Well, this was definitely the longest book I have read in awhile. Sometimes quantity does not mean quality because if the author cannot keeps the readers interest over many, many pages, then often the book does not get finished. Ralph Ellison, however, is able to carry the reader's interest over a lengthy novel in Invisible Man. I was unsure how to feel about the novel at first because it seemed a tad dry and boring. Once the narrator got situated in New York and his life got moving, so did the novel. Ellison writes one of the most intricate novels I have ever read. If you think about how much time it must have taken him to think of all the subtilties and hidden meanings you may find your mouth agape in pure amazement. The quality of the novel goes beyond impressive and straight to genius. He approaches the theme of racism and equality in a very different way than many writers who wrote about similar topics. We discussed many times how he could have just written about a problematic, black boy from the South who goes North to find himself. Ellison's style of how he takes on the race issue was intriguing and much more interesting to read. The only drawback I saw to the novel was that it was almost too good. It got to the point where almost every other line could be broken down to reveal some hidden meaning or symbolization of something. When the literature gets that detailed, some of the fun of reading is taken away because you get too focused on what is trying to be said by a seemingly insignificant statement. The internal struggles of the narrator though fascinated me. His character development was fantastic. The novel always kept you intrigued because it would leave you hanging with things. For example, the nameless narrator. I know whenever I was reading I kept wondering if I was going to find out the name of the narrator. Just this simple aspect of the novel was one of the many things that kept my interest throughout the novel. All in all, I envy Ellison's creative ability and intellect.
"Well, I was and yet I was invisible, that was the fundamental contradiction. I was and yet I was unseen. It was frightening and as I sat there I sensed another frightening world of possibilities. For now I saw that I could agree with Jack without agreeing. And I could tell Harlem to have hope when there was no hope. Perhaps I could tell them to hope until I found the basis of something real, some firm ground for action that would lead them onto the plane of history. But until then I would have to move them without myself being moved...I'd have to do a Rinehart." (Ellison 507)
This quote deals with the narrator's transition towards invisibility and his optimism before he is completely invisible. He feels that on some levels, others do not see him. At the same time, however, he still believes he can make a difference and have an effect on people. The narrator still has an attitude of trying to make his view of the Brotherhood movement work. He still wants to help the people of Harlem, even if he thinks he is not seen by people like Jack. The narrator is searching for a firm basis that can give the people of Harlem hope, but I think he is really looking for solid ground for himself to stand on and give himself hope. I actually think that by trying to act like Rinehart he will only disconnect himself more. He says that he cannot get emotionally moved, but in order to gain back some visibility he needs to be fully involved. Rinehart may appear to be well connected with everyone, but there is probably a great deal of distance between himself and other. Putting space between himself and others is not going to help the narrator become any less invisible. This quote is contradictory, which makes it very interesting. It is good because it shows the narrator still has hope and has not admitted defeat yet. He believes he still has a chance to make a difference. I enjoyed seeing the narrator when he still possessed this optimistic attitude where he did not care if he was invisible or not; he was still going to try to make a difference.
I found the scene involving Liberty Paints to be one of the most important in the novel. Many themes and motifs are portrayed in the scene, especially the blatant black and white motif, which is present throughout the novel. It is so ironic that the white paint is made from a black foundation. This fact is so symbolic of the reality of past American culture. The early American economy was based upon slave labor. Without it, the United States would most likely have crumbled in its infancy. This is just like the paint; without the black base, the pure white cannot be made. There cannot be white without black. The Liberty Paint company uses the word liberty to appear to represent American ideals. However, there is really not any liberty for some of its own employees. For example, Brockway does a large amount of work, but is not rewarded the way white employees who work far less are. He takes part in making a paint that is used to cover up any stain or mark. White covering black. There is not really anything more that could symbolized American society of this time period. The white supremacy was rampant as it attempted to swallow the black culture. It is important that this was the first place the narrator went to work. Just how the paint covers things, this is when he first started being covered with the result of him being invisible.
