the narrator was truly invisible. Then I realized that his invisibility was his oppression from the white man. It’s sad to think that society was so cruel as to ignore the existence of a man, of a race, because he’s skin is a little tanner than theirs. I mean how stupid is society? But I did think the part about him running into the man, and beating him up was funny. This is why I thought he was truly invisible because he is described as a phantom that the white man could truly not see.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on madamepresident: Norton seems like an overall nice guy, but I do question why white men are the founders of the black college. It seems to me like the blacks would not have wanted a handout but rather would have worked towards this goal themselves. Is this like what the narrator’s grandfather warned him about having to live with your head in the lion’s mouth?
ReplyDeleteChapter 3: Why on earth would the narrator take Norton to Golden Days?!?! So the man needed a whiskey, take him a little further down the road and spare yourself the trouble you later get into. Norton seems a little wild and crazy himself. He’s obsessed with black people and their stories and where does it get him? Passed out in the middle of a whore house…way to go white man!!! (insert eye rolling here)
ReplyDeleteok so i officially hate this thing. i wrote out this longggg comment and i when i tried to post it i got this error page. so when i went back it was all gone. i shall now attempt to recreate it...
ReplyDeleteAAHHEEEMM!
ReplyDeletenow that i have your attention i would like to first say that when poynor passed out these books me and jess both thought it was going to be "THE invisible man". the british novel where the guy ACTUALLY turns invisible. anyways...
in response to the prologue i would like to share an anecdote. when we first got this book it was sitting on the coffee table and my dad asked what i was reading. so i explained how twas invisible man and my dismay at finding that it was not the story i had hoped for and that this was the one where he is invisible b/c he is black. so dad tells me a story from when we first moved here (was 1996 btw). Dad says that he goes into a convenience store and he gets in line at the counter behind a couple of black kids (by kids i mean like teenagers, i call everyone kids). and the middle-aged white guy behind the counter looks straight past the kids at my dad and says "can i help you". of course dad was like umm no they were here first. but i thought that it was awful that something like this would have happened. i mean it was 1996, not 1966.
i disagree with heather nelson, i dont think its quite that hes invisible b/c hes not their equal. i think that it's more like the story dad told. at times, they are actually not seen. also, like the poor communities surrounding the school, they are kept secret and hidden away from the white people. the blacks make themselves invisible.
ReplyDeleteits more of a testament to the fact that man in general only sees what he wants to see.
so i was a little confused by ch. 2 or 3 (i dont remember) and how all the white people gave Trueblood money after hearing his story. maybe they thought his actions were a result of his lack of education or money or status or something but that's no reason to throw money at him. his actions were from a lack of intelligence and conscience. no amount of funding in the world could fix that in him.
ReplyDeleteandddd
i did not find chapter 3 funny in anyway. and i wholeheartedly agree with miss sammyloo and Her Highness Madame Jennifairy that the only way this book would be funny is if it were to spontaneously combust before my very eyes and i could return it to you, poynor, as ashes in a ziploc bag. =]
Jennifer brings up a good point about the bar being a really funny situation. It's kinda like running late for school,because the main character had to have Mr. Norton back at the school. Even though we would think of this as an easy thing to do he keeps having to back track and the clock keeps counting down. Also I thought that it was ironic that all of the veterans are crazy!! Does the author believe that our country doen't take care of our veterans?
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with pretty much everyone the narrator feels that he is invisilbe because he feels that society doesn't see him. He believes because of his race that he does get any respect, which is definately true. Thorugh the book african americans are made fun of which at that point in time was common. Also I think that he thinks of himself as being invisible because he hasn't done anything that was honorable, or worthy of being seen.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure why the narrator stelas electricity. However i mostly think that it because of the whole invisible thing, but I am thinking that maybe a deeper meaning and foreshadowing of what is going to happen. But who knows i may be completely wrong in this matter.
ReplyDeleteok finally putting up what i wrote b4...ok...first, that was a very sad story katy g! thanks for ruining my day. great comments guys keep up the good work. ne way- bout Trueblood, he tries to justify what he did by saying he was dreaming about a white chick in a nightgown but thats not good either...right? also- am i the only one who sees that Matty Lou is kinda a slut? she was rubbing on him and apparently when they woke up she didn't want him to "go". thats not too innocent.
ReplyDeletei think it was madamewhatsherface that said Norton seemed to be watching Trueblood like a zoo animal. that was cool. didnt think of it like that but it makes sense. the bar scene did have some comedy...maybe u just dont have a sense of humor katy:)this is freaking me out cuz i thought i already said what im bout to say but i cant find it!! so i guess i'll say it now. the narrator always gets pissy(sorry poynor) when someone who he thinks he is better than draws the attention of Norton. He got angry at both Trueblood and the vet b/c Norton wanted to talk to them. thats selfish. sharing is caring. ask barney
ReplyDeleteWAZZ-UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust sitting in poynor's class...
DeleteYour lame
Deletemeanie...
DeleteI don't know what to think of Norton. I actually did like him because he seemed like a good white person, but after what Mr. Poyner said in class, I'm not so sure anymore. He seems to be very nice and fascinated with black people, but now I wonder if he has some sort of alterior motive for everything he does.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Norton may have another motive for the things he does. Based on previous events in this novel, mainly the events in chapter one, nothing will be as it seems. The daughter that Norton shows the narrator reminds me of the woman that was dancing in chapter one. Although he claims he is acting in the blacks best interest, he may be out for retribution for the death of his daughter.
DeleteI think that Norton thinks that he is doing something so wonderful for these black students, and he is, but that is not his main purpose. He is doing this to find his "fate," which he tells us several times in chapter 2. It's almost as if the well-being of these students give the town a better name, which raises Norton's name because he helped found the school. I both like and dislike him; I feel sorry for him because of his experience at the Golden Day and understand that he may not realize that he is doing this to benefit himself. Yet, I also dislike him because of his reasoning. I think he may mean to do what is right, but he also knows he is better than black people. I did appreciate how he stayed to listen to what the vet had to say; he is probably impressed with black doctors and educated people. The narrator knows the power Norton holds and is frightened that if anything wrong happens, Norton will get him in trouble. Overall I would trust Norton, because I think he is trying to do what he thinks is right.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou are all awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteYOU KNOW IT!!!!
DeleteHey
ReplyDeleteEllo govna!
DeleteI agree mr. Norton did seem like a generous man but I felt as though he gave to black people only so that he could have a sense of power over them. For example he asked the narrator to tell him how his life turns out and what he accomplishes from the help he gave to him. It's as if norton wants all the blacks to be thankful for his generosity and never forget who helped them.
ReplyDeleteSee thats a very good point and so I'm confused! I mean I want to think that he is nice and actually wants to help the black people and I was thinking that the fate comment was maybe about helping black people later on. But comments like yours Cierra make me think otherwise. That's a very good point (Jessey your comment made a good point too)
DeleteWith books like this, no incident is random. I don't know what this Trueblood incident is all about but it has to have some meaning. The narrator and Mr. Norton just leave the truebloods after hearing his story, leaving things unresolved. After hearing what Trueblood did, I don't think people will just leave them alone; there has to be some reason to this incident and my best guess is that we'll just have to wait and see... O.o
ReplyDeleteSome people think Norton is so interested in Trueblood because Norton is enamored of his own daughter. I'm not sure, but it might make for some interesting comments....
ReplyDeleteThe part about Trueblood was kind of random to me. I guess it is to show the dilemmas black people got into and to bring out the negatives for those people, but I do feel like it has a bigger purpose that will come out later in the chapter. His name, "Trueblood," is very peculiar; it could be ironic or it could be saying that he is being honest about what happened between him and his daughter. He claims that it was an accident, but I think it really wasn't. If so, then his name would be ironic. I feel that his true identity may reveal itself later on in the novel. Trueblood represents poor, black families who have made major mistakes or are very unfortunate. Norton is fascinated and horrified with Trueblood's situation and gives him one hundred dollars to buy his children toys. While this act may seem kind and generous, I think that it has a greater purpose behind it. Norton is gasping for air and is physically ill as they are leaving Trueblood's. I believe the reason Norton gave Trueblood the money is because he can see the poverty and bad name the town and area could receive from his transgression and is feeling sick from this realization. This relates to the white men from the narrator's town giving him a scholarship to the black college so that it would make the white men look good and give the state "better" black people.
ReplyDeleteThe veteran in chapter three has a big influence in this book and gives a pretty straightforward description of who Norton really is. The vet notices Norton's selfrighteousness and pomposity, even though Norton isn't very meretricious. On pages 94 and 95, the vet gives a full speech identifying Norton. He says to Norton in reference to the narrator, "To you he is a mark on the scorecard of your achievement, a thing and not a man..." Furthermore, the vet says, "He'll do your bidding, and for that his blindness is his chief asset." This blindness the vet speaks of is the narrator's inability to see what he is doing with his life. So not only has the vet been able to clearly identify Norton's motives, but he has also figured out the narrator's. What the vet tells the narrator is the same thing the narrator has heard all his life, especially from his grandfather. Deep down, the narrator knows that he shouldn't be so willing to give into the white people's wishes and demands. He knows he shouldn't be the "perfect black student" in the eyes of the whites. This is what is making him invisible. I wonder how long it will take the narrator to see that these actions are causing his "invisibility."
ReplyDeleteThe narrator states that he is invisible in the prologue but he is not invisible by choice but instead he is this way because white people do not "see" him and they treat him as though he does not exist. He feels that he is invisible because of the instances of racism that he has faced.
ReplyDeleteThe vets words on page 94- 95 defines Norton and the narrators true character. Norton acts as though he is trying to empower the blacks by donating to the campus,but he does so only for personal gain. While Norton is feeling accomplished by his "generosity", the narrator is trying to maintain the illusion that the white people are truly helping him. The vets' words are despised by both men because they both don't want to see the racism lurking behind every nice gesture.
ReplyDeleteWithin the Golden Day I found many things appalling. The way the "patients" (why are they called this?) treated Supercargo was wrong on so many levels. They used his unconscious body as something of a trophy. The "doctor" that worked on Norton was bizarre. He was fine and seemed civil, however he suddenly became very hostile towards the narrator and Norton. I want to know why EVERYONE within the Golden Day was insane. The only sane individual, to me, was the bartender. He was the only one that helped Norton exit the bar. I did find some humor in chapter three. The group of vets that were walking to the Golden Day stopped the car and their leader, who was obviously off his rocker, was actually serious about his ramblings. Norton, who was obviously confused, gave an amusing response. I want to know what was up with the women in the Golden Day. We're they adult entertainers, or we're they crazy like the men?
ReplyDeleteThe narrator is invisible because people don't recognize him as a person. Since he is black people refuse to treat him as a human being and as a result he feels invisible to others. He steals electricity because it makes him feel as though he exists because he is making an impact on society through taking electricity. Also the lights shining on him proves to himself that he exists. The style of writing allows the reader to understand what the narrator is thinking and feeling which sets up the rest of the story.
ReplyDeleteImages of prey and predators are prevalent throughout chapter 1 in instances such as the large black man picking off the smaller black men. Also, images of animals are used to relate the black fighters to animals fighting in the wild. Instances of truths and falsities also are present and they serve to confuse the narrator in knowing what is good and bad.
ReplyDeleteThe white men treat the black men poorly in many instances such as using their pain for entertainment. However, at the end the white man is kind and gives the narrator a scholarship and brief case.
Mr. Norton is a white trustee of the college and he represents other rich white men who “help” the black people. I think he is intentions are right and I like and trust him because he is kind toward the narrator and shows interest in the black community.
ReplyDeleteTrueblood is a poor black person who lives near the college who rapes his daughter. He represents what white people view black people as and this is probably how he got his name because he is a “true” black. Norton is fascinated by his story because he finds black life interesting and he believes this is how true blacks live.
Although the dreams are different in their own ways, they all involve Trueblood looking for something. These dreams seem to symbolize the narrator’s life in that he is searching for equality but in the end he finds how surprisingly harsh reality is.
I think this is incident is just a part of the plot and will not be revisited, but it does serve to show the white stereotype of a black community.
There is humor in this chapter during the bar fight, the doctor’s examination and the vet’s speech.
ReplyDeleteThe customers are mental patients and Supercargo is supposed to watch them.
the vet is an example of the grandfather’s words because he doesn’t do what white men expect him to do and he tells others his philosophy.
The section 94-95 is interesting because the vet points out that the narrator is going against his grandfather’s wishes.
I agree with Clark's that Mr. Norton may be so generous so that the black people will feel like they owe him something. At first glance Mr. Norton seems to be a very generous person that cares for the black people and wants them to go far in life. However, after thinking about Mr. Norton why else would he want the narrator to tell him what has happened to him and be so generous to the people.
ReplyDeleteDoes it really make sense that the Golden Day was filled with insane people and were able to drink alcohol.? THat seems kinda dumb to me. In chapters 1-3 animal imagery appears a lot, along with people acting like animals. What happened in the Golden Day with Supercargo is just another example animalistic behavior of people. I understand the need to get Mr. Norton to a drink quickly but the narrator must have known that the Golden Day would not have been a good place to take him. So why not take him into town? Was it really faster at the Golden Day.
ReplyDeleteTrueblood is a very interesting part. He says it is not his fault he has done anything wrong because he did it in his sleep. However he can clearly remember what Happened of that night. What else is interesting is Mr. Norton's interest in Truebloods story. He is stuck to the ground not paying attention to anything but Trueblood. Was the reason he was so interested because of his daughter. Did Mr. Norton feel sorry for Trueblood and that's why he gave him $100? He shouldn't though since Trueblood did that to himself.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Norton understood what Trueblood was experiencing, maybe on a personal level. In a way, they have both lost their daughters. Norton may have even done the same type of thing to his own daughter,and he knows how much a small sum of money can help in such a situation. I highly doubt that he did what he did as a random act of sympathy/kindness.
DeleteAnd thus the blog ends.
ReplyDeletePrologue: Why is the narrator invisible?
ReplyDeleteThe narrator states that his invisibility is a result of others' sight, not a result of his own body. He claims that he is a man of substance, but that substance--his unique personality and maverick behavior--is not acknowledged by others. Ironically, the speaker is ignored because he tries to stand out. Chapter 6 shows that the narrator does not sympathize with the methods of his peers and elders. Because he refuses to "play the game", others likewise refuse to acknowledge his alien ways, either because they do not understand his behavior, or are willingly attempting to end his campaign against the status quo.
Who is Norton?
ReplyDeleteNorton symbolizes the white half of the "game". His career depends on blacks rising from their oppression into newfound freedom via an education. He is not seen treating blacks with outright contempt, thought he observes Trueblood, the slave quarters and the members of the Golden Day, with a sort of mesmerized amusement. Here, it seems that he has a preconceived notion about blacks, but has not studied his subjects enough: after his traumatic day out, it seems that the race is in worse condition than previously conceived. He is kind, especially to the narrator, but is shocked because he misunderstands some aspects that will affect his "fate".