Invisible Man- Oppinion
To me the invisible man was a great book to read in this class. The discussion of symbols was very interesting, and it was incredible to think about the amount of time put into making a book where almost everything has figurative and literal meaning. The writing style was ok, I didnt think it was anything unique or amazing. So if I had read this out of class I dont think I would have even finished it, I dont think I would have picked out half of the things that we did in class and that is really what made this book worthwhile to me at all. Even some of the obvious symbols I didnt realize until this was in class so reading this on my own I may have taken it all too literally. I felt also that because there were so so many symbols and everyone in the novel was representitive of something that some characters and scenes seemed akward. The Golden Day scene was needed and important but for some reason it was just strange to me and didnt seem very realistic.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Invisible Man Theme/Symbol
The Invisible Man is about how black people are and were treated. I say this because I believe Invisible Man addresses a timeless problem, the problem of racism that will probably be prevelant for the rest of time. Ellison addresses this problem in physical happenings as well as an overabundance of symbols and allusions. The use of the colors black and white in the novel appears almost on every page, I think that the scene where the narrator is working at Liberty paints shows the overall message of the novel very well. The narrator is set to work making optic white paint. This in itself is extremely symbolic in the fact that to make this optic WHITE paint which represesnts the superiority of the white race and the fact that if it wasnt for black workers and slaves in the past they would be no where, the narrator is the cornerstone for something he is not accepted into. A theme of clearness, and eyesight is a motif throughout the novel, and the word optic is usually associated with these themes. Optic white, the fact that whites can see or the fact that they cant see what is going on that their vision is truly blurred. Mr. Norton could not see the situation for the trees, he only saw a part of it. The optic symbol is really a very important aspect to the novel because it shows that Ellison understood all views on the black race and that their was white people who wanted to help but couldnt because they did not see everything that was needed. This in my opinion gives Ellison alot of credibility he wiould not have recieved if he only wrote about how the white race continually only puts down his without trying to help at all. Back to the paints though, the narrator is told to put a dark chemical called "dope" in the paint then stir until the paint becomes white. This is symbolic because it shows what is really at the center of the white race, that even though it may appear nice, and clean from the outside, in the heart of it is corruption and greed and evil and that is what the dope represents. After the narrator messes the paint up and his white employer "fixes" it, the paint comes out with a grey tinge coming through the white. The narrator notices this but the white man doesnt see it. This again goes back to white people seeing only what they want to see and not really seeing the corruption of their own race.
The narrator is never named throughout the novel and there are probably many oppinions on why Ellision chose to do this, I think this was done because the narrator was made to represent the race as a whole and not only one mans story. He is supposed to show the struggle of his race and the constant fight to advance in society but never really getting anywhere, that they keep trying and fighting but that life is really only fixed for them. The narrator never really gets anywhere throughout the novel he finds the brotherhood which seems promising but is really only using him for their own advancement. He is only an actor who cannot really speak his mind or be the leader they try and make him out to be.
The novel is ultimatley one big symbol where this one man is an allusion to a race and the reality of the time. Where he opens endless envelopes with another inside of it. And he continues to run in hopelessness.
The Invisible Man is about how black people are and were treated. I say this because I believe Invisible Man addresses a timeless problem, the problem of racism that will probably be prevelant for the rest of time. Ellison addresses this problem in physical happenings as well as an overabundance of symbols and allusions. The use of the colors black and white in the novel appears almost on every page, I think that the scene where the narrator is working at Liberty paints shows the overall message of the novel very well. The narrator is set to work making optic white paint. This in itself is extremely symbolic in the fact that to make this optic WHITE paint which represesnts the superiority of the white race and the fact that if it wasnt for black workers and slaves in the past they would be no where, the narrator is the cornerstone for something he is not accepted into. A theme of clearness, and eyesight is a motif throughout the novel, and the word optic is usually associated with these themes. Optic white, the fact that whites can see or the fact that they cant see what is going on that their vision is truly blurred. Mr. Norton could not see the situation for the trees, he only saw a part of it. The optic symbol is really a very important aspect to the novel because it shows that Ellison understood all views on the black race and that their was white people who wanted to help but couldnt because they did not see everything that was needed. This in my opinion gives Ellison alot of credibility he wiould not have recieved if he only wrote about how the white race continually only puts down his without trying to help at all. Back to the paints though, the narrator is told to put a dark chemical called "dope" in the paint then stir until the paint becomes white. This is symbolic because it shows what is really at the center of the white race, that even though it may appear nice, and clean from the outside, in the heart of it is corruption and greed and evil and that is what the dope represents. After the narrator messes the paint up and his white employer "fixes" it, the paint comes out with a grey tinge coming through the white. The narrator notices this but the white man doesnt see it. This again goes back to white people seeing only what they want to see and not really seeing the corruption of their own race.
The narrator is never named throughout the novel and there are probably many oppinions on why Ellision chose to do this, I think this was done because the narrator was made to represent the race as a whole and not only one mans story. He is supposed to show the struggle of his race and the constant fight to advance in society but never really getting anywhere, that they keep trying and fighting but that life is really only fixed for them. The narrator never really gets anywhere throughout the novel he finds the brotherhood which seems promising but is really only using him for their own advancement. He is only an actor who cannot really speak his mind or be the leader they try and make him out to be.
The novel is ultimatley one big symbol where this one man is an allusion to a race and the reality of the time. Where he opens endless envelopes with another inside of it. And he continues to run in hopelessness.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Drive to Succeed
Do you think that people who drive themselves out of poverty and into the world to work and try to provide for themselves and their family end up becoming more successful then people who inherit their money and place in the world? In my oppinion people like Frank McCourt who come out of poverty and are able to dream and achieve that dream are more driven to leave poverty because they have that to run from, they work and work because they dont want to return to where they once were. People who have never experienced poverty tend to take things for granted and sometimes chose that they like were they are and there isnt a point to work to better themselves or their familys. Poor people who manage to escape poverty seem to build momentum in their drive. Even Jeanette Walls's family is now doing well in the world because they do not want to go back to the way they once lived. Frank escapes with a dream of America and as we don't know what happens next in Angela's Ashes he seems now to be very, very successful due to his poor chldhood.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
u2 song
well, obviously the chorus
"don't let the bastards grind you down" is the most relevant part to the book and this quote i found to be something very meaningful in the way that both in the song and the book it is almost looked over as a let down to something that might be very important, and the fact that it is in a rock song almost demonstrates the low keyness of the quote and how it is something that just anyone would throw around. But to me it seems very powerful and meaningful because of that fact. The song is basically about how everything is fake and you shouldnt believe in what you hear and lean, and of course this ties into the book because everything is propaganda and is just being said to fool the people in Gilead to believe in a false truth. But dont let the bastards grind you down has an eerie feel to it and becomes very powerful in my opinion.
"don't let the bastards grind you down" is the most relevant part to the book and this quote i found to be something very meaningful in the way that both in the song and the book it is almost looked over as a let down to something that might be very important, and the fact that it is in a rock song almost demonstrates the low keyness of the quote and how it is something that just anyone would throw around. But to me it seems very powerful and meaningful because of that fact. The song is basically about how everything is fake and you shouldnt believe in what you hear and lean, and of course this ties into the book because everything is propaganda and is just being said to fool the people in Gilead to believe in a false truth. But dont let the bastards grind you down has an eerie feel to it and becomes very powerful in my opinion.
Friday, November 2, 2007
We reflection
"We" has been my least favorite of the novels we have read so far in class. Given the characters were interesting and had definite traits to them, I didnt like any of them at all. I didnt feel a connection to any of the characters or feel bad for any of them. So this book just didnt make me feel at all, so i couldnt become scared or anxious anywhere throughout the novel.
"That's sad," said Montag, quietly,(referring to The Hound) "because all we put into it is hunting and finding and killing. What a shame if that's all it can ever know."
This quote is ironic because the society Montag is living in knows nothing at all, it doesnt know emotion or fear or sadness or hate. So when he says what a shame if thats all it can ever know he isnt thinking about how much of a shame it is that his society is a shame.
This quote is ironic because the society Montag is living in knows nothing at all, it doesnt know emotion or fear or sadness or hate. So when he says what a shame if thats all it can ever know he isnt thinking about how much of a shame it is that his society is a shame.
Fahrenheit 451 analysis
Looking back on Fahrenheit 451 I see it as one of the most propaganda filled books we have read. Maybe not most propaganda because the Handmaids Tale was full of it but the most successful use of propaganda, since the majority of the people in the society believed the books were truly objects of evil. It seems so irrational though to think that even characters who seemed to be intelligent like Beatty told themselves what to believe in order to fit in with society. Not to avoid the true idea of disorder and chaos but more so to conform. I felt that idea throughout this novel was more prominent then the thought of avoiding chaos like in we or anthem, it was a conformist idea and alot of the citizens in the society felt more strongly about not being an outcast than how they felt about the books.
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