Catarina Sousa
The novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a story about a black man who keeps referring to himself as “invisible”. Realistically, no, he is not invisible. He is seen in public just as I’m seen or anyone is seen. But due to his skin color, people forget that he is human. Many of them looked up at him as some type of creature for entertainment. They tortured him with electric carpets, fake coins, and boxing gloves. For what you may ask? Simply for the whites to get a good laugh. The invisible man goes on this life changing journey, and on the way he finds his true self. He became part of a horrific power plant accident that ended him up nearly dead in a hospital bed. This, to me, was his “baptism”. He woke up from there on, and did what made him happy, and what would benefit him, not just his grandfather that he dreams of every night.
Back in the 1950s, society was strictly based on wealth and on color. Although they might have overcame slavery, blacks from the south had a harder time adjusting to the north. Based on all the speeches he gave, the reaction of the crowd at the Brotherhood ceremonies was simply ecstatic. His own kind were there cheering him on and clapped their hands till they fell off. His point of view on some people changed there. It didn’t matter what whites thought or what Dr.Bledsoe did. He was surrounded by his own kind, and that made him feel on top of the world. But, unfortunately, for him at the end people changed and promises were broken. As he was burning important papers for light, he saw things for what they really are. He didn’t need those things to be happy, or to prove anything to anyone, he found his true self. “This and this or this had made me more human”.
Cathy - I agree completely with what you said about the paint factory accident being the Invisible Man's rebirth. From when he left the hospital onward, he changed his ways and instead of speaking to make the whites happy, he chose to speak to defend the blacks. I don't think, however, that this "rebirth" was his last. As we know, the Brotherhood turns out to be living a lie. For this reason, I think when the Invisible Man falls into the hole in the ground, he experiences his second rebirth. This is when he experiences an epiphany regarding self-reliance. He is stripped of his naiveness and through his reflections of society, realizes that what he is told by both the white and black men of the world is not always the truth.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the invisible man has a couple of baptisms. The first being from being deceived into turning the wrong pressure valve of the boiler, which boils water (hey look a water reference), causing it to explode. Just like what Steph said in her comment, after recovering from the injuries, he defends the black community, instead of trying to only please the whites. The second baptism scene is interesting in the sense that there is no water. Ellison does write, though, "I moved off over the black water, floating, sighing... sleeping invisibly. (567)" At this point, the invisible man is in a coal-filled manhole and is trying to find something to light on fire. He burn his high school diploma, his pseudonym, clifton's doll, etc and in the process he becomes more transcendental, causing him to become more self-reliant.
ReplyDeleteIn your essay, I disagree with your baptism statement. While I believe the narrator slowly progressed, I do not believe he has rapidly changed and became a new person. You say that he did what he wanted to do, but this is not true. It is not until Clifton’s death until that he realizes the Brotherhood is filled with lies, and he directly falls into their trap. He still prepares speeches and does whatever the organization says, still without a name. This proves that he is still invisible, and in a baptism scene, the character should take on a new identity, or at least a new name. The narrator did not do anything to benefit himself, because at the end of the novel he is in a sewer, drawing conclusions on his life. If there was to be a life changing moment for the narrator, I believe it would be when he fell in the sewer because there he realizes what has been going on his whole life.
ReplyDelete-Anthony Scalia