IM Reading Questions: Chapters 10-12

Chapter 10

Ellison says that beginning with chapter 10, the novel begins to rely heavily on expressionism. In very simple terms, expressionism uses concrete objects to attempt to objectify abstract inner feelings. Therefore, objects in the novel function as complex multifaceted symbols. Remember that chapter 10 and 11 are not to be perceived as realistic, but rather as expressionistic.

1.     Consider the racial connotations of Liberty Paints. Think about the company name, trademark, slogans, government contracts, and Optic White. What do you think the company symbolizes?

I believe that the company symbolizes a place of pure racism and patriotism. The company symbolizes the support of what some people think the right/ pure America SHOULD be.

2.     Why has the company been hiring Blacks?

So that they don’t have to pay union wages.

3.     Think about how Optic White is manufactured. What do the 10 drops of “dead black liquid” symbolize?

I believe that the 10 drops could symbolize the idea that although whites don’t admit it but the need of having the blacks in order to do something, in this case the 10 drops are need to make the white paint perfect. However, when the paint and the 10 drops of black are mixed the black is invisible.

4.     Note that Lucius Brockway works deep in the basement of the factory, hidden from view. Is this symbolic? How is Brockway like Bledsoe? How is he different?

This shows the oppression that whites had over blacks. The irony that the company promoted that white was right and that they only accepted white but then again they had blacks working, doing all the hard work, being the ones that are actually the main engine of the company. Brockway is similar to Bledsoe because they are both sort of important to the company or the school; they are both equal to white men but controlled by them. They are different in the way they think, Bledsoe is more arrogant and highly believes he is in control and that he owes everything. Brockway is insecure about having his stabilized work position.

5.     How is Brockway himself like the 10 drops?

He is like the 10 drops because he is invisible, people don’t know he is there not unless they have to meet with him. The white people need him to continue and keep the company running but no one know of him, he is mixed into the white paint, becoming invisible.

6.     After the explosion on p. 230, the narrator is thrust “into a wet blast of black emptiness that is somehow a bath of whiteness. How does this immersion of a Black man into a world of whiteness continue the expressionism of the chapter?

The narrator

Chapter 11

The expressionist images of chapter 10 are black and white. Here they are death and rebirth.

1.     What images of this chapter echo the Battle Royal?

When the narrator is put in a therapy machine that was electrically shocking him. The professional people were enjoying the narrator go through pain and losing his identity.

2.     The doctors at the factory hospital shock the narrator until he enters a warm watery world. Look for other images of the womb and birth.

-The narrator cries when he receives shocks, just like babies cry when they are born.

-“My mind was blank as though I had just begun to live”

3.     Afterwards, the narrator is a blank slate with no memory or identity. How do the doctor’s questions develop this image of rebirth?

He doesn’t remember anything about himself. He has lost his own identity; he can’t even answer questions the doctor asks him.

4.     Why has the narrator been reborn? What aspects of his old identity have died?

His past has died and the person that he was. People are mostly known from who they are and where they come from and therefore IM forgetting where he came from is important because it has made him become reborn again as a new person. I believe he has been reborn because it is a start of a new beginning where narrator can go away from trying to become visible and ignorant.

5.     Buckeye the Rabbit is the same as Brer Rabbit. Remember the reference to the Tar Baby in chapter 10? In realizing that he is Buckeye the Rabbit, the narrator finds the wit and strength to escape from the machine. How is the machine like Trueblood’s clock? How does Buckeye the Rabbit embody the folk wisdom of the narrator’s childhood? How has he been reborn into the identity he at first denied upon arriving in New York?

The machine is similar to Trueblood’s clock. They both want freedom from society.

The narrator has been reborn and he is now aware of how the world is divided by race.  He isn’t trying to seek to be visible anymore.

6.     What lesson has the narrator learned?

He has learned that people aren’t trust worthy and that he shouldn’t be afraid because he shouldn’t expect anything good from important men.

Chapter 12 (transitional bridge between the two halves of the novel)

1.     In what way is the narrator childlike?

Behaviors: He is like a child because he isn’t independent anymore. Mary is the one that is caring for him.  There was also a scene in this chapter in where he encounters someone that looks like Bledsoe and pouring something on him.

2.     How does he permanently close off the link with his old aspirations and dreams?

He loses his ambition on these dreams and aspirations when he moves out of the Men’s house and into Mary’s.  He also stops listening to the voices in his head and wants to begin a new life.

Invisible Man: Chapters 6-9 Reading Questions

Chapter 6

1.     What shocking aspects of Bledsoe’s character are revealed to the narrator?

He doesn’t care about anyone else. He believes that he knows more than the white donors. He tries to suggest to the narrator that he controls the white people. He tells the narrator, “The only way to please a white man is tell him a lie!”

2.     What specific statements does Bledsoe make that show his concern is for himself rather than for the school or for the advancement of other Blacks?

"Tell anyone you like," he said. "I don't care. I wouldn't raise my little finger to stop you. Because I don't owe anyone a thing, son. Who, Negroes? Negroes don't control this school or much of anything else -- haven't you learned even that?” (p. 111)

3.     Read the last paragraph on p. 146 beginning “How did I come to this?” What do you make of the paragraph in terms of the narrator’s struggle to find his identity?

This shows the narrator’s confusion between right and wrong. He thought he was doing good and what he was expected to do. Therefore this causes him to be unsure if he is good…if he is being a traitor?

Section 3 Invisible Man Chapters 7-15

Chapter 7

1.     Who does the narrator meet on the bus to New York? Why does the encounter make him uncomfortable?

He meets Mr. Crenshaw and the Vet.  The encounter made him uncomfortable because he was trying to forget about the terrible problem he just faced and according to the narrator, it was all because of the Vet. They were the only three passengers and he wanted to get away from the Vet.

2. On p. 152, the narrator is told New York is “not a place, it’s a dream.” Interpret this statement.

I’m guessing that by this, the Vet means that New York is a place where you can have fun and have freedom and so much that it seems like a dream. Similar to the U.S., most of the reasons why immigrants come to this country are because they seek for protection and freedom. They seek to obtain the “American Dream”

3. How does the fate of the vet parallel the fate of the narrator? Think of how both are controlled.

The fate of both the vet and the narrator are parallel because they both depend on men, they are held to other men of power. These men are both controlled because they were both sent away and they obeyed and they are holding on to what they believe is going to take them somewhere better just because men of higher power gave it to them. For example, the narrator is so excited because he believes that the recommendation letters will take him far.

4. Reread the final paragraph on p. 153 What do you make of the vet’s advice?

I believe that the Vet is a slight more intelligent foil of the narrator. The Vet tells the narrator to use his “invisibility” as an advantage and to not trust people. The vet could also be compared to Bledsoe, except that he actually does want to help the narrator and give him advice.

5. On p. 155, the vet says, “there’s always an element of crime in freedom.” What does this statement mean to you? Do you agree or disagree?

This statement to me means that there is always something bad you have to do in order to obtain freedom. Which I believe that to a certain extent that is true, especially when talking about extreme circumstances when crime should be okay. For example, in a kidnap sometimes the victim is forced to do whatever to get out of the kidnappers nest, even if it means to kill. Another example could be slavery. Blacks had to run away so that they could be free but back then a run-away slave was a crime.

6. Describe the narrator’s encounter with Ras.

   The narrator heard Ras protesting in the streets about white people and the narrator was very surprised that he could do that. He say that people ignored him but he was free to say what he wanted.

Chapter 8

1.     In the first six chapters, the narrator’s identity is defined by the scholarship. Now the letters defines it. Describe them.

2.     Notice the narrator’s decision to get a watch. How does fit with his new identity. Look for other images to watches and time.

The watch serves as a big part of the narrator’s new identity by bringing structure to his life. He now has certain times he does things. For example, in the mornings he deals with his business things (“for important men”) and in the afternoon he goes and enjoys himself in the city. The narrator recalls Bledsoe having a watch (him recalling Bledsoe shows the admiration he still has for him).

3.     How does the narrator deny his Southern heritage? Why does he do this?

He denies his heritage by changing the way he speaks/ his accent/ his vocabulary. He does this because since this is a new identity he has to be a whole different person and he wants to seem like an educated person like those from the North. He wants to blend in as much as possible.

4.     Why do you think the narrator dreams of his grandfather?

I think he dreams of his grandfather because of what his grandfather told him about being a traitor. He isn’t going by what his grandfather told him. His conscience won’t leave him alone not even in his dreams.

Chapter 9

1.     How does Peter Wheatstraw (with plans) make the narrator homesick?

Peter planned to sing a song that reminded him of the campus.

2.     What is the symbolism of Wheatstraw’s blueprints?

The symbolism of the blueprints could be the planning of a new brighter future. Blueprints are used for planning new designs with precise measurements and etc.

3.     How does the narrator continue to deny his Southern heritage?

He resists not eating the food at the store and it was an accomplishment for him because he could actually resist those custom southern foods.

4.     Look at the details from Emerson’s office.

He has a lot of different things in his office that are from different parts in the world. His office is colorful and it’s very peaceful. He has a lot of nice furniture.

5.     Why does Emerson keep referring to Huck Finn?

 He keeps referring to Huck Finn because he relates to the story.  Jim is a black slave and Huck Finn is white. Huck Finn tries to help Jim but they actually keep going down into a more racist area. In this case, Emerson is a white man who is trying to help the narrator.

6.     Walt Whitman wrote a series of homoerotic poems called the Calamus poems. Can you make any inferences about young Emerson from his reference to the Calamus Club?

 I believe he is trying to show his homosexuality by his reference to the Calamus Club. We can also infer his homosexuality by his body language. In the book he looks at the narrator up and down in a weird way.

7.     Why might young Emerson identify with the narrator and Blacks in general?

Emerson’s sexuality was not acceptable in those days and therefore he relates to the Blacks because they are seen as less just like people who expressed their sexuality.