Invisible Man motifs by Liza Holmes https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw Made with charisma en-us 2017-03-07 17:27:38 UTC 2023-02-03 03:13:31 UTC hello@padlet.com S. Karan- Dreams https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164486322 Throughout these last couple of chapters dreams have been prevalent in several, small occasions. Starting in Chapter 19, the IM begins to relate himself internally to Trueblood after he slept with the red robe lady, "I didn't know whether I was awake or dreaming." Just like Trueblood he had done something that should've never been done an excuse like "dreaming" isn't one that should be made. This shows that dreams can have a huge impact on how people justify their actions. In Chapter 20, once on the subway, seeing those three men and wondering if they were the "the saviors, the true leaders". This is the first time that the IM really is beginning to question the motives if the Brotherhood and whether this is actually what he had been dreaming of for himself. The IM also points out that after people leave your life you just kinda forget about them like what would eventually be done with Clifton "Forgotten names sang through my head like forgotten scenes in dreams." This shows that Clifton being dead really won't, and doesn't phase the rest of the world. In Chapter 21, when the song "There's Many a Thousand Gone", it seems to be a binder for all of the blacks in the crowd, it had united the people into something they all knew and understood, "It was a song from the past..", "And now some of the older ones had joined in." This scene shows that all of these people may be different in one they personally dream but their main dream of being free, as shown in the lyrics of the song remain the same among the people. In the very beginning of Chapter 22 the IM starts the chapter by talking about one of his dreams with his grandfather looking right at him across a "dream-room". After this he says that although his dream brought him surprise it normally ended up being a warning. This shows a huge amount of foreshadowing to the next scene where he talks to Brother Jack and the dangers that come with that. At the end of Chapter 23 the IM FINALLY begins to understand what he actually wants (and what's best) for his dreams, he is figuring out how he is actually going to help people. The IM talks about how he's going to start living by his grandfather, what had talked about, "I didn't know what my grandfather had meant, but I was ready to test his advice. I'd overcome them with yeses, undermine them with grins, I'd agree them to death and destruction." This shows the determination that is put into the IM to finally achieve the dreams that he's been trying to achieve this entire time.
I agree with Cole when he is talking about the green of the glasses and how just putting on that small accessory can make him feel like a totally new person and seem to see things in a new way, it's interesting that they are glasses but ones that help block out things (like the sun) instead of helping you see clearly.


https://play.google.com/music/preview/Tgvzkqe26p7epsuj6okcvtspzjy?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics]]> 2017-04-03 21:51:22 UTC https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164486322 CHRIS BANG-SEX/VIOLENCE cole poops himself BANGINATOR https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164493936 In Chapter 21, the narrator's violent nature is revealed to us after he states to the girls that Clifton died of murder "my emotions beginning to turn to anger." The narrator was clearly in anger at the fact that Clifton was shot unarmed with no way to defend himself. He goes on to say "we've got to fight." The narrator believes that the black community needs to fight back against the social injustice between the schism of the blacks and whites. In Chapter 22, we see the narrator become involved in a argument mainly against Brother Jack. "To hell with you, I thought." The narrator was dumbfounded and stunned at the realization that Brother Jack really didn't care for the brothers which was seen when states that Clifton "was a traitor." The narrator couldn't believe that Brother Jack was quick to turn his back on his so called "brothers" whenever he felt that they were a threat. The argument becomes heated which lets us see the narrator's hunger for violence when he states "Come on, I thought, just make a move." He wanted Brother Jack to lunge at him in order for him to be given a reason to release a can of whoop a** on him. In Chapter 23, the narrator encounters Ras again and like their encounter last time Ras's intention hasn't changed that being his hate towards the brotherhood "I saw the men continue to past me with hate in their eyes." The narrator is eventually involved in a confrontation with Brother Maceo who doesn't realize who the narrator is. "I was ready to beat him to his knees--not because I wanted to but because of place and circumstance." The narrator once again was giving in towards his thirst for violence and was ready to fight a person who he had nothing against. The narrator also stumbles upon one of Rinehart's lady friends "Rinehart, daddy, what's the matter?" We can clearly infer that this lady is a prostitute by her sexual use of the word "daddy" and the fact that she asked him "will you be able to see me tonight." After the prostitute leaves the narrator thinks to himself "that lovely girl, I thought, that lovely girl." The narrator was obviously feeling a little lusty towards the prostitute. I agree with Hannah at the fact that Jack is blinded by protecting the image of the brotherhood so much that he completely dehumanizes Clifton and is unable to see how his death could be used to gain supporters for their cause. ]]> 2017-04-03 23:23:14 UTC https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164493936 Jack Ponder - Sight https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164508986 The reoccuring fixation of the characters' eyes comes up again in chapter 20, beginning with Todd Clifton. When the invisible man sees him on the street, he says Clifton's "eyes looked past me deliberatley unseeing" (Ellison, 432). The description shows that Clifton knows of his lower status to the Brotherhood, as he is selling Sambo Dolls that go against the African American culture. This is brought up again when the committee titles Clifton a traitor because of his selling of the racist dolls. The use of eyes as a character insight continues into chapter 21, when detailing the eyes of Brother Jack during their confrontation. "He had gray eyes and his irises were very wide" (Ellison, 471). The gray in his eyes shows the internal conflict between two ideals, much like Emerson's son who was also described as having gray eyes. However, this time the conflict is based on the status of the narrator.

The motif of blindness continues in chapter 22 with the realization that the Brotherhood is infact blinding the narrator. When Brother Jack is telling the IM that he must undergo discipline, the narrator thinks to himself: "So that is the meaning of discipline, I thought, sacrifice...yes, and blindness; he doesn't see me" (Ellison, 475). This shows the Brotherhood is using the "discipline" to slow down the narrator and keep him from uncovering the true motives of the Brotherhood, as well as to slow down the development of the black movement in Harlem. Additionally, the last little snippet saying "he doesn't see me" illustrates how Brother Jack does not see the IM as a person, but rather as a cog in the machine to be used for his benefit. Also in chapter 21, the glass eye of Brother Jack aids the motif of blindness. The glass eye works to symbolize the fake vision that Jack is portraying with the Brotherhood and their equality movement, while in fact there is a deeper plan. Through his involvement in the Brotherhood he lost his own vision on reality. "Even though I had to lose my eye to do it" (Ellison, 475).

Chapter 23 uses the motif of sight in a different way than the majority of the novel. The dark green glasses are incorperated in order to demonstrate the narrator seeing the world through new eyes. He comes to the realization that the Brotherhood elites are in fact blind to their hypocricy, saying "They were blind, bat blind, moving only by the echoed sounds of their own voices. And because they were blind they would destroy themselves and I'd help them "(Ellison, 508). The IM then undergoes a transformation, seeing a new potential in the city to act as the mysterious Rineheart and use the people to his advantage.

I agree with Cole in the fact that the glasses can relate back to the lifting of the veil, allowing the narrator to see the Brotherhood for who they really are and their false intentions.]]> 2017-04-04 02:16:24 UTC https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164508986 Josh Howard- Oratory, Speech and Musical Pieces https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164515913 In Chapter 20, Ralph Ellison uses music to showcase a unified struggle between both “black and white” people. After the death of Tod Clifton, the IM boards a train and is put into an intriguing scene of two nuns who mirror each other's image with one difference, there primary color scheme. To quote, “I saw a white nun in black telling her beads, and standing before the door across the aisle there was another dressed completely in white, the exact duplicate of the other except that she was black and her black feet bare.” Furthermore, the only fixation of the nuns is not each other, but their crucifixes. This scene reminds the IM of a song from the Golden Day, which he paraphrases to, “Bread and wine/Bread and Wine/ Your Cross ain’t nearly so/Heavy as mine…” This showcases the idea of a unified struggle between African Americans and White Americans because both nuns seek refuge in the crucifix and Christianity. This could possibly also mean that there is a voluntary blindness induced by their fixation on religion, as they do not seek to interact with one another in the scene, leading to a conclusion that there is little communication between the two sectors of the religion. 
In Chapter 21, Ralph Ellison uses music to further showcase unity amongst African Americans and White Americans. During the funeral procession, the IM takes note of the song being hummed by the mourners, “There’s Many a Thousand Gone.” The song illustrates the suffering endured by the African American community due to slavery, with lines such as “No more auction block for me/ Many thousand gone” and “No more children stole from me/ Many thousand gone.” In context, the song illustrates the suffering experienced by the mourners of Harlem in light of the murder of Tod Clifton, but the song also highlights the unity of the African American and White American communities as the IM notes that even “white brothers and sisters were joining in.” 
In chapter 22, the IM makes a minor reference upon the unifying power embodied by music when refuting the the argument of the council on their actions of moving out of Harlem. The IM states that there is a whole unrecorded history surrounding “the barber shops and the juke joints and the churches,” two of those setting being areas where music is prevalent. Furthermore, the music played at these places, blues and gospel, both have a central theme of unification within the African American Community.
In Chapter 23, Ellison uses gospel music to showcase how the IM can not escape the gospel tradition from his past. When confronted by the women who believes he is “Rine the runner,” she realizes that the IM is not Rine when she looks at his knob toed shoes, which break the blues flow of  his white hat and dark shades. Whenever she realizes who the IM is not, she is described as leaving him like the “Old Ship of Zion,” a reference to an old hymn. With this reference, the IM indicates the omnipresent nature of the African American gospel tradition in his life, as even a random women can detect the tradition within him despite his efforts to hide from it. 
I agree with Hannah that Clifton intentionally does not see the narrator out of shame from his actions of selling the Sambo dolls. It’s intriguing to see how a promising man such as Clifton can be driven to the humiliation of selling a caricature of his race just because the Brotherhood refuses to see him. 
Neutral Milk Hotel- Holland, 1945 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLaFLztnL84 


]]> 2017-04-04 03:44:37 UTC https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164515913 Sierra wills- dreams pt 2 https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164609448 I agree with Chloe that the narrator has begun to see the Brotherhood's manipulation after the argument with Jack and his eye falling out.]]> 2017-04-04 13:28:52 UTC https://padlet.com/liza_holmes/ew0ojkjgrutw/wish/164609448