If you cringe at stereotypes, get ready or some uncomfortable situations in these chapters. As you read, think about stereotypes that exist in our culture and your own life, specifically. As you know, race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation and social/economic status are a few of the areas that tend to be targeted. Compare and contrast the stereotypes that Ellison illustrates with those that you see today. Have we made progess? What are some viable solutions for dealing with stereotypes and their consequences?
More to think about:
*What is the narrator's principle motivation for accepting the job?
*What is the effect of the trip through Central Park?
*How is color used to affect imagery in the salon?
*Why does Emma wish that the narrator were blacker?
*What is ironic about Brother Jack's suggestion that the narrator become the new Booker T. Washington?
*What is the idea behind the narrator's confrontation with the drunken man who wants him to sing, because "all colored people sing"?
*What is the difference between the definition of "we" that Mary embraces and the definition that Brother Jack embraces?
*Why does the narrator get so angry when he notices the cast-iron bank in the shape of a caricature of a black man?
*What is the metaphorical value of the fact that the clock in Mary's kitchen is slower than the narrator's?
*Explain the following quote: "Some folks just live in filth," she said disgustedly. "Just let a little knocking start and here it comes crawling out. All you have to do is shake things up a bit."
*What is ironic about the narrator's attempt to get rid of the coin bank?
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The narrator was so angry with the bank because he felt that it was mocking him. In beloved Denver sees a similar bank that said "At Yo' Service". Denver looked at the bank with suprise just as the narrator did in Invisible Man.I think they both found the bank as discrimination against African Americans and a shock as to why a fellow black friend would have an item such as that bank.
I think its a little ironic how the main character joins this Brotherhood of white and black people and yet at the party he recieves a lot of dicrimination for his race. Mary wants him to be "blacker" so he can make a better impression as he makes speaches. Also when the drunk man tries to get him to sing, the narrator was really angry at first then he was laughing his head off because he knew the guy was drunk and he even made a joke about it.
What is ironic about Brother Jack's suggestion that the narrator become the new Booker T. Washington? i believe the anwser to this question was from the beginning of the book. As the narrator talks about his speech for his senior year he says something along the lines as "i think of myself as the next Booker T. Washington".
emma wants the narrator the look blacker because his speaches support the black community. The darker he looks the better his speaches look. Then he'll look like what his speaches are trying to portray, or so that is what emma thinks.
Emma wishes that the narrator is blacker because the Brotherhood wants to use the narrator as a symbol for the entire African American race. Therefore Emma wishes to make sure the Brotherhoods symbol is unmistakably black and not part white. Emma is not thinking of the narrator as an individual by as part of the ideology used throughout the Brotherhood. The narrator is a symbol in the universe of Invisible Man.
It is ironic that Brother Jack suggests that the narrator become the new Booker T. Washington because in the beginning of the novel, he states that he would like to be the Booker T. Washington of his era. Therefore, the fact that Brother Jack tells the narrator this convinces him that if he joined the Brotherhood, he could be the new Booker T. Washington and help other blacks. However, Brother Jack and the other members of the brotherhood are only using the narrator for their own means and not to help him become the new Booker T. Washington. Also, the writer of Invisible Man himself, Ralph Ellison, rejected Booker T. Washington's beliefs so it is even more ironic that the narrator supports Washington's beliefs.
I agree with Haley, that the suggestion of becoming Booker T. Washington from Brother Jack is ironic because in the beginning of the book the narrator says that he has the "potential" to be a Booker T. Washington. It's ironic that he would mention Booker T. Washington after what the narrator thought of himself. Also even though the narrator looked up to Booker T. Washington as it suggested in the beginning of the novel, he now is fond of The Founder.
when mary says, "some folks just live in filth,...all you have to do is shake things up a bit." it is kind of explains metaphorically that on the surface, people can show you what they want to be; kind, equal, fair, but when you dig deeper, you realize that some people in the book, for example, the drunk man at the cocktail party for the brotherhood who wants the narrator to sing black songs, are exactly who they look down upon in society.
The narrator get so angry when he notices the cast-iron bank in the shape of a caricature of a black man because it resembles a racial stereotype. The bank is an object that resembles a slave, which shows that white people think that slaves are objects as well. The bank is supposed to amuse the white people, just like slaves are supposed to entertain white people.
First the narrator throws the bank into a garbage can and a woman tells him to take it out of her garbage. Then he leaves the bank in the street, but a man thinks that he accidentally left it there and gives it back to the narrator. It is ironic that the narrator can't get rid of the cast-iron bank because it is as if the stereotype is following him, like stereotypes often haunt people throughout his or her lives.
Emma wished that the narrator were blacker so that he would make a greater statement to thier cause of brotherhood. The narrator is more of a person with race than an individual which is also seen when the narrator recieves his new identity.
I think that it is ironic that although the narrator tried to get rid of this steriotypical toy, it kept following him. I think that was symbolism to the fact that after leaving behind the racist college, he was joining the Brotherhood and would once again be in a situation controlled by white men.
The Narrator thinks he is invisible, and yet he has the potential to be the next Booker T. Washington? Uh, no. In Gabby's post she said that Ralph Ellison rejected Booker T. Washingtons beliefs, so maybe in an indirect way the author was infering that Mr. Washington's beliefs had no effect on real society at the time? And I think it is ironic because the Narrator is speaking and fighting for the right to be accepted as he is but Emma wants him to change so it makes his speeches more dramatic and effective.
The idea behind the narrators confrontation with the drunk is that people can do or say things that can be racist even though they don't mean it that way. The drunk man might have asked for something in a racist manner, but it was only because he was drunk and maybe he just liked the way black people sang.
Racism today has changed since this book, but there are still similarities. In the older days, racism was a lot more open and widely practiced. Also, more of it was focused on how dumb they were or what food they ate. However, similarites exist like how then and now many people believe African Americans are more likely to commit crimes, as well as there abilities to do certain things well like singing and dancing and physically demanding things.
The narrators main motivation for excepting the job is because he owes a large sum of money to Mary for rent. Emma wishes the narrator was blacker because he is going to be representing the black community. They do not want people to be thinking he is not 100% true to his speeches if he isn't truely but only partially black. Like danielle said the ironic part of the narrator trying to get rid of the coin bank was that he left a society controlled by whites only to get a job dealing with racism, a white controled society, like the bank keeps following him.
The Brotherhood is the type of group that the narrator should not get messed up with. Brother Jack trapped the narator by complimenting him, not to mention the three hundred dollars that was given to him. The narrator should have known it was not good for him when he heard Emma say the narrator needed to bee "blacker" to get sympathy when he made speeches. Also, when Brother Jack asked if he wanted to be better than Booker T. Washington and stating that the narrator could incite action quickly. I thought that the narrator would be smarter afer his so called "rebirth", but I was wrong.
The narrators principle motivation for accepting the job was because of his realization that Mary must be running out of money. He felt guilty because she was providing him with food and shelter and he hadn't even been paying her rent. Emma wishes the narrator were blacker because she thinks that this speeches would be more powerful. Also, she wants to make sure that he is representing the black community well, and to make sure that people know he is truly fighting for them and their rights.
Emma wishes the narrator was blacker to better symbolize the african american race. She wants to clearly show what race the narrator is representing. She wants him to be thought of as just a part of something bigger than just an individual.
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