Obviously, race is a major factor in this novel. The narrator calls himself invisible, but not literally invisible, invisible in the sense that others can not see him for who he truly is because of their perception of black people. Throughout the novel, the narrator lives with different people and at each place he moves to, he is told a different thing about how blacks should act. For example, at the college he feels that he should conform to the role of model black citizen, in order to please the white scholars. While in the brotherhood, he attempts to achieve racial equality for blacks, but soon realizes that he was only used as a black representative to make the organization look good. In all of the situations he finds himself in, the narrator realizes that people only see him has they want to see him, thus effecting his ability to act and thus affecting his individuality. By the end of the novel, the narrator is determined to come out of his "hibernation" and go back into society as an individual and make his own contributions. He wishes to go beyond the stereotypical roles that society has given him.
Comment by Dylan, I'm too lazy to make my own account so I will be The Blog.
Dylan, your interpretation of racial roles in the novel is insightful. However, additional quotes and examples cited from the text could provide more support for your thoughts. The image of the invisibile man ceratinly seems to tie into the idea of racial roles in the novel. It would be interesting to hear your insight on what the author's intent was on the image of the invisible man as a meataphor for racial struggles.
You provided good description of the metaphors in the novel, such as the invisible man pertaining to black lifestyles, but it would be even better if you could cite direct quotes from the text to give knowledge, and examples to those (like me) who have not read this book. As well as Ryan, I think your own personal interpretation would also be appreciated by the readers of this blog!
4 comments:
Obviously, race is a major factor in this novel. The narrator calls himself invisible, but not literally invisible, invisible in the sense that others can not see him for who he truly is because of their perception of black people. Throughout the novel, the narrator lives with different people and at each place he moves to, he is told a different thing about how blacks should act. For example, at the college he feels that he should conform to the role of model black citizen, in order to please the white scholars. While in the brotherhood, he attempts to achieve racial equality for blacks, but soon realizes that he was only used as a black representative to make the organization look good. In all of the situations he finds himself in, the narrator realizes that people only see him has they want to see him, thus effecting his ability to act and thus affecting his individuality. By the end of the novel, the narrator is determined to come out of his "hibernation" and go back into society as an individual and make his own contributions. He wishes to go beyond the stereotypical roles that society has given him.
Comment by Dylan, I'm too lazy to make my own account so I will be The Blog.
Dylan, your interpretation of racial roles in the novel is insightful. However, additional quotes and examples cited from the text could provide more support for your thoughts. The image of the invisibile man ceratinly seems to tie into the idea of racial roles in the novel. It would be interesting to hear your insight on what the author's intent was on the image of the invisible man as a meataphor for racial struggles.
Dylan,
You provided good description of the metaphors in the novel, such as the invisible man pertaining to black lifestyles, but it would be even better if you could cite direct quotes from the text to give knowledge, and examples to those (like me) who have not read this book.
As well as Ryan, I think your own personal interpretation would also be appreciated by the readers of this blog!
That was from Chelsea^^^
=)
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