Ok, more to the subject.... The Invisible Man
Just because one can not readily see something, does not make it non-existent.
We have all heard similar thoughts before. Perhaps that is why it was an easy leap to couple this thinking with The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The whole notion of something/someone being invisible, yet tangible is a fascinating concept. I exist, therefore I am, however, if no one notices, if no one is affected by my actions or simply my existence, then what good am I?
As much as I admire the "invisible" concept, I have to admit that when I read it, it seemed disingenuous. That is to say, it was difficult story to believe. Not from the view point that a bunch of folk would persecute another group of folks because of their differences. (I was going to say "color" but people have been destroying each other over many differences, including race, for, well as long as history has been recorded. The unbelievability of the narrative is more a reaction to how it was written. I apologize for not being able to be citation specific, it was more of a feeling that I was reading (or hearing) a tall tall by a young person that has anger issues.
My failure to "believe" made me search inside. Is it cultural bias? (We all have them, get used to it.) Was I reacting to the story as a "white" person. Saying,,, ahhhh, those nice white fellas would never do such a thing. Balderdash. White people can have a cruel streak, just as anyone of any other ethnicity is capable of atrocities. Then, if I was not taking sides, what was it?
It really bothered me.
There are sections that if really occurred, would have been even more dramatized than they were. For instance, when someone is truly beat up, one hears in detail every bump, scrap, blood smear. now yes, there was some of that, but not nearly as much as if they really were so denigrated. As well, there would be an extreme (if private thoughts only) anger directed at the humiliation and injustice being perpetuated. Yes, there was some of that, but not nearly so much as would happen if the story was an actual accounting. (Just turn on the news about any racial crime, naturally, this type of act pisses people right the hell off) I would believe that even if a black man felt that he could not speak up, at least he would have more internal musing about it all.
Then it occurred to me. perhaps, just perhaps, the story is not meant to be taken literally. Perhaps, it is a series of metaphors for how racial tensions were affecting the lives of both whites as well as blacks. Could one go back and tie certain events occurring in the story and tie them to cultural feelings perpetuated by events happening at the time?
For instance, the showing of the white dancing female to the blacks. Is this whole scene about interracial marriage?
The giving of the scholarship a hidden message that we want some of you to be able to communicate with us at our levels, but certainly not all of you.
Perhaps, the message is invisible. Tangible, present, influencing, yet not seen easily.
Decker
I really like how you're able to detail your reaction to the text so closely. These are important questions that you're asking about the story and about your experience as a reader.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the things that you touched upon in your post come back to the idea of power. The whole battle royale scene is a demonstration of power, from the fight to the girl to the speech; the white men are in control of everything (except, perhaps, themselves).
If you get a chance, go back and see how much the theme of looking or sight comes up in that scene. We'll talk a bit about the power of the White Gaze in class this week, but you're on to some very important ideas here.
Good work!