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!

Music Tuesday

"Get'cha Head In The Game”

Coach said to fake right and break left

Watch out for the pick

And keep your eye on defense

You gotta run the give and go

And take the ball to the hole

But don't be afraid

To shoot the outside J

Just keep yah head in the game

Just keep yah head in the game

And Don't be afraid to shoot the outside J

Just keep yah head in the game

You gotta get'cha get'cha head in the game

We gotta get our get our get our get our head in the game (x4)

Lets make sure that we get the rebound

'Cause when we get it the crowd will go wild

A second chance gotta grab it and go

Maybe this time we'll hit the right notes

Wait a minute

It's not the time or place

Wait a minute

Get my head in the game

Wait a minute

Get my head in the game

Wait a minute

Wait a minute

I gotta

Get my, get my head in the game

You gotta

Get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game

(Repeat 4x)

Why am I feeling so wrong

My head's in the game

But my heart's in the song

She makes this feel so right

(Spoken)

Should I go for it

Better shake this, yikes! 

I gotta

Get my, get my head in the game

You gotta

Get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game

(Repeat 4x)

In this song we see the aphorism of getting your head in the game. This shows us how important the mental aspect of the game is. Getting Troy’s head in the game is something that the team needs and something that he is trying to do, but also gives us a universal truth.

We also see an aside as Troy discusses his true feelings for basketball and singing. His teammates are still on the court with him but they cannot see the true extent of his feelings during this song. The audience gets to see into Troy’s internal struggle. 

The atmosphere of the song also helps to set the mood of the song. It is very repetitive but also chaotic. This mirrors Troy’s internal conflict between music and basketball. His thoughts are chaotic and he can’t focus on practice. The atmosphere also makes us feel pity for Troy and sympathize with his confusion. 

Reflection on the Trial of Antigone

I thought that the trial went very well! It was something that I had originally dreaded doing, but I think it turned out well in the end. I was glad that we got to do it for the other classes because it made it seem more realistic, and it seemed like there were real stakes. I was somewhat surprised by the jury's decision that Antigone was innocent. I think that gender did have a lot to do with the voting. One girl told me afterwards that she thought the prosecution had a more logically argument but she still sided with Antigone because of the pathos of the argument. I think that the directors did a marvelous job at keeping things on track and making sure that the time went smoothly.