I found the part of Invisible man where he listens to music in his hole smoking weed, an interesting introduction to the book. We talked a lot in class about the assault scene as an introduction, but this narrative about the IM descending into the levels of this Louis Armstrong song reflects a lot more of the racist tension/circumstance he is a part of and his subconscious reflection on it.
I would not dissect this, because right now it is too abstract for me to understand. But, I liked the insight about his moral questioning when he visualizes in the woman who is crying that her master died. He asks her what freedom and she says, "I done forgot, son." (11) In her life, she was so helpless that Stockholm syndrome took over in her mind and she became attached to this master who raped her rather than being able to experience freedom that was such a sweet ideal for slaves. Already he establishes how much his reality (not his reality, but a reality of his culture that obviously affects him greatly) has this helpless, and in some ways invisible nature. This woman who was taken advantage of was scorned by her sons for being in love with their father, and neglected by her master. No one takes care of her, or cares except the IM who is asking her about freedom and her confusing life.
He also mentions "Ras" who I am sure we will meet later on, but I have a feeling he will be important in the narrative of invisibility, because that is the theme of the book, and more specifically the vision, and IM hears footsteps behind him and immediately thinks of this character. I don't know who he is but also the way IM calls him "Destroyer? Rinheart?" (12) seems like he has a specific personality that IM man knows him as.
Any more thoughts on the vision? Maybe in relation to the song as well?
I also found the scene with the woman who's master had died and then her answer when the Narrator asks her what freedom is interesting. Another part of the vision that I found insightful was when the Narrator is stopped by the woman's son who tells him "Git outa here and stay, and next time you got questions like that, ask yourself!" I don't know if this is an accurate interpretation, but maybe this means that even after discovering his invisibility and breaking free from society, the narrator still feels trapped and isn't sure himself what freedom is.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post, the introduction is kind of trippy but I feel like, as you say, it will make more sense later on in the book. The dream and the idea that both the narrator and the woman lost some part of their identity is really fascinating, especially as we see the theme of seeking identity play out more later in the book.
ReplyDeleteI've read this hallucinatory dream-passage multiple times, having read the entire novel, and I still find it hard to offer a unified reading or interpretation, and I think that's the point. We can see (in retrospect) a number of key themes introduced, and they mostly have to do with the deeper, underlying complexity of the kinds of relations between races that Ellison will explore in the book. He's also at the same time introducing the idea of paradox as revealing something of the complexity of truth: so one can "love" *and* "hate" one's master; one can be made "free" and not necessarily embrace that freedom; etc. He "descends" into the song, which is itself all about appearance and an underlying reality, and how one is judged or categorized based on appearance. I see themes and echoes, but I would be hard-pressed to write a coherent essay interpreting every point in the vision. And in a way I think that's the point. It *doesn't* necessarily cohere. Welcome to the funhouse!
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