Invisible Man Journal Entry 4

The newest section of Invisible Man was very exciting! The narrator works for women’s rights and the first thing he does is sleep with one of the white women. When the woman’s husband comes home he does not see the narrator. This plays in with the motif of visibility and invisibility. The narrator also sees Clifton being shot by a cop. Prior to this, Clifton was selling dolls that were representative of blacks. This angers the narrator and he does not approve of Clifton’s actions. He even crushes one of the dolls by stepping on it. I thought it was interesting that the dolls move with string because that is also a motif. The blacks are being controlled by outside forces just as we have seen throughout this novel. The actual shooting scene was very chaotic. It is clear that Clifton punched a cop and then was shot, but it seemed to be shocking for everyone. After seeing Clifton being shot, the narrator works tirelessly to speak out and start organizing events. Do you think that it was for Clifton or simply because he likes to speak out? Is it to go against the Brotherhood who held the meeting without him? I’d love to hear your thoughts! 

It also baffles me why the narrator stays in the Brotherhood when they do not have respect for him as a person. They tell him that he is there to speak and not to think. This would be a red flag for me but the narrator still sticks around. It seemed very significant that brother Jack’s eye popped out. In our group today we discussed how Jack is physically blind in one eye and the other eye is blind to truth. They also demand blind devotion from the people in the group. They get angry when someone tries to step out, even if it be in the name of the Brotherhood. Brother Jack gets angry at the narrator for organizing speeches for Clifton without the support of the Brotherhood even though the narrator had good motives. He wanted the Brotherhood to use the tension to propagate their cause, but they do not want to. They do not want Clifton to be associated with them, even though he could have been a powerful tool if they utilized the tension his death caused. 

Invisible Man Journal Entry 3

This section was very long so I won’t be able to talk about everything but I’ll talk about a few things that stood out. One was the veteran who finally got what he wanted after speaking out. He says, “For a year I’ve tried to get transferred, then this morning I’m suddenly told to pack” (153). Just because the veteran went against Bledsoe, he now wants him to go away because he sees him as a threat. The veteran got what he wanted in the end, but not because of anything in his power. It’s sad how powerless he was in the situation and only came out with the ending he wanted because of the power that Bledsoe used to get him far away. Bledsoe does the same thing to the narrator and the veteran talks about this when he says, “Why the same they we always mean, the white folks, authority, the gods, fate, circumstances-the force that pulls your strings until you refuse to be pulled any more” (154). Although Bledsoe is not white, he is still the controlling factor in the narrator’s life. He sends him away with fake recommendation letters and no chance of success. It’s sad that Bledsoe is a powerful black man but he does not do anything to help his own race. He is more focused on staying in power and looking good. 

I also thought that chapter 11 was very interesting. That chapter shows us a new narrator who no longer has any sense of his identity because of the factory accident. While the doctor asks the narrator questions he can’t remember his name or many details. This transition is significant because the narrator is no longer fearful of the authority figures that have wronged him previously. His identity is then given to him by Jack as he joins the Brotherhood. They use him as a pawn for their movement and make him speak and think in the way that they want. Ras claims that the white members will turn on the black members, and the whole incident casts some uneasy feelings on the Brotherhood. This feeling also increases when Jack’s wife questions whether the narrator is black enough. The brotherhood also starts to look into the narrator and transfers him to a different branch dealing with women’s rights. Doing the interview seemed to be a bad idea for the narrators future. Do you think that the narrator will stay with the Brotherhood or do you think he will start on a new path?

Invisible Man Journal Entry 2

       Well, Bledsoe is quite the character. He seems to change a lot depending on who he is dealing with. When he is talking with the rich, white donor, Mr. Norton, he is servant-like and doting. This changes dramatically when he is with the narrator. Bledsoe goes against his word to Mr. Norton, and decides to punish the narrator for bringing Mr. Norton to Trueblood and all the other places that followed. Bledsoe is also very rude to the narrator and says, “Haven’t you the sense God gave a dog? We take these white folks where we want them to go, we show them what we want them to see” (102). This shows his manipulative manner towards people who he thinks he can extort. He wants the white people to be happy so that they will continue paying. The narrator is confused by his actions and notices that his voice is laced with “a strange grandmotherly concern” when talking to Mr. Norton (103). Bledsoe puts on a facade with certain people, but the narrator is able to see the truth behind his actions. Do you think that’s the reason Bledsoe sent the narrator to New York? Or was their another reason behind it? I was also shocked that Bledsoe had slave shackles in his office. I think that Bledsoe is not loyal to his own race and is more concerned about power. He keeps a symbol of torment and torture in his office and has it out when his is talking to the narrator about his punishment. This shows his lack of morals and also his extreme measures to stay in power. 

I also thought the part with Barbee’s sermon was interesting. He speaks about the Founder, who apparently does not have a real name. Despite this, his story is told and impacts the narrator. It seemed to be a story of perseverance and the narrator likes that, but also feels guilt over his actions. Barbee is also an interesting character. His name is Homer and he is blind. Ellison really went for it with that character allusion. Both men are story tellers and speak their stories in a public arena. It will interesting to see if Ellison develops Barbee more to bring out some other connections. So far, to me at least, I think that the only significant thing that it shows is that the story of the Founder is very important. Homer wrote some of the most important and studied stories in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Since the Homer in Invisible Man is telling the story of the Founder it gives the story more merit and importance in the history of the school. I am guessing that there is more to that, but it was an interesting connection. 

Partner Journal-Invisible Man

       Well cheers to our newest book journaling! In the prologue I thought it was very interesting to learn about the invisible man. He seems to be at war with everyone. When the man is insulted he never backs down. Instead, he stands up for himself and fights the man that insulted him. I think that this reflects the kind of man that he is. Although he sees himself as invisible he is still willing to fight and not be trampled by others, especially the white men. I think that the racism in the piece is very evident. At the end of the prologue, the invisible man says "He,let us say, was lost in a dream world. But didn't he control that dream" (14). This shows his view of how society works. The white people are in control and valued because of the color of their skin. The police would have blamed the invisible man based solely on his race. This social commentary helps to develop the piece as a critique of society and point out the injustice through the eyes of someone experiencing it. 

I also thought it was interesting that he uses so many lightbulbs. Symbolically, that could represent his desire to be seen and also his attempt to find himself. The conflicts of this story so far have been internal and external. The invisible man has to fight society and their view of him, and his internal struggle to find himself. It will be interesting to see how the resolution of these problems will play out. 

The past of the invisible man was also very tragic, and once again shows the cruelty and inequality of the society. Being forced to fight and then be pushed into an electric rug is terrible. The white men also ignore the man’s speech and laugh despite the obvious work that he had to put into it. They are only interested when he accidentally says “social inequality”. He is then rewarded for this with a briefcase and scholarship. Why do you think that all the men reacted to the invisible man’s slip up with such force? 

Biographical Lit Crit

Arthur Miller was born in New York in 1915. Growing up, Miller was part of a well-to-do family. He lived a good and stable life until the stock market crash in 1929. Miller’s father lost his business and his money, so his family was forced to relocate outside of the city in a smaller house. The hard work that Miller’s father had put into his job was all for not. In Arthur Miller’s most famous work, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is plagued with a similar fate. Miller drew events from his childhood to create a story that people could connect to. Willy Loman works his whole life but never gets ahead. In the same way, Miller’s father worked only to have everything that he worked to build fall apart. Miller’s idea that the working world is a tragic place comes from his first hand view of the system failing his family. 

The story is set in Brooklyn, New York which is the very place that Miller moved after the financial fall. The play takes place in the late 1940’s, a time of great prosperity for the United States just coming out of war. With such a great economy to support Willy, his job as a salesman should have produced great results. In reality, Willy is never able to earn enough money for his family. Miller’s critique of the American Dream reflects his family’s personal downfall in the same way. Miller shows the audience that capitalism does not help everyone because it is possible to work your whole life for nothing. By looking past the gold covering of the time period, Miller showed that not everything was as perfect as society often made it out to be. The critique of capitalism, the American Dream, and society shows Miller’s disdain for a capitalistic system which had spurned him in the past. 

Works Cited

"Arthur Miller Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/arthur-miller-9408335#synopsis>.

"Arthur Miller: Private Conversations on The Set of Death of a Salesman." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 2004. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/arthur-miller-none-without-sin/56/>.

Death of a Salesman Question

"My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I'm lonely" (12).

How does the pursuit of the "American Dream" affect each character so far in the play? What point is Miller ultimately trying to make?

New Year Photo Walk

I decided to do my photo walk at night which was very cold, but I didn't mind. My dog, Riley, and I were all cuddled up, but she was excited to go for a walk.  The first thing that I noticed was my neighbor's Christmas lights that are still up. Usually they put up a 12 their front yard, but they didn't do as much this year. It was still pretty and added a little Seahawks flare to the neighborhood which I appreciate. They are the last remnant of Christmas as well. That leads me to the next thing that I saw which was a chopped up Christmas tree. It was really depressing and signified the death of Christmas 2015. With Christmas being my favorite holiday I never want it to end. This was a sad representation of the end of another Christmas season. The last thing that I reflected on was my neighborhood. I have lived there my whole life and it hit me on the walk that I won't be living there for a majority of the next year. It is a year of new beginnings which is scary but exciting. I can't wait to see what new things 2016 brings with it!