Sunday, February 24, 2008

Thematic Chapters

4 comments:

John said...

After I read through chapter nine, I had a few things on my mind. Let me know what you guys think

Bledsoe's betrayal of the protagonist was one that I was certainly not expecting. Although the doctor was extremely upset with the narrator when he 'sent him to New York for a bit,' I thought that there was a connection based on their meaning to each other (pupil to teacher). The idea that Bledsoe was so easily able to dump off the narrator led me to a realization. Although Bledsoe and the protagonist are both being abused by the predominantly white ruled community, it is clear that Bledsoe had no intention of defending a student, or even risking to keep a student on campus that has been seen as a threat to a rich white person. This stepping on and stomping out tactic used by Bledsoe conveys the idea that there is no regret or remorse in Bledsoe’s method of coming to power. In his letter to Mr. Emerson, it became bluntly obvious that the only reason the narrator is there is to literally get lost and never make it to the college.

This scene of betrayal is followed up by an even more powerful moment. “Yes, I thought. I owe it to the race and to myself. I’ll kill him.” In this moment, I saw part of the narrator change from a humble student to the polar opposite. It appears as though the narrator will begin to develop a new personality: new characteristics, mannerism, etc. Compared to the narrator in the prologue of the novel, it appears the links from the past to the present are finally beginning to come through.

This chapter contains a strong idea of change, and a theme that is well representative by an archetype, the delivery man. In his conversation with the protagonist, he states, “Yeah, this ain’t all neither. I got a coupla loads. There’s a day’s work right here in this stuff. Folks is always making plans and changing ‘em.” This line echoes throughout the remainder of the chapter as an idea of revolution in the narrator’s mind.

But I dunno, could this be the beginning of the end for the protagonist, or will he come around for the better?

Raidafan said...

I find it rare that the analysis of a single chapter leads the reader of said analysis wondering what happened before and after the chapter, but your presentation of the scene of betrayal made me intrigued as to the events leading to it. The fact that Bledsoe's treason is so unexpected shows me the suspense of the book. It shows that the novel will keep the reader on the edge of their seat, which is an extremely magnetic trait. Although I can expect this to happen if/when I read this novel, I have a feeling it will still have the same impact as if I hadn't read this blog.

Raidafan said...

^^ Oops, that was Lucas.

MLaroe said...

John-
Very informative response on the chapter nine on the book you're reading. You seem to have read this book very closely and it is good to see a response with as much passion as you have done here. You gave good and helpful quotes that help express your point a little more clearer and you incorporated alot of information that gives a non-reader of this book a slight idea of what the book is about and what the plot contains.
Based off of this posts and some of the others I've seen, it looks like The Invisible Man is a good piece of reading and perhaps worth choosing if we happen to switch books later in the year.