Philosophy in Invisible Man

   In class, we have been researching different philosophies and are comparing those ideals to novels we have read in class. I read Invisible Man, and found existential beliefs to have a significant part in the meaning of the novel. Existentialism is based around the individual, and follows that a single person controls the outcome of their life. The father of existentialism, Kiekegaard, highlights the importance of the "single individual" and personal choice. These values clearly relate to the narrator in Invisible Man, who throughout his whole life was pushed around and told what to do and what to believe. He had no individuality himself; while a part of the Brotherhood, he had to preach the beliefs the Brotherhood had, without the ability to throw in any personal thoughts. He was merely their puppet. By the end of the novel, the narrator began to realize he did not know who he truly was, and therefore ended up underground with tons of lights, mentally making himself seen and stand out. It was here where he found his individuality and began to make his own choices, knowing from past mistakes of trusting the wrong people, that he was the only one he could entrust his future to. This finding of himself gave his life meaning and a purpose, therefore falling under the existentialist philosophy. 

Taylor C.

INVISIBLE MAN POEM

What defines invisible?

Can it be metaphoric or

must it be literal

To be invisible

seems like you'd be miserable

metaphoric or literal

One can still be invisible

whether it is metaphorically

or literal

the point is anyone can feel invisible

We as individuals

define what is invisible.

This is my poem on Invisible Man comparin and contrasting what defines invisible and how one can be invisible metaphorically and literally. This relates to the character in Invisible Man because he feels he is invisible and at the end of the novel his invisibility takes a turn to leave him as a permanent outcast leavin him truly invisible.

A Black Man's View

I'm reading Invisible Man, just like many of you.  A while back in the first chapter, there was a section which stood out to me and made me think. Here, the narrator speaks of his grandfather, who on his death bed told him, "I have been a traitor all my days," and when speaking about the whites said "overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction." The narrator reports that this is a huge difference from the point of view and character they believed this man had. I believe the grandfathers reasoning and intent was strange, but sound. I think that the white people of that time actually expected the blacks to act more unsophisticated, even animalistic, compared to themselves.  The grandfather did what they (the whites) proclaimed to want, which was being black and acting happy with his lot in life and acting civily.  However, the grandfather knew that deep down the whites' actual desires were different, even if they didnt know it themselves.  He beleieved they wanted the blacks to act poorly so that they could have a large group of people to look down upon (humans are selfish in nature). So, the grandfather acted how the whites proclaimed they wanted him to act, not because he was trying to be good, but because he was completely rebellious, wanting to undermine them in a new form of rebellion.

-Chad

Invisible Man Introduction (Rewrite)

Hello Everybody!

Tell me what you all think about this rewrite I wrote on Invisible Man's introduction. Thanks in advance.

"I am the struggling soul. No, I am not a sufferer like those given charity by the American Red Cross; nor am I one of your orphanage dwellers. I am a soul of pride, of success and goals, dreams and ambition- and I might even be said to work hard. I am struggling, understand, simply because I have neared the point of give up. Like the down-in-the-dumps one sees on the streets, it is as though I have been attacked by swords of negative disappointing energy. When I question myself, I ask only my inhibition, itself, or follies of my injuries- indeed everything and anything except me."

                                                       

-Sasan

Relating My "One Little Word" to "Jane Eyre"

For my one little word I wanted to pick something unique. I wanted to pick something that nobody else would pick. During my first stage of brainstorming, I started with some of my favorite words or words that make me happy. My list in my composition book looked like this...

-Sunshine
-Love
-Color
-Perfection
-Friend
-Journey
-Luck



My cousin's dogs and me in Illinois during Summer 2010.

 I had already brainstormed ideas for my top words (the ones listed in colors above). If I chose "friend," when we did an art project I would use a picture of a dog. And If I chose "luck," I would use the story of my late grandfather. However, in the end I chose the word COLOR. My table group and I agreed that it suited me well (after all I still love to color and do arts and crafts). So now it's time to connect it with Jane Eyre...

One would think that connecting Jane Eyre with the word COLOR would be a little difficult. While reading Jane Eyre tonight, I decided to take a break and comment on other teams' blogs. Then the idea just hit me. So here I am, being an overachiever and writing my blog one day early. Haha. Anyways, I only thought about my idea for about five minutes before I decided to turn it into this blog. At Lowood School, the school Jane attends and where she eventually teaches, Mr. Brocklehurst emphasizes conformity. All of the girls must look and dress the same. In addition, throughout the book Jane compares her plain clothing that she has from Lowood to the elegant "crimson velvet robes and shawl turbans of some gold-wrought Indian fabric" (Chapter 17) of the Eshton and Ingram families. However, in Jane Eyre, color is also important in the detailed descriptions of Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield Hall, and Morton. One of my favorite descriptions in the novel occurs in Chapter 9 when Jane describes the garden at Lowood during the spring. I can almost see "the borders of the little beds that were gay with pink thrift and crimson double daises." In addition, color is also important in the description of the red room at Gateshead in Chapter 2.

My word, COLOR, also had more of a connection to literature than I originally thought. I knew of color symbolism from English I and II but the concept skipped my mind when I picked my one little word. Here is a website all about color symbolism:

Color Symbolism Website (Scroll down a little to find the "Color Symbolism Chart" on the left side of the page)

For those of you reading Tess, does color symbolism play a role at all? (In class we already talked about the baptism of the baby and Tess's white nightgown). Are there any other pieces of literature you have read that use color symbolism?

-Shelby F.

Imperfection in Tess

“And it was the touch of imperfect upon the would-be perfect that gave the sweetness, because it was that which gave the humanity.”

-Tess Pg. 150

           

            In unknowing eyes, Tess seems perfect and innocent, embodying purity at its fullest. When Angel Clare saw Tess in this way, only speaking of her looks, I think Hardy was implying much more, expressing Clare’s lack of knowledge about Tess. Due to Alec D’Urbervilles previous defilement of Tess, she has become a whole new person, and though she looks the same, her purity is lost. When Tess tells Clare of this encounter, he claims he doesn’t love her anymore because she isn’t as real as she was before this knowledge came out, but I see it as the opposite.

            I really liked this quote because I think it portrays that nothing is truly perfect, no person, no relationship, or any idea. If something actually is perfect, it’s not real. Clare seems to think it’s possible to have such a relationship, but doesn’t realize that what he loves most about Tess is the “imperfect upon the would-be perfect”. If she were perfect, he probably wouldn’t love her the same. This portrays a man’s expectations of women in 19^th century society, how unfairly they can be treated, through Alec, and how wrongly they can be accused, even though in this situation it is the man being stubborn; Clare is unable to realize that he is in the wrong by leaving her, and by not seeing that the flaw is what makes Tess the woman he loves.

            Imperfection lets us know that we are real and living. As the quote states, it gives us our humanity.  Many qualities we have come from our imperfection, which is what attracts Clare to Tess. It is accepting those flaws that create what is real.
-Taylor C.

Victor Frankenstein's Power

Many of the ideas presented in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein are fascinating when thought about.  She had many things to say about the purpose of life as well as other important aspects of humans and the choices we make in our life. One of my favorite quotes, said by Victor Frankenstein in chapter 4, states

"When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it."

Victor says this right after his new discovery of the ability (power) to create life.  While he said in a way which was contemplating what his next step should be, which was to create the monster, we can apply it to anything else, including our own lives.  When we gain a form of power how will we use it? Will we use it to benefit others, or just for ourselves? Many people "hesitate" to act upon the power given them, rather than act upon it. Do you think this is harmful to people or beneficial to them? Overall it depends on the manner in which we use our power.

Chad L.