Bledsoe
is a man whose only real concerns involve himself, and the authority
of his power. This is why he is so threatened, when he hears the
narrator took Norton to the cabin that occupied Jim Trueblood. Even
though it was Norton who requested to be taken there, the narrator is
still taking the blame. Bledsoe says he should've known better
growing up in the South. Bledsoe sends the narrator to New York for
the summer to pay off a year's tuition. The whole situation was
almost very similar to the story of Joseph in the bible. Joseph was
nothing, but a kind hearted young man who had dreams, but his
brothers felt threatened by him. So they strip Joseph of his robe,
and sell him into slavery. The narrator is just doing what he is
told, and taking orders yet he is still punished for his actions.
Even
after the decision has been set, the narrator does not show
resentment towards Bledsoe for sending him off to New York. This is a
prime example of how power can corrupt the minds of people. English
historian Lord Acton wrote "All power tends to corrupt and
absolute power corrupts absolutely."The narrator however feels
the complete opposite. Everytime he trys to grasp for some sort of
control in this world, it slips through his fingers like sand. The
narrator feels as if he's an "invisible man" because of is
lack of any real control of his surroundings. He is just a minion
forced to take orders, deprived of freewill, and punished for doing
what he is told.
Bledsoe is one of my favorite characters so I love reading how people interpret his character. I appreciate your post because it goes over the abuse of power even within minority groups. Your connection to the story of Joseph and his brothers works very well with Invisible Man. I wonder if Bledsoe will ever feel the sting of guilt that Joseph's brothers experienced years later. It's also sad to see that even as a woke individual, the narrator will always be a minion within society. The only question is will he embrace his status like the yellow companions of Igor in Despicable Me? I think not since he considers himself invisible, a thoughtless, soulless robot, as Taryn Irving interprets him in her blog post.
ReplyDeleteThe allusion to the biblical story of Joseph gives that second perspective of abuse and obsession of power that Bledsoe has. It also portrays the lack of power the narrator has in his position. He and Joseph both just want to follow and obey the things they are told yet end up facing unjust consequences for being obedient. The mentioning of the narrators lack of resentment goes right in with his inability to maintain or achieve power because he feels his only capabilities are to take orders.
ReplyDeleteI like your connection to Joseph because he and the narrator are similar. People above them are threatened, so they send the minority away to make room for even more power. Joseph and the narrator are innocent and I like how you said the narrator has no control. He tries to do things right, but it doesn't end well in the end. He's invisible because he can never really do anything right.
ReplyDelete