An Additional Perspective

I thought that viewing the documentary on Ralph Ellison was extremely valuable. It gave more insight into what type of a person he was, and how that influenced his work. First off, I saw a lot of how his childhood and upbringing influenced him to be a writer at all. The documentary stated that he had a “painful childhood” which was caused by race issues, as expected. His parents made a conscious effort to keep that to a minimum by not residing in the deep south of Alabama or the sort, but avoiding racial issues, of course, was nearly impossible no matter what. Though his mother taught him to live with his chin up in any circumstance, and to be an ambitious young man looking for the bright side in every situation. Furthermore, his mother had to be independent and really strong herself, because Ellison’s dad died when he was young. When his dad was alive, he did express that he wanted Ellison to be a poet, so in a sense he did get his wish. So the combination of his dad’s vision for Ellison’s future, and the drive to be a great person instilled in him by his mother led Ellison to become ambitious indeed. A thought comes to my mind when I think of how Ellison lived a troubled childhood and then went on to become a successful novelist – there is a recurring theme of successful people having rough upbringings. The theory is that a hard life early on creates a drive to bounce back and prove you worth and value as a person. And there are many great examples to support this idea: Albert Einstein, Jim Carrey, Adolf Hitler, Stephen Colbert and countless others. Raph Ellison may have had some of this as a part of his life, naturally learning to survive and excel in the world because of a rocky beginning. For him specifically, success meant to find an identity and express that journey through a voice in literature. He was focused in having a defined public voice to convey what he thought was important in the human experience. According to the documentary, this is the way he put it (with some of his buddies), “we pretended like segregation did not exist so that it could not limit our horizons.”

Since our introduction to Ralph Ellison and then the documentary in class was through Invisible Man, I was naturally thinking about what the connections were between Ellison’s personal life and the novel. It didn’t take long to recognize the numerous similarities that exist between him and the narrator. He actually has quite a bit in common, which make Invisible Man sort of autobiographical. In terms of plot and life storyline, there is a lot of overlap between the two men. As forward-thinking people, they both are granted scholarships to college, something that makes them ecstatic and encourages their growth as people. Once at college, a lot of exploring is done, but then at some point before they finish and graduate, they head off north. There, they work various jobs, wading their way through new environments and trying to find their place as African-Americans. Ellison definitely faced racism in the latter part of his life too. At least the documentary revealed one instance of these occurrences. The original university that Ellison was supposed to attend was Oklahoma University, however, race riots delayed his enrollment and eventually the scholarship he received sent him all the way to Tuskegee Institute. These similarities in life events align the two men in the readers mind, and it makes sense to then look at their goals and ideologies. Both attempt to find some sense of identity, and Ellison as a black writer reflects his own strides towards enlightenment by writing out the process in Invisible Man. As the novel progresses, he makes aware the idea that all people should look for their identity and place in their context. To do so, there is a particular attitude to adopt according to Ellison’s illustration throughout the book. This mindset is to not care what stereotypes people have and want to place on you. In transformations such as the pork chops and grits scene to the yam scene, the narrator rebels against the shying away from stereotypes. If he likes something, then he will eat it, and nobody can tell him who he is or what he can do. By the type of person the documentary made Ellison appear as, it seems like he himself lived by these concepts – a further connection to the narrator. Ellison wore clothes that differentiated him, and he called himself a “Negro” which set him apart. His actions and thoughts were defiant, showing that he was on a genuine life search for his own identity, not waiting for others to call him out the way they may have wanted.

Another aspect of the documentary that I found particularly fascinating was the look at other novels that Ellison worked on during his career and the practices he had with studying and copying Hemingway. Both of these parts of his life were interesting since they gave a broader picture of who he was as a person and writer. One of the mentioned novels that caught my attention was King of the Bingo Game. In this work, the main character struggles to find a way to help his sick family members, and finally attempts to do so through winning money by playing bingo. As the documentary points out, Ellison is playing with the metaphor that his life is based on chance, and so is the game, which determines what his life will be. This highly symbolic context is similar to the style of Ellison in Invisible Man where he has several scenes such as the battle royal and paint factory scenes in which symbolism is so straightforward and vivid. Another thought that came to my mind was the similarity of theme this novel has with Native Son, which pushes the idea that the fate of a black man is almost predetermined, but also fickle. The chance of bingo and Bigger just waiting for an accident/major crime to occur both critique the idea of injustice for African-Americans in society. A final ponderance I found from thinking over the novel about bingo is that the only source I had for reflecting on it other than a few lines of summary was the film version on screen. To me, the intensity and emotion in the protagonist was clear to me through the documentary’s portrayal, and this actually relates to the scenes done on Invisible Man in the film. I found that my imagination from reading the novel were freshened by the proposed depiction of Ellison’s text. For one, I appreciated the exaggerated quality of the grandfather. It was almost eerie, which is the feeling I got when reading his warning and also his involvement in the narrator’s dream. There was an accurate weight to his influential qualities. The narrator on the other hand I had a few qualms with. It seemed as if he was actually toned down too much. It would be good for scenes near the end when he is obviously further matured, but the problem is that a lot of the scenes are from earlier on. I suppose that the prologue was adequately acted out then, but places like the battle royal, I envisioned more of an eager naïveté that defines his character for much of the novel. So those were a bunch of thoughts stemming from what I thought about King of the Bingo Game, one of the many thought-provoking novels brought up in the film.

The documentary was something that I definitely thought added a lot to experiencing Invisible Man, and I look forward to viewing the film on Zora Neale Hurston and how that will inform my reflection on Their Eyes Were Watching God. 

Let the Eagle Fly

One of my favorite poems from our poetry reading days has been “America” by Henry Dumas. It really is short and sweet, compact with a lot of meaning to glean once reading it. This poem is inherently open to a lot of interpretation because of all the metaphorical language within, and so I thought I would chip in and give my personal thoughts surrounding the poem.

America  by Henry Dumas

If an eagle be imprisoned

On the back of a coin

And the coin is tossed into the sky,

That coin will spin,

That coin will flutter,

But the eagle will never fly.

Right off the bat, I want to lay down the metaphorical elements and their connections. I take the eagle to be the people of America, and the coin to be the nation itself. The eagle operates on two levels, because it is the people as a whole, and also the subset of people that are considered minorities – people that are oppressed in society. This dual possibility is available because the eagle is a patriotic symbol that generally is inclusive about all the people in our country, and the starting word “if” shows that a portion of these people are in not so good situations. And to be even pickier, Dumas specifically illustrates using “an eagle.” He does not say “the eagles,” he says “an eagle.” In other words, he makes it clear that we are one people, unified and identified as American all together.

The central metaphor of the poem is that of the coin representing the country as a whole. So the coin tossed into the air is, figuratively speaking, America going through time, thriving as a nation in some way. Dumas then brilliantly connects the already mentioned eagle, people of America, to this core metaphor that the poem revolves around. In the second to the last line, he uses the word “flutter” to describe the coin in motion. “That coin will spin, That coin will flutter.” In my mind, I usually associate the word flutter with a bird’s motion, not much else. So this interesting word choice is a move meant to transition the reader into thinking that the coin behaves like the bird. The coin is the bird. Dumas is saying that the people are the nation. One makes up the other, and concurrently is what defines it. By using the word flutter, he produces an eloquent and smooth transition that brings the message full circle, and lets the significance of the poem sink in. There is one eagle and one coin, and they are the same.

There are many angles Dumas could have taken, but he chose to use a coin to illustrate what he is trying to say. It is a powerful choice that makes a lot of sense if you consider that a coin tossed into the air always has an arc. There is time in which it flies up in the air, but then also one where it sails down to the ground. In the poem, all that is mentioned about the coin itself is that it is tossed into the air, the first half of its travels. So it is important to note that this is only the beginning of its travels; it is implied that this journey of the coin also has an end in which it will plummet to the ground. While he leaves the imagery of the coin open ended, he follows by saying that the eagle will never fly, once again going back to the idea that the coin and eagle are equivalent. And the reason why the eagle can’t fly is because it is imprisoned. These lines all culminate in the point that the nation can’t go on, it will plummet to the ground if the people who compose the nation, who are the nation, are restrained by oppression and imprisonment. America kills its own flight and trajectory through the air by imposing restraints on itself.

It is pretty justifiable to say that the people who are referred to as imprisoned in this poem are African-Americans. The word choice of “imprisoned” evokes connections in the readers mind of when black people were actually slaves, and so it puts a weight on the sense of hard times they have to go through because of America’s set up. Basically, the poem is a protest poem. It is pointing out the oppression in society, however, it doesn’t do it in a Native Son manner. In that novel, the whole technique was dependent on shocking scenes and plain exposure to how the country is messed up. Everywhere you look there is trouble and it is not right. In “America,” on the other hand, there is a comment on society, a strong comment, but still not a "complaint." There is no boiling anger present in the voice Dumas uses in sharp contrast to what can be seen with Wright at times. Rather, the attitude is very matter of fact, proclaiming that the ideas presented need to be accepted, but not in a noisy way. If anything, the poem is more related to Invisible Man, which appeals in an intellectual battle of protest. There is a challenge to society, but it is not quite as direct and emotional as Native Son. I am not saying that the poem doesn’t call for change, it definitely does, just in a milder yet arguably more effective way. All of this creates a poem that is purely a cool declaration of injustice intertwined with complex undertones. Speaking technically, I think the cause for this effect is partly the conciseness and brevity of the poem, but also the fact that it is an announcement and not a demand. Dumas pulls this off by starting “If an eagle...” almost like an introduction to a logical argument. There is an air of confidence that he is bringing a message into clearer definition.

No escape

As much as the Narrator from Invisible Man tries to think about his college experience positively, it doesn't help with life events. By the nature of inevitably unhappy results for African-Americans, he ends up getting expelled from the school and on a train headed for the North. The struggle of trying to make understanding of why this is happening to him is really apparent on the train ride, and all this is magnified by the presence of the vet on the train.

On his way to the North, the Narrator carries a set of letters that he is told not to open. They are supposedly to help him get a job once he has arrived, but we find out that instead of praising him, the letters actually talk badly of him. Bledsoe wrote the letters not to convince trustees that the Narrator is worth their time, but rather the opposite: he lets them know that they can stay clear of him just as Bledsoe himself does. When the Narrator discovers this real content of the letters, he is a little shocked and disappointed, feeling ultimately betrayed by Bledsoe and angry with him long-term. I see the situation surrounding the letters as a metaphor meant to describe how life in the North is not what it seems – it is not as hope-fulfilling or pleasant. When the Narrator has the letters with him the first time, he is pleasantly wondering and constantly searching to see if he can get a job. He thinks of the possibilities and hopes that all will work out. This hope can match up to the hope an African-American had moving to the North in search of a better quality of life. A lot is expected out of the change. Then the Narrator feels crushed by the truth of the letters and realizes things may not be what they might have seemed. To further this feeling, the time he has working in the paint factory leads to unusual events constantly reminding him of his position. This dynamic matches up with the idea that once in the North, African-Americans realized that their imaginations were not accurate and life everywhere is hard, not just in the South.

As mentioned, one place that added on to the Narrator’s not so ideal feelings is the paint factory. There are a lot of people there that he has a hard time dealing with, such as Kimbro and Brockway. They still have a presence of authority that he doesn't appreciate even though he is in the North, and he is keen enough to pinpoint his resentment.  What is really important at the factory outside of who the Narrator interacts with is just the symbolism set up by Ellison with the factory itself and how it works. The messages that he includes are not very subtle, but just almost straightforwardly make metaphors for the structures of society. To start, the actual name of the paint company is Liberty Paints, resulting in the slogan, “Keep America Pure with Liberty Paints.” It is clear with the use of the world “pure” that this company stands for more than just paint. The main color of paint produces is white, so they are trying to keep society pure with the color white – a meaning easy enough to carry over to race relations. It is also pretty interesting how the company makes the white paint. As the Narrator learns how to do, darker substances that are black/brown are mixed together vigorously to finally produce a glossy white color. The symbolism here goes to show that society doesn't work without the minority races. The whites were on the top partly because black people were on the bottom, the contrast lifted up white people, leaving black people “invisible” in a way. Once again, these symbols stand to show that the North is not so special, and that racism and a hard time is everywhere.

More recently there has been a passage that includes meanings on how no matter where he goes, the Narrator will receive the same treatment based on his race. He gets the same labels placed on him and eventually he needs to learn how to accept his identity. The event in consideration is that of the Americana bank-statue. Recognizing its existence extremely late into his stay with Mary, the Narrator takes offense at the repulsive object and goes forward with violently breaking it. Quickly feeling ashamed of his actions, he plans to dispose of it later on so he packs it. Later on, however, every time he attempts to get rid of it, it is somehow returned to him. After a few repetitions of this, he just gives up and allows it to be with him. The statue itself is pretty vividly offensive, as it creates a caricature depicting African-Americans in an absurd way. Theoretically this image is what white racists see in the black person, so when the Narrator is stuck with the actual bank he it is symbolic to show that he is stuck with the label that other racists place on him. The whole elaboration made by Ellison of him trying to get rid of it several times emphasizes how no matter what he purposefully does, in the end all is still the same. He gets the same treatment and is called the same names. Whether he is in the North or the South, Ellison is saying he at least perceived as the same person, so he needs to learn to accept his identity.

There are moments where the Narrator seems like he is grasping some sort of power and meaning of self-identity, but in reality he continually struggles for all of this and instead ultimately has hardships and forced-upon labels trying to define him no matter what. He just has no escape. 

Is Richard Wright Pale?

Early on in the semester, we looked at the poem To the Pale Poets by Ray Durem. The message let the readers know that literature should be direct and powerful, truly reflecting the nature of whatever is being discussed. Specific to African-American subject matter for poetry, Durem expresses the need for honest wording to really show that “Blood is blood and murder’s murder.” The poem is addressed to the “pale poets” because Durem doesn’t appreciate the watery messages dressed up with flowery language. He challenges these said poets to “Come on with your effervescent jive explain to him why he ain’t alive” (referring to a dead black boy). I think he is right to say that literature should be strong and non-evasive, after all, isn’t the point of literature to make a social argument? And what is an argument if it is not confident enough to potentially stand against opposing opinion? We read this poem after a few days discussion on Native Son, so it made me wonder – how does Wright successfully make the problems presented in his novel clear and public enough?

It is justifiable to say that Native Son is a protest novel, and the arguments Wright puts forth are both numerous and strong. The core event/content Wright uses – the messy murder of a white girl – is pretty much set up to be shocking. So even at face value it is agreeable that Wright is not holding back, in fact the only thing he refrains from is being “pale” in his novel. Then, looking at the different themes that Wright intertwines, it is plain that the novel is extremely direct and confrontational about discussed issues.

There are plenty of critiques that he provides in Native Son, but the most frequent and possible important theme that I glean is that of Bigger’s limited options and almost predetermined life situations. By simply looking at his tight living conditions and family financial status, the picture is not positive. He has little to work with and ultimately has nowhere to go but crime and aggression. With all of the general pressure on his life from being poor and oppressed going to his friends and making trouble is what he is funneled into doing. The event of the actual murder was also something that society norms pushed him towards. Think about it: if Bigger was a white man, there would never have been a murder. First off, the uncomfortable interactions would not have occurred in the car and at the restaurant. Secondly, when Bigger was dropping off Mary in her room, he would not really have had to been so desperate to hide himself from Mrs. Dalton if he were white. Being murdered by a pillow is not exactly normal, and such an extraordinary situation only happened because society placed restrictions on Bigger. It seems like Wright was making it so out of the ordinary that he was proving the point that the murder would not have happened if Bigger were white.

Another large protest Wright is making is directed towards the corruption of the justice system. In Book III we see a lot of the internal struggle Bigger has every time he reads a newspaper describing how he raped Mary which is not true. The media makes too many assumptions based on racism, and this is unfortunately what the court uses to speed up the process. To be fair, the media should not have a real effect in the decision making, but the skewed system allows it to move the people and therefore the process. A specific issue within the justice system is the fact that a decision has already been made before the trial. Max actually makes legitimate points when defending Bigger, but nobody listens, not the judge, jury, or Buckley. Bigger himself actually thinks several times of how he would rather just have the officials shoot him then go through the entire process, and this is because he knows that everything is over before it starts.

One of the very first images Wright provides for us is Bigger and Buddy working to rid their living space of a nauseatingly large rat. The analogy of the rat trying to survive translates to Bigger struggling to catch a breath of a free life. The themes, events, and issues Wright brings to the table for discussion make this overall message clear, and I think Durem would agree that Wright is nowhere near being considered as “pale.”

The Difference

I figured that it would be nice to have a blog post on Native Son within my first batch of posts, so here goes…

Life is hard for Bigger in almost every aspect. He faces the effects and poverty and racism have, and resorts to robberies and other acts with his friends that are an unfortunate outlet from his reality. A very upfront part of this reality is the divide between white and black people in society, which can lead to anxiety and dashed hopes. Bigger seems to have a white-hot resentment with him all the time, and he struggles to actually grasp where it is directed, but it is pretty clear that the oppressive “white mountain” creating the divide is related to his troubled demeanor. So it is not surprising when Bigger meets Mary, and then Jan, that there is a change in both his mentality and the plot. The murder of Mary itself is a defined turning point in Native Son, but the change really all starts in that moment that Mary walks up to Bigger in her house to be introduced. It is then that the heated ongoing resentment Bigger carries becomes more focused.

During the car ride that Bigger spends with Mary and Jan, he is extremely uncomfortable. Both white people appear to make an over-the-top social welcome and Bigger just does not know how to handle it. This feeling is true right from the introductions. “‘First of all,’ Jan continued, putting his foot upon the running-board, don’t say sir to me. I’ll call you Bigger and you’ll call me Jan. That’s the way it’ll be between us. How’s that?’ Bigger did not answer. Mary was smiling.” Bigger simply does not know how he is supposed to act because this sort of interaction is a first for him. Whether white people have been moderately polite to him before is not issue, it’s just that they have never made the effort to put him on an equal level. Jan and Mary both participate in this effort to make Bigger feel “the same.”

Even though there is this common thread between the white couple of unintentionally making Bigger feel horrible, there is an important difference to mark between the two. Mary definitely comes off as a lot less dedicated, and more into the reaching out for the sake of saying that she is. She is the daughter of extremely wealthy parents, and she constantly makes them feel irritated by going off with Jan (who actually seems to believe in what he acts).  In other words, there is no doubt that Mary is superficial in her attempts to interact with Bigger. Simply by looking at her first words with Bigger we can tell. As soon as she learns his name, Mary asks Bigger if he is in a union. While it is debatable that Jan has an awkward and forced introduction, Mary does more than that – her introduction is out of place, offensive, and downright absurd. Nobody asks that sort of question as their second sentence upon encountering someone. After that moment, Bigger has negative thoughts about Mary permanently. “In his heart he cursed the crazy girl. Maybe Mr. Dalton was deciding not to hire him? Goddamn! Maybe he would not get the extra five dollars a week now? Goddamn that woman! She spoiled everything!” He doesn’t exactly pinpoint what it is about her that upsets him, he just knows that it is unnatural to him and it doesn’t appeal. If Mary is actually trying to make a genuine connection she would think about Bigger’s perspective, but with her first words it is quite apparent that’s not what is on her mind. I interpret her as just going through the motions as she brings up topics about progressive subjects such racial equality and communism. Immediately following the comments about the union, she actually challenges Bigger to verify that her father is a capitalist. By clumping all these topics together, it is almost like Wright is exaggerating her superficiality in caring about the movements she brings up.

As mentioned, Jan seems to come to the situation with real motives. He is a firm communist and activist for racial equality, and when he makes moves such as giving Bigger the pamphlets he gives Bigger the credit of being an equal human. He wants Bigger to understand and respect him. Late in the novel, when Jan converses with Bigger, it is clear that he has more than a flimsy reason to help out African-Americans. He actually believes in the cause, and that is why he is able to overcome the murder of the person he loved, to some extent, and talk logically with Bigger.

There is definitely a difference between where Mary and Jan are coming from in terms of mindset, and Bigger gets that. He wants to specifically put more distance between himself and Mary in the events going on before the murder, and in the end he is even able to reach an understanding where he can send his greetings to “Jan.” Not everyone with the wrong motivation to do what they do is going to end up murdered, but I think it really does matter what type of mentality is involved in reaching out to Bigger and people like him, as expressed by Wright.