Battle Royal

After preparing for our seminar, I realized how many connections there are between the battle royal and the rest of the novel. The white men around the narrator are similar to the brotherhood. In fact, the two words I noticed that surrounded both of them were “responsibility” and “equality.” While the white men in the battle royal frown at the mention of equality, the brotherhood initially seems to espouse such equality. However, towards the end, the brotherhood seems to be less interested in equality and more interested in power. In the same way, the white men try to control the black boys by making them participate in the humiliating act of the battle royal. The “big shots,” by showing a sexualized white woman, could control the black boys because they are forbidden to look at white women but are also attracted to the naked lady. This sense of control continues on to when the narrator and other boys participate in the battle royal. However, both the narrator and the woman are trapped and belittled by the white men. By recognizing the woman’s fear, the narrator learns more of the evils produced by white men. Another important connection I saw was between the gold coins and the Negro bank that was in Mary’s room. In the novel, the bank stays with the narrator in the briefcase. The gold coins connect to the Negro bank, as “it was choking, filled to the throat with coins.” Ellison seems to say that money can be a violent force because, in both cases, the scramble for money causes some sort of violent action. These gold coins also connect to the fact that the Brotherhood is giving the narrator money. By the end, the narrator’s participation in the Brotherhood leads to his own downfall, and he seems to be choking. In addition, another important motif in the entire chapter and the entire novel is the circus imagery. In fact, the dream the narrator has at the end is about a circus. The nude woman is described as a “circus kewpie dolls.” Even one of the boys is described as a vulnerable circus seal. After researching the importance of such imagery, I learned that Ellison incorporates circus images because it shows the unpredictable nature of the world. In addition, in a circus, everything is controlled, and the narrator and the other boys are controlled in the battle royal scene. The brotherhood can also be considered as a circus because they try to control in order to execute a perfect, scientific plan. Connected to the circus imagery is all the animal imagery. In the beginning, Bledsoe also forms his hand into cages. If the narrator is seen as a wild animal, Bledsoe is the one to trap and tame the narrator. At the end of the novel, it seems as if the ones in power are also described as an animal. Brother Jack is a Cyclops and a bull terrier. Mr. Norton is a frightened animal in the epilogue. One possible interpretation for the incorporation of animal imagery is that Ellison is trying to show that everyone is trapped. In the end, the narrator seems to trap Mr. Norton as he mocks Mr. Norton’s previous concept of fate.

Power-hungry Characters

After participating in the seminar today, I noticed many interesting connections in the novel. First of all, Dr. Bledsoe connected well to the grandfather’s advice. The grandfather says, “Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you to overcome ’em with yeses, undermine ’em with grins, agree ’em to death and destruction, let ’em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open.” A major component of the discussion was whether or not Dr. Bledsoe was a representation of the grandfather’s advice. If he is, then Bledsoe is basically living with his “head in the lion’s mouth.” While I believe that Bledsoe is trying to undermine white authority, I am not sure about his attitude towards the whites. I thought that the grandfather’s advice was an important metaphor. When the grandfather says, “live with your head in the lion’s mouth,” the lion represents the whites. Therefore, the whites are dangerous, but the blacks should live with the white mentality as their “head,” or way of thinking, is in their mouth. One important line that shows that Bledsoe is potentially taking the grandfather’s advice is when he says “Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie!” Obviously, Bledsoe wants to please the white men. His attitude begs the question—why does he want to please the white man? I think that is more about power. Much of the novel revolves around power-hungry characters. Both the Founder and Ras the Destroyer are kings and need power. Even Mr. Norton seeks power as he supposedly controls the fate of others. Bledsoe, involved in this power struggle, participates in making the black people feel inferior and in need of control by somebody else.

One significant part of the novel that we touched briefly upon in class was the narrator’s discussion with the veteran. From their entire conversation, I thought the most important quotation was when the veteran says, “He believes in you as he believes in the beat of his heart. He believes that great false wisdom taught slaves and pragmatists alike, that white is right. I can tell you his destiny. He’ll do your bidding, and for that his blindness is his chief asset.” Firstly, the incorporation of “white is right” connects well to the later liberty paint scene (which is our next discussion). “White is right” is part of the company’s slogan. Since another meaning of right is pure or moral, the quotation, as the veteran mentions “false” wisdom, shows that white truly isn’t right. Just as the white paint is tainted, the white wisdom is false. It is also interesting that the veteran mentions “blindness,” which appear almost everywhere throughout the whole novel. The narrator is “blind” in that he doesn’t realize that Mr. Norton wants to be powerful through the narrator. For Mr. Norton, the narrator is just part of a scorecard. As the novel progresses, I think that the narrator seems to lose some of his blindness, especially when he encounters Mr. Norton again at the end.

Fight Club is very different than what I expected it to be like. One important part of the novel is the relationship between the narrator and Tyler Durden. I noticed that Durden is always the more powerful character. In the first chapter, Durden is the one pushing the gun in the narrator’s mouth and seems to be forcing the destruction. In addition, the fact that both characters are on a tower is very significant. It shows that they, at least Durden, feels the need to be above everyone. The narrator even describes the people below them to be a shag carpet. As a shag carpet, Palahniuk shows that Durden wants to exhibit control over a mass of people and Durden doesn’t even seem to distinguish each person. It isn’t surprising that, later on, Durden proclaims that the world is his now. The power-hungry Durden gives an explanation for the fight club revealed later on.

Another important character is Marla Singer. I looked up the meaning of her name and thought it was pretty significant. For example, it is a variant of singe, which means “to burn.” In fact, throughout the entire novel, there are many images of burning. Marla burns the cigarette against her arm, and the narrator’s apartment just burns to shreds. I think that all the burning, especially in regards to Marla, shows that Marla is figuratively burning the narrator and Tyler Durden. She flirts with both men, but I think that Marla likes the narrator more. She is more flirtatious towards him, and the narrator, although unreliable, says at the beginning that Marla Singer wants him. Thus, Marla’s attitude foreshadows that there will be some conflict between Durden and the narrator because of Marla.

I had a hard time trying to figure out what the fight club really means. The narrator seems to engage in the therapy sessions and the fight club because he needs comfort. The narrator says that, in the fight club, he is more alive than ever. The fight club and the fighting is almost a rebirth. By fighting, the narrator is resurrected. He gains a sense of himself and his own body. In the same way, the therapy sessions allow the narrator gets a sense of himself. Compared to Bob, the narrator feels like more of a man. It is significant that Bob has testicular cancer because Bob feels like less of a man. I wonder if the narrator gains a sense of manhood by going to the particular Sunday night therapy session.

I also wonder why the narrator is unnamed. I think it shows that Tyler Durden is the more prominent one. It also shows that the narrator’s own insecurities can generalize to everyone. The narrator is like the narrator of Invisible Man in that they are both unnamed. Compared to Durden, the narrator does seem invisible. I am excited to find out why the narrator says that Durden and he used to be friends in the beginning. I am also waiting for more information on what the fight club means to the narrator.

The Invisibility of the Invisible Man

I finally finished reading Invisible Man last night and, once the action started picking up, it turned out to be an interesting book. However, I still think that the narrator could have condensed his story into 200 fewer pages. Although I was reading the novel closely, I had a hard time understanding the narrator’s theories. What did he really mean when he said he was invisible? When first realizes his invisibility (after the Tod Clifton funeral), the narrator says that he is going to lie to both sides—the Brotherhood and the black people of Harlem. Still, how does that make him invisible? Perhaps, he is trying to say that no one really cares about what he does and his actions won’t affect the people of Harlem. Or maybe he realizes that he is actually outside history because he is just a pawn in the Brotherhood game. The narrator keeps repeating that he is invisible, but I don’t have a full grasp on what he means. Hopefully, our five seminars will clear up some of my confusion.

Towards the end, the narrator reminded me a lot of Frankenstein in that there was a duality to his character. More specifically, the narrator says that he is both the victim and the victimizer. While he is lying to the black people of Harlem (the victims), he is also hurt by his own lying. Just like Frankenstein, the narrator is creating something, albeit intangible, that is destroying himself. The only difference is that the narrator knows what he is doing. I wonder whether this victimization and duality of character lead the narrator to have angry feelings to the white people in particular. In one section, he says that all the white peoples he encountered (Bledsoe and Mr. Norton and Brother Jack) because one big entity. What does he feel towards that entity? Does he feel like Ras the Destroyer who hates all white people? Or does he simply feel like white interests will always prevail? I think that the narrator does have a negative view especially after he discovered that Jack wrote the letter that he was going “too fast.” I think the reason that he goes into the whole was to hide from all the people that are seeking to use him. In fact, I think that the narrator was afraid.

In the epilogue, I thought the most significant scene was between Mr. Norton and the narrator. It was ironic that Mr. Norton doesn’t even remember his destiny now, showing that Mr. Norton never really cared about the welfare of the black college student. Their interaction reminds me of Brer Rabbit, where the narrator is the rabbit, or slave. As the rabbit or slave, the narrator seems to trick Mr. Norton, a sly fox, out of making the narrator part of his scorecard. The end still brings up important questions. Does this mean that the narrator is successful at the end? Has the narrator truly and happily “plunged out of history”? Is he representative of the entire black race?

The scene with Mr. Norton in Invisible Man was really strange. Firstly, it exposed the great disparity between whites and blacks during those times. Furthermore, it showed that Mr. Norton has some underlying intriguing, if not creepy, desires. He discusses the beauty and pureness of his daughter. When I first read the section, I felt as if his love was more than just family love; instead, I sensed some sexual tension. My hunches were confirmed after learning about Trueblood’s story. I am fascinated more by Trueblood than by Mr. Norton. Particularly, Trueblood’s dream was especially unique and weird. The first thing I noticed that it was a “big, white bedroom.” It was almost as if Trueblood had entered a very pure and heavenly state, which is very different from the physical state he was in. Furthermore, everything in the room “was white.” Perhaps, the white refers to the own difference between blacks and whites. Trueblood may aspire to have the privileges of being white.

There is also a lot of explicit sexual imagery in the story. For example, Trueblood says “I tries to git out.” Thus, his words in the dream parallel his own wishes when he is awake. Even more, the fact that he says “git” instead of “get” shows that Trueblood is uneducated, and, as an uneducated man, commits a heinous crime. However, Mr. Norton is simply listening with a great fascination and almost desire. He seems to be sickly fulfilling his own fantasy with his daughter through Trueblood’s story. Still, back to the dream, I wonder what the lady in the story signifies. Is she a representation of Trueblood’s daughter? Is it important that she is white? Does she signify a forbidden desire for Trueblood, or even all black men? The lady reminds me of the first seedy girl with the American flag painted on her. It seems, at least in these sections, that the white women represent the ideal beauty for the black men (probably because they are forbidden women).

The next odd part comes when the lady starts screaming, and Trueblood goes deaf. I think that the deafness parallels to the invisibility that the narrator feels. There is no communication between the lady and Trueblood in the same way that the invisible man has decided to have no communication with others. Then, after Trueblood wakes out of his dream, everything becomes a mess. Why does Mr. Norton get so faint at hearing the story? While I at first thought that the sheer sickness of the story affected him, I think that, as mentioned before, it has mostly to do with his sexual feelings for his daughter. In addition, Mr. Norton continues to feel faint because of his presence with the black, rambunctious crowd. I thought it was really interesting that, even in the bar, Mr. Norton kept discussing how his destiny lied in the black people. More than destiny, Mr. Norton tries to exert control over the narrator. I wonder what kind of attitude the narrator will adopt to Mr. Norton in the end.