Chapter 10-12

Chapter 10

Ellison says that beginning with chapter 10, the novel begins to rely heavily on expressionism. In very simple terms, expressionism uses concrete objects to attempt to objectify abstract inner feelings. Therefore, objects in the novel function as complex multifaceted symbols. Remember that chapter 10 and 11 are not to be perceived as realistic, but rather as expressionistic.

1.     Consider the racial connotations of Liberty Paints. Think about the company name, trademark, slogans, government contracts, and Optic White. What do you think the company symbolizes?

It symbolizes how despite the claims that America has liberty, there will always be a white superiority. One can simply paint over the “unpure” spots, and cover it with optic white paint.

2.     Why has the company been hiring Blacks?

They won’t have to pay union wages.

3.     Think about how Optic White is manufactured. What do the 10 drops of “dead black liquid” symbolize?

The 10 drops is the black population who aid the white community, yet are hidden away and take no credit.

4.     Note that Lucius Brockway works deep in the basement of the factory, hidden from view. Is this symbolic? How is Brockway like Bledsoe? How is he different?

Yes, he is hidden and invisible. However, what he does is imperative for the success of the company, even if he isn’t acknowledged for it. Bledsoe is also invisible to those in power, and is the reason for numerous successes.

5.     How is Brockway himself like the 10 drops?

The 10 drops make the paint look outstanding, and without them, the paint would not be as great. The company would not succeed without Brockway.

6.     After the explosion on p. 230, the narrator is thrust “into a wet blast of black emptiness that is somehow a bath of whiteness. How does this immersion of a Black man into a world of whiteness continue the expressionism of the chapter?

Despite him being in the white society, he still is lost in the darkness.

Chapter 11

The expressionist images of chapter 10 are black and white. Here they are death and rebirth.

1.     What images of this chapter echo the Battle Royal?

He was confused with what was going on, and he had blood in his mouth.

2.     The doctors at the factory hospital shock the narrator until he enters a warm watery world. Look for other images of the womb and birth.

There are images of a wailing mother, as well as him being clipped from the umbilical cord. There are also images of him feeling with little room, and him climbing out of the womb.

3.     Afterwards, the narrator is a blank slate with no memory or identity. How do the doctor’s questions develop this image of rebirth?

He asks for his name, as well as his mother’s. They both indicate the start of a new life. When a baby is born, it is named, and the one who gives birth is the mother.

4.     Why has the narrator been reborn? What aspects of his old identity have died?

He is starting to have a new view on life. He is beginning to understand that he may not have the necessary “right” to have a successful future or accomplishment of his dreams. The ideology of the college he once had is now starting to fade away, and he is starting to realize the reality of society.

5.     Buckeye the Rabbit is the same as Brer Rabbit. Remember the reference to the Tar Baby in chapter 10? In realizing that he is Buckeye the Rabbit, the narrator finds the wit and strength to escape from the machine. How is the machine like Trueblood’s clock? How does Buckeye the Rabbit embody the folk wisdom of the narrator’s childhood? How has he been reborn into the identity he at first denied upon arriving in New York?

They are both trying to escape the wrath of both. Trueblood and the clock refer to time, while the narrator and the machine refer to invisibility in society. They both give them strength. The rabbit captures the Black culture, and the narrator is understanding that the culture is oat of his identity.

6.     What lesson has the narrator learned?

He is not going to succeed at the same length as his white counterparts. Even if he depends on white society, he will still be “invisible” to white society. Due to the color of his skin, he can only reach a certain limit, and he has to face that reality.

Chapter 12 (transitional bridge between the two halves of the novel)

1.     In what way is the narrator childlike?

He dumped water on the man who he thought resembled Bledsoe. In addition, he is too reliant on others and has shifted his focus from his own dreams.

2.     How does he permanently close off the link with his old aspirations and dreams?

He becomes more dependent on Mary, and loses motivation for success. This is because of his acceptance of his identity, and how he realizes the reality of society, and its limitations.

Chapters 6-9 IM Reading Questions

Chapter 6

1.     What shocking aspects of Bledsoe’s character are revealed to the narrator?

Bledsoe starts to reveal himself as someone who is ambitious and selfish. He also demonstrates his beliefs of white superiority after stating that the White people had control of the school, and that the narrator had ruined the image of the black community for the person that truly mattered. Bledsoe thought the narrator was a fool for taking Mr. Norton to where Trueblood was. The narrator only saw a man who was power hungry.

2.     What specific statements does Bledsoe make that show his concern is for himself rather than for the school or for the advancement of other Blacks?

“… but I’m still the king down here.”

“If there weren’t men like me running schools like this, there’d be no south. Nor North either.”

“… you take the prize and you keep it, protect it…”

3.     Read the last paragraph on p. 146 beginning “How did I come to this?” What do you make of the paragraph in terms of the narrator’s struggle to find his identity?

He felt that he was doing everything right, but nothing seemed to result in anything good, and he didn’t know why. He didn’t know if to follow his grandfather’s wishes or not, because he was not sure of what would work in order for him to be successful.

Section 3 Invisible Man Chapters 7-15

Chapter 7

1.     Who does the narrator meet on the bus to New York? Why does the encounter make him uncomfortable?

It was the vet. It made him uncomfortable because it was a connection to the experience he had with Mr. Norton, which he feels is on his conscious.

2. On p. 152, the narrator is told New York is “not a place, it’s a dream.” Interpret this statement.

It is a fantasy that many wonder about. He mentions how “the little black boys run away to New York” to pursue whatever they desire. Everything will change, and you will be accepted.

3. How does the fate of the vet parallel the fate of the narrator? Think of how both are controlled.

The vet is suddenly being transferred to Washington DC, even after a year of asking. The narrator is sent to New York. Both are being sent away in order to not mess up the image that had been set up for the white men to see of the black community. If they stayed, it would only be worse, according to them.

4. Reread the final paragraph on p. 153 What do you make of the vet’s advice?

There is no need to play by the rules- One can gain success even if they don’t do what is expected of them.

5. On p. 155, the vet says, “there’s always an element of crime in freedom.” What does this statement mean to you? Do you agree or disagree?

I think it means how white society will always view the freedom of blacks in this time period as a crime- they think it is not appropriate. I disagree. We have moved on from the times of slavery and freedom. However, there are still prejudices.

6. Describe the narrator’s encounter with Ras.

This was the first riot he had ever encountered, and was shocked by it. He had never seen a large group of black men angrily yelling in the streets with little attention paid to them- he was used to the fear he saw in the South.

Chapter 8

1.     In the first six chapters, the narrator’s identity is defined by the scholarship. Now the letters defines it. Describe them.

The letters are to be delivered to “some important names” for Dr. Blodsoe. This task is something special to he narrator because he expected someone to realize his true importance once they were delivered.

2.     Notice the narrator’s decision to get a watch. How does fit with his new identity. Look for other images to watches and time.

He doesn’t want to be late for any appointments because to him, these were important men who could see his importance as well.

3.     How does the narrator deny his Southern heritage? Why does he do this?

He’s leaving behind his “southern ways of speech” because the Northerners would not approve of it, according to the narrator. He wanted to be more “polished” and wanted to appear Northern.

4.     Why do you think the narrator dreams of his grandfather?

He was debating internally on whether looking for a job from a white company was going to lead him to being successful, or if the trip was not worthwhile. The feelings of him revealing his importance was slowly fading away.

Chapter 9

1.     How does Peter Wheatstraw (with plans) make the narrator homesick?

He was singing the blues in a clear voice, which reminded the narrator of home.

2.     What is the symbolism of Wheatstraw’s blueprints?

They represent the way of life- plans change as time goes on. One never has a definite blueprint of their whole life, so you keep making new ones and throwing others away.

3.     How does the narrator continue to deny his Southern heritage?

He denies the southern food offered by the waiter at the restaurant(he called it resistance and discipline) and instead orders coffee, toast and orange juice.

4.     Look at the details from Emerson’s office.

There are paintings on colorful walls. Inside is quiet, with elegant furniture. There are tropical birds in a cage.

5.     Why does Emerson keep referring to Huck Finn?

He is given freedom like Huck Finn, and from that freedom he has so much to gain and learn from.

6.     Walt Whitman wrote a series of homoerotic poems called the Calamus poems. Can you make any inferences about young Emerson from his reference to the Calamus Club?

He is still young and care free, and is a party boy.

7.     Why might young Emerson identify with the narrator and Blacks in general?

He also wants to be of importance to his father, but is just his son who is supposed to have fun. He is not taken seriously, even if he wants to be, just like the Black community.

IM Reading Questions Chapters 3-5

Chapter 3

1.     Look carefully at the descriptions of the Golden Day. What is it? What has it been in the past? Is there any symbolism in the description?

It is a bar, but is also loaded with prostitutes. It had at first been a church, then a bank, then a restaurant, then a gambling house and it is now a tavern. 

2.     Describe the veterans at the Golden Day.

They were described in various ways, as they were referred to as “patients.” Each had differing reaction to Mr. Norton’s sickness, but they were seen as curious children wondering what was going on. Hey all had old gray shirts.

3.     Read p. 81 carefully and comment on the ways that the normal rules of society are reversed at the Golden Day.

The Black people talk to Mr. Norton as an equal; as though they don’t care he is White. The vet criticizes the white man to his face, when it is usually the other way around.

4.     The vet who had been a doctor gives the narrator a warning. What is it?

Discrimination will always be present because the first thing they will judge will be on based on the color of his skin.

5.     The vet is the first to introduce the narrator to the concept of invisibility (pp. 94-94) and blindness. How do his comments tie into the statements the narrator makes in the Prologue?

To the while man, the narrator will never be a man, but just a thing of achievement for himself. The narrator in the prologue comments on he is invisible because no one will truly see who he is because of the color of his skin. This is basically what the vet was trying to get across.

Chapter 4

1. Look at the description of the campus. How does it contrast with the Golden Day?

It is a beautiful sight, with neat lines of dormitories and tender grass. It is described as a cheerful and safe environment. The Golden Day seemed a bit chaotic and messy.

2. Why does the narrator call the campus “ a flower-studded wasteland?”

Once a plantation, it is now a college campus for White students. It may seem beautiful, but the transformation behind it is not.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

3. List as many images (with page numbers) as you can find in this chapter of black against white.

“…and he stopped and looked at me with exasperation, as though I’d suddenly told him black was white.” (102)

“…While black and wrinkle headed, made himself of more importance in the world than most southern white men.”(100)

4. List all the images you can find (with page numbers) of masks and veils in this chapter.

“…composed his angry face like a sculptor, making it a bland mask…” (102)

“Then a veil seemed to fall.” (102)

5.     How does the scene in Bledsoe’s office parallel the Battle Royal scene?

Blendsoe insists that they not be soft on the narrator, and that they must follow the strict rules. Same goes for the Battle Royal. The narrator needed to go on with his speech, despite his injuries and they were also not soft in the ring.

Chapter 5

1. Retell briefly the story of the founder. How does it parallel the story of the narrator?

The Founder was born into slavery, and lived in poverty. His cousin had splashed him with lye as a child, leaving him handicapped, but he still managed to teach himself how to read the Bible. He escaped to the North, and later returned to the South to establish the college.

2. In what ways has Bledsoe perverted the founder’s dream?

To him, the founder’s dream is something silly and mocks it. He rather uses it as a way to bring in money fot the university, than for the actual education o fthe black community.

3. Is there any symbolism in Bledsoe’s name?

Bledsoe would refer to the true indifference he feels towards African Americans.

4. Consider Rev. Homer Barbee’s name and blindness. Is there a classical allusion?

It refers to Homer from The Odyssey. His blindness would represent the Black society, do they are still blind to the real world. However, since he is a reverend, he symbolizes the strength they find in faith, and how that guides them, despite their blindness.  

5. Does the revelation of Barbee’s blindness force the narrator to reevaluate Barbee’s statements? Why?

Yes- The narrator then goes on to believe that he is guilty of what recently happened to Mr. Norton.

6. Examine the images of rebirth on p. 110. Why do you feel Ellison included them?

They are there as a foreshadow to what may happen if the narrator has a change of events.