Blog post 3

   In the Invisible Man, the narrator joins up with an organization made up of all blacks who all refer to each other as "Brothers". Referring to each other as brothers while not related, shows that a significant bond exists between all of the members of this group. The bond stands for one of the earliest signs of blacks conforming to their own sets of rules and standards as opposed to the degrading standards the white men want the blacks to abide by. They are all black men that seek to "create the race" the want to become, so that they can create a "culture" all their own. The individualism style of thinking is exactly the kind of thinking we think of when we hear about Martin Luther King Jr. and all the other civil rights leaders. The brotherhood the narrator is in could very well be an origin the civil rights.
   The narrator also puts emphasis in the lighting of the building they meet in. The building they meet in has dark rooms with few "low-hanging bulbs" so that they can see their way through. This point further symbolizes the importance of light. The light, meaning purity, is the real light that fills the building. The light of purity is the light that bathes the brotherhood, while it is scarcely found in the major landmarks the white men dominate. The need of physical light is something this brotherhood would find as a something that isn't a nesecity when they have purity. The blacks seek out the light of purity while the whites seek out the light that the devastating fires of absolute control creates.


http://www.ehow.com/list_6854688_list-civil-rights-nonprofit-organizations.html

Blog Post #3

Dr. Bledsoe wears a mask to cover his true intention of protecting his position in the college.  He admits to the narrator that he will “have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs by morning if it means staying where I am.” (143)  Instead of carrying on the Founder’s idea of progressing the black race, Dr. Bledsoe keeps the student’s from their true potential.  It seems like Bledsoe is running this college to appease the white trustees.  Bledsoe belittles the narrator even though Norton supported him after his mistake.  He tells the narrator “you’re nobody” and expels him without a second thought. (143) 

This reminds me of lyrics in the Panic! At the Disco song Emperor’s New Clothes.  This song explores a new era, which is what the Founder had in mind for progressing education.  Dr. Bledsoe was supposed to continue this era but deviates from the original plan.  Bledsoe, like the person in the song, almost sees himself as above others since he now has the “crown.”  Now that he has this power he does not want to give it up so he does whatever he needs to do to keep it: “finder’s keepers.”  Since Dr. Bledsoe has had a taste of this authority he will do whatever it takes to make sure he won’t loose it and remain on top.

Blog Post #3

In the novel Invisible Man, the narrator is expelled from the college university of which he was attending. Even though he was a great student, he makes a series of mistakes while giving a white trustee of the university a tour of the school's country side. The narrator exposes him to a local farmer who has performed incest on his own daughter and an all black salon full of mental patients.

Since his expelling from the university, the narrator was then sent to work in New York to work for a year. Ultimately promised that if he is to find a job and work he may return back to the university. 

This same scenario in Invisible Man has a correlation with that of the film The Interview. In the film, two reporters are sent to North Korea to interview Kim Jung-un. Upon their arrival all seems well within the country at first glance. The people are happy, prospering, and living no form of tribulations. But in actuality they are not. Once the reporters get a real glimpse of the country they see for themselves what is actually going on within the country. They see people starving, living in fear of their government. Their only reason for acting as though everything was okay was to delight the outside world over fear of what could possibly happen if they did not.

This is an exact representation of what is going on within this novel. From the outside it may seem as a thriving college university located in an area full of educated invidiuals. When in actuality it is like any other place that has its own inner demons. They attempt to cover up reality but when someone of importance sees for themselves the true atrocities that are happening, that idea could soon change. Reminiscent of what Kim Jung-un was attempting to do in The Interview as to that of those running the university.

Blog Post 3

            Bledsoe and Norton exemplify the contrasting views of simple acts, through the eyes of their race. The invisible man seeks only to please and find Mr. Norton help in his illness, and for that the trustee is grateful. He attempts to clear up any misunderstanding by explaining to Dr. Bledsoe what truly happened. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, he still has hope and “[looks] forward with the greatest of interest to learning [of the narrator’s] contribution to [his] fate” (108).

            The same kindheartedness is not given by Bledsoe, however. He rails upon the narrator “as though [he] had committed the worst crime imaginable” (140). Bledsoe only intended to keep the trustee in blissful ignorance of the slums and ghettos near the college. The narrator had a moral dilemma with doing that though, as he was “ordered” (139) to show the trustee the tabooed area. For following orders, Bledsoe kicked him out under the pretense that “[Norton] wants you disciplined, [although] he might not know it” (143).

            These stark differences in the treatment of the narrator showed how the racial tensions were a stage where people were not aware of their role. Norton’s forgiveness as a white man was out of place to Bledsoe, who thought that any trivial problem was a disgrace to his race. He tries to pull the strings from behind the stage, but making a puppet is not what Norton wants accomplished for his fate. He wants the honorable man that shows him the world, no matter how brutally disgraceful it is.

Grace Mullee, Blog Post 3

Similar to the narrator thinking that Bledsoe is able
to obtain him ajob and him earning money in New York will be simple. Mullee  

 Grace Mullee     

      Naivety is a trait the narrator possesses. It is shown when he believes Dr. Bledsoe supported him in finding a job in New York to “earn [his] next year’s fees”. (145) Also, trusting the letters, written by Bledsoe, contained information to “see that [he] get work.” (145) A wave of apprehension, from the audience, appears when Dr. Bledsoe takes Mr. Norton’s side and is so adamant to punish the narrator. It is quite suspicious that Dr. Bledsoe is taking a white man’s side and not a man of the same skin color. The second red flag is Dr. Bledsoe insisting that, “it isn’t necessary for [the narrator] to open them.” (149) “Them” as in the letters and why shouldn’t the narrator be able to open the letters? Those letters concern him because they are aiding him in acquiring a job. The narrator is entitled to open the letters because he should be able to make sure the letters make him seem credible enough for an occupation. The narrator seems to only want to see the best of people and not the corruptness. Dr. Bledsoe’s actions characterize him as someone to do anything to be on top and in charge. It doesn’t matter if it means that he stomps on one of his own (the narrator) to rise above. The narrator is easily convinced that Dr. Bledsoe is looking after him and wanting the narrator to come back to the college. More evidence of the narrator’s naivety is when he tells Mr. Emerson that he would, “really like to become Dr. Bledsoe’s assistant.” (184) The narrator has faith that Bledsoe is sending him somewhere that will earn him money to return and pay for his educational fees and to continue his educational career.

Liberty Paints

Our narrator gets his first job at Liberty Paints- a company full of great patriotism. The name of the company emphasizes “liberty” for all- ironic due to the fact that America was severely divided.

The first thing the narrator learns is how to mix their famous “pure” white paint: by adding ten drops of black toner into each mixture. “Now measure ten drops into the paint…There, that's it, not too goddam fast. Now. You want no more than ten, and no less,” Kimbo instructs him (200). Although he is adding black drops, the paint still dries a clear white color.

            After looking deeper, I realized that these black dots in the midst of the white paint are a symbol for the black/white relations of America. The Liberty Paints serves as an extended metaphor of racial inequality. The factory’s slogans emphasize the moral superiority of their whiteness. It is demonstrating the underrated black contribution to America. Without it, America would not be the same. This connects to the poem “Theme for English B” where Hughes explains to his teacher that at the end of the day, no matter what race, everyone is American. He says, “You are white- yet a part of me, as I am a part of you”. However, this is a viewpoint that many whites of America refuse to accept. 

Pressure for Forgiveness

 The pressure to apologize for the actions of others within the narrator's racial group is a constant internal issue he faces. Embarrassment and shame for actions that don't even directly affect him as a person, but he deems a shame to black people as a whole. At first, when Trueblood explains his incestual dilemma, the narrator pushes to leave and continues to question "how can he tell this to white men..." (58). The narrator feels responsible in apologizing for any image single people/groups display for his race as a whole, emphasizing that present theme of internalized racism.
  As Mr. Norton falls ill to the heat and shock of Trueblood's story, and is taken to Golden Day where chaos and violence uproars through the misconstrued veterans, the narrator feels another presence of pressure to redeem his personal image as a result of the actions of others. Yet again, when the veteran Doctor is asked to explain his backstory by Mr. Norton, the narrator urges to leave. Questioning once again "...why would the vets act that way with a white man in the house?" (98) and continuing in thoughts to plead for forgiveness to Mr. Norton. The spiel that plays out in his head displays self-hate and incrimination for reasons he has no control over. "I wanted to...beg his pardon for what he had seen; to plead and show him years...to assure him that...I hated them, that I believed in the principles of the founder..." (99) are only some of the constructed ideas he plans to use in pardoning a new stereotype or view of himself and others of his race. The shame and guilt he knows will come from the whites, pressures him and pushes him to break down in tears and apology for no relevant reason.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-batts-speaks-to-fop-20150527-story.html
(link describing officer apologizing for the riots in Baltimore, calling people protesting and rioting for the silencing of black people's rights and freedoms just as the narrator apologizes for the veterans rowdiness against their corrupt attendant)

Blog Post #3 Invisibility

In the crazy and somewhat comedic scene at the Golden Day, an ex-doctor and vet takes care of Mr. Norton as he passes out many times. The vet tells the narrator and Mr. Norton some insightful and maybe insulting things. He says the narrator is a “mechanical man (94).” Prior to that the vet says the narrator does not truly understand anything. Later he explicates the reality of Mr. Norton and the narrator and states they do not see each other for who they are for but for what they want. Mr. Norton only sees invisible man as his destiny and accomplishment and invisible man only sees Mr. Norton as someone more powerful. Neither of them see the other as a person.

                The vet says earlier about the invisible man: “Already he’s learned to repress not only his emotions but his humanity. He’s invisible, a walking personification of the Negative, the most perfect achievement of your dreams, sir! (94)” This portrays the narrator as his grandfather’s last words. The narrator succumbs to the white man and will do anything to be seen as important in the white man’s eyes. The emotion is gone and so is the humanity. The narrator gives himself up and becomes Mr. Norton’s destiny of a successful school. As mentioned earlier the vet then says “The mechanical man! (94)” This phrase expands on the idea of succumbing to a power because it’s like saying the narrator is just following any orders given just so he can impress. Therefore the narrator may not see Mr. Norton as a person but just as a higher power he must take care of to be well-regarded. The vet is also saying Mr. Norton just sees the narrator as another achievement. 

Through Blesdoe's monologues in Chapter 6, we notice more and more that the invisible man is very naive. He continually gives everyone the benefit of the doubt and he makes decisions with good intentions, however inevitably gets himself into trouble. The invisible man is easy manipulated unlike in the prologue where he is very cynical. He convinces himself that he deserves to be expelled from school and decides to make it up to the school as fast as he can. Chapter 8 proves his innocence further as he is overly optimistic when he delivers the letters asking for him to be hired. New York is so densely populated with thousands of people looking for jobs and he expects to be hired in the blink of an eye. He even trusts the man that expelled him to get him the job. Although this is very naive it reminds me of Frank Sinatra's song "New York New York" when he sings, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere."
Mr. Blesdoe reveals to us also in Chapter 6 the chain of who's in control during this time period. "This is a power set up, son..." (142). He proceeds to tell the narrator of how he plays the white folk by "[acting] the nigger" (143) to get to the right hand of the white man- or the puppeteer position that controls the right hand. He distorts the Founder's dream of lifting the veil of ignorance and rather than enlightening students and providing them with an education that prepares them to be educated adults in the real world, Blesdoe shoves them further down in society by perpetuating the myth of white supremacy. Therefor, this chapter is the start of the invisible man's invisibility. "You're nobody, son. You don't exist- can't you see that?" (143). Ralph's imagery and diction confirm this: "followed in their shadows" (136), "He called me that" (139), "out of the fire and into the melting pot" (152).

Blog Post #3

Mary Rambo offers to aid the narrator back to health after he is clearly mistreated at the hospital. Mary represents the biblical Virgin Mary; she is a kind motherly figure. Even though Mary Rambo lives in a corrupted world where blacks are suppressed and deprived of their dignity, she still has the moral of helping those who need it. Mary “never laid eyes on [the narrator] before” (252) but still takes the narrator to her home and allows him to stay overnight. Not even in today’s society citizens will bring feeble people home to nurse them back to health.

Mary’s selflessness extends even farther because she never demanded the narrator for money when the rent was months overdue. She always encourages him to make himself worthy, even when the narrator “lost his sense of direction” (258). Mary helped a “heap of others” (252), and tried to inspire them to “make the changes” (255) as well. She believes the younger generation can help the blacks go higher on society’s social scale. In contrast to Mary, Dr. Bledsoe craves for power and does not care about improving his own race. He deprives the narrator of continuing his education and sends him to New York merely because he sees the narrator as a threat to his power.

The narrator meets these two types of people so he can learn to be kind but not naïve. He notices the corruption in the world, but hopefully, because of Mary, this will not give him a complete loss of purpose.

Click here to learn more about Virgin Mary

Samba and the Coin Man

     Once introduced to the coin bank in the shape of a grinning black man and Tod Clifton's dancing Sambo doll, we see that they each serve similar purposes in the novel by representing degrading black stereotypes.
     The coin bank portrays a grinnig slaves who eats the coins. This represents a "good slave" who will worship over white men in order to recieve superficial rewards. This stereotype haunts the narrorator for after he smashes the coin bank, it is returned to him in small pieces, each wrapped in paper. Also, this figurines ability to swallow the coins relates back to the "battle royal" in chapter one. Just as this statue swallows the coins, it almost represents the black youths as they were scrambling to collect the coins on the electrified carpet.
     The Sambo doll is created in the image of a Sambo slave, who, in the White man's eyes, is sterotypically lazy yet arrogant. It is another representation of black entertainers who laugh and sings for whites. The Sambo doll represents the whites complete control over black's, controlling their every move. The invisible strings on which the doll  is made to move from represent the ways a person's potential can be manipulated due to prejudice. 

    To learn more about the Sambo doll, visit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Little_Black_Sambo. 

A Horatio Alger Story

            Horatio Alger is a well known American author from the 19^th century who is famous for his stories for young boys in which the protagonists rise from poverty to success—from rags to riches. The narrator mentions this man while he is in the chapel, saying the students often witnessed “the black rite of Horatio Alger” (111).

Barbee relays the story of the founder with much emotion and reverence. The founder taught himself and escaped his humble beginnings to a “place of learning” (119), where he “worked noontimes, nights, and mornings for the privilege of studying” (119). This is indicative of a Horatio Alger story because the founder came from a “great struggle beginning” (119) and rose up, through hard work, to be a self-made man. Barbee encourages the students to follow in the footsteps of the founder and work hard to become successful. 

Barbee compares the founder’s leadership to Moses’s when he says the founder led people “across the bottom of the blood-red sea” (120) shouting, “LET MY PEOPLE GO!” (120). This alludes to Moses leading his people out of Egypt and the grasp of Pharaoh. Even the story of Moses can be seen as having aspects of a Horatio Alger story.  He was found floating down the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter and was adopted into Pharaoh’s house. He became a great leader, freeing his people and bringing God’s laws to them.

It seems as though Barbee wants the students to look at the founder as the triumphant protagonist of a Horatio Alger story and a great leader like Moses. He also wants the students to follow in the founder's footsteps. He wants them to use their hard work to distance themselves from their beginnings. 

To read more about Horatio Alger and his writings, click here.

Bledsoe vs. Beggar

Ellison employs the juxtaposition of the Harlem beggar and Mr. Bledsoe in the south to give the narrator a choice. A choice that allows the narrator to see the long term effects of both pathways. This assimilation dilemma can be defined as either the Melting Pot or the Salad Bowl theory. Blend in and lose meaningful culture or segregate and retain individual identity. Mr. Bledsoe embodies the facade of the melting pot towards the narrator and the university. Bledsoe cares for neither blacks nor whites -- only himself. Ellison employs the use of the words "boy" and "nigger" in his dialogue towards the narrator to underscore what a hollow man he is. Success is his culture. Stature is his racial identity. In the eyes of Ellison, assimilating into white culture is an erasure of culture for Bledsoe.

The opposing, seemingly loony beggar, contrasts Bledsoe's ways. The singing of the folk song in the streets (She's got feet like a monkey...) embraces black culture full frontally to the narrator. Ellison introduces a character completely new to the reader. The streetwalker is a culturally black man who embraces his identity, sees his role in New York City, and lives regardless. He is the salad bowl: not overpowering the masses, but retaining unique flavor. Ellison presents these characters to the narrator in different stages of his life to challenge his forming mindset. Just when one train of thought is almost formed, a new facet of black identity is introduced.

The Wake-Up Call

At the beginning of Invisible Man the narrator is not "woke", refusing to open his eyes to the inequities of the white-dominated society he faces. His grandfather heeds the family with his last words: "our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days" (16). But, the narrator wants to believe that if he works hard, then he can accomplish his aspirations. The narrator has an epiphany when he finds  he has been permanently expelled from his college. Working hard is not enough to become a successful person of color. One must also step on and degrade his fellow minorities, just like Mr. Bledsoe's motto: "I've made my place ... and I'll have every Negro in the country hanging on tree limbs by morning if it means staying where I am" (143). 

After this realization, the narrator's values transform as he makes radical speeches that incense all listeners and exude a passion quite similar to that of Malcom X's speeches. He also begins reclaiming parts of his African-American culture that he gave up to please the white-dominated society. Foods like yams and hog innards are taboo; African-based hairstyles are taboo; African-American vernacular is taboo. A lifestyle of such taboo culture allows whites to dehumanize and degrade blacks "simply by confronting [them] with something [they] liked" (264). But, the narrator goes back to his roots and takes pleasure in eating Southern-style yams. 

The transformation of the author's values and beliefs is very similar to the "natural hair movement"** of today. Black people dare to wear and embrace their natural hair, going against the social norms which are based off of the behavior, appearance, and likes of white people. Like the narrator, blacks reclaim their culture, racial identity, and pride. 

**http://dailycollegian.com/2014/11/17/real-hair-dont-care-the-natural-hair-movement/