*How does the imagery on pages 98 and 99 belie the narrator's inner tension?
*Why does the narrator hate Trublood and the people at the Golden Day?
*What is the effect of comparing the campus building to "an old plantation manor house" on page 100?
*How has Dr. Bledsoe achieved power in society?
*Explain the mirror and aquarium metaphors on page 102.
Hmm, the "only identity [he] had ever known" is tied inextricably to the school, and he "believed in the principles of the Founder with all [his] heart and soul." Sounds a bit like a cult, does it not? Although he desperately wants to stay, maybe it would be better for him to go...This is probably what scholars are talking about when they say that the narrator isn't speaking for Ellison- Ellison is much more savvy and less naive than this guy. I do feel sorry for him, though...
Great mask metaphor describing Bledsoe's face on page 102- this idea of masking one's emotions will come up again.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
23 comments:
I think that the narrator hates trueblood because he feels bad about the situation that happened that day. He is afraid that Mr. Norton will be mad at him for driving him to truebloods house and taking him to a black bar(Golden Day)when he became faint. He also fears that he will be kicked out of the school and won't beable to face his family. The effect of comparing the campus to an old plantation house was that a plantation home, during the days of slavery, had many blacks working in the fields and living on the property. The college can be compared to a plantation house because even though there is no slavery there are still many blacks who live there.
I believe that the narrator hates Trueblood for a few reasons. First, because of how what he did with his daughter was well known/shameful to talk about on campus, he was embarrassed to be talking with him. Secondly, because of the embarrassment he just wants to get out of there and Trueblood keeps talking about the event, making the narrator irritated and anxious. The narrator hates the people at Golden Day because of the way they were behaving, and because he was afraid that he might get kicked out of college, like Erica said, and he just wanted to get out of there but things kept happening to where he couldn't get out right away.
I think that the effect comparing the campus building to an old plantation is to show how things have not really changed for blacks since they were freed. The college is a place for black students, but they are controlled untimately by the rich whites who support the school. The black students are controlled almost like they are still slaves. I also find it interesting that the building compared to the plantation manor house is where Mr. Norton is staying, since he is a white man of power.
Dr. Bledsoe has achieved power in a white dominated society by doing exactly what the whites expect him to do. He acts humble towards whites, and acts as if they are superior, which they believe they are. He won't eat with them, and always treats them with respect. As he has become respected by the whites,he is beginning to act more like a white than a black in my opinion, acting as if the students are lower than he and whites, and saying that they should "live content in our place." Dr. Bledsoe has figured out how to play the game and get the whites to accept him.
The imagery at the beginning of the chapter reflects the narrator's dread of what will befall him because he feels disconnected from the campus scenery as he and Mr. Norton return. The narrator describes the dormitories as threatening and the rolling lawns as hostile, foreshadowing that his efforts to explain himself to Dr. Bledsoe will not go well. When the narrator sees the peaceful and carefree students strolling through the shade, he loses control of the car. This feeling of despair reveals that the narrator is already setting himself apart from this peaceful atmosphere, almost knowing he will no longer be a part of it. The college's environment reminds him of his aspirations, and his worst fear is to lose this place where he feels he has an identity.
The narrator hates Jim Trueblood and the people at the Golden Day as they show Mr. Norton what life is truely like for blacks. Trueblood's story of what he did to his daughter along with his living conditions showed Mr. Norton that life for blacks was not as great as Mr. Norton liked to pretend. The men at the Golden Day, especially the veteran are the only ones that speak the truth to Mr. Norton and tells him that he only helps blacks like the narrator for his own selfish reasons. Although these men are giving Mr. Norton a glimpse of reality, the narrator hates them as he feels as it is better Mr. Norton does not know the truth, as it might get him expelled from college.
Dr. Bledsoe uses the mirror to compose his face into a still, "bland" mask. The narrator says he leaves the sparkle in his eye to "betray the emotion" from earlier. This is much like the fish in the aquarium, because they to hold still and bland like the expression on Bledsoe's face. However, they also have a hint of motion or like the twinkle in Bledsoe's eyes to show they are alive. The narrator compares Bledsoe to the aquarium of fish without simply stating it.
I belive the narrator is mad at Trueblood and the people at the Golden Day because he doesnt want Mr. Norton to think that the majority of the blacks act this way. I think that the narrator wants Mr. Norton to believe that the blacks are just as superior as the whites and they should have equal treatment. And because the blacks are still treated poorly, and whites still think that they are better, I don't think that the narrator wants Mr. Norton to think that the blacks are wild animals and don't deserve to have the same fairness as the whites. I believe the narrator was also nervous about being kicked out of the college for the places that he took Mr. Norton and the way things were handled.
As Dr. Bledsoe passses the mirror he stops to use the mirror to hide his face under a mask before he goes to see Mr. Norton. He is hiding his feelings of embarassment, anger and irritation under a "bland" mask because the mask disguises his feelings for a look of calmness and a soothingly feeling. This is also like the aquarium because as the mask hid Dr. Bledsoe's feelings and facial expressions, the fish represent his body motions and that he is motionless (like the fish) or meaning that his body is calm except for the fish have movement in their fins whereas Dr. Bledsoe has the twinkle in his eye. The twinkle in his eye could represent the emotions he is hiding or to show that although he looks motionless he is still alive like the fish.
Sorry if this doesn't make sense to anyone...It sounded better in my head.
The narrator hates Trublood and the people and the Golden in because they bring down the achievements of the community. No matter how well some at the college do, outsiders will only look at the people of the Golden Day and assume that the entire community is a bunch of drunken animals. Trubloods makes their black community look uneducated, deranged with no morals. The narrator hates these people because his is trying to change things for the better, to get rid of stereotypes, but these people continue to reinforce them.
I believe the narrator hates trueblood because of his daughter and what had happened to her he was ashamed to talk about it. It makes sense that he would not want to talk about what happened because it would be very hard to take in and talk about and when trueblood brings it up he becomes very irritated. The narrator hates the people at Golden Day because they sort of embarrassed him in front of a high class white citizen and he was afraid he owuld get in huge trouble if anything happened to Mr. Norton
The main reason the narrator was so upset with trueblood was because he was very honest in front of a white man. It's pretty much the same thing with the veterans of the golden day; they were acting like thier very imperfect selves in front of Mr Norton. Neither were portraying the black community in a positive way. The narrator had personal concerns of his own but he was most upset about the negative image. He kept thinking about how upset he was that any of them acted that way in front of a white person, especially such an important one. Dr. Bledsoe shared his fear and anger, telling the narrator that they show white people only what they want them to see.
I agree with courtney about the metaphors of the fish in the aquarium and Dr. Bledsoe in the mirror. The fish were alive although without a close look you would not think it just as Dr. Bledsoe was very angry but if you did not look closely it would be hard to tell. The only giveaway is the slight movement of the fin in the fish and the faint twinkle in the eye of Bledsoe. The twinkle in his eye represents how he truly feels as opposed to how he looks.
I believe that the narrator has some form of respect for the Trueblood family prior to the incident with Mr. Norton because he knows that they have a poor reputation, but they still continue to do their best as much as they can (somewhat like historical slave figures). As Mr. Trueblood tells his story of how his family got excluded from society, Mr. Norton as well as the narrator see a side of Mr. Trueblood that is the truth about their lives and become disgusted in them.
I think that the narrator hates Trueblood first because he brought shame to black people and made the white people think that they are even more superior and then because he blames Trueblood for Mr. Norton falling ill in his care. He was afraid that Trueblood's shame would be passed to him because Mr. Norton was in his care. I disagree with what Brian said about the narrator having respect for Trueblood. I think that he hated him because he brought so much shame to the race.
The narrator hates Trublood because he brought shame to their community. He thinks the white community will regard them with even less respect because of his sick actions. He is trying to make a good life for himself by getting a good education and he thinks Mr. Norton hearing the story will make him look bad. Trublood then makes it worse by telling his dream and Mr. Norton becoming sick. The narrator is so scared something will happen to him and be will be blamed. That is why he also dislikes the people at the Golden Day. First, they would not give him something to drink unless he came inside. Then, the veteran that acts like the doctor makes him mad. This embarasses the narrator.
The narrator is very angry at Trueblood because he is a disgrace to the college community and he is afraid theat Mr. Morton will punish him for driving there. Although Trueblood does not attend the school, he truly dislikes it, seeming to offend Mr. Norton. The narrator kept wanting to get back to the campus but annoying and embarrassing events kept occuring which made the black community look as if they held no morals. I think the metaphor between the fish and Dr. Bledsoe is very interesting. I never even thought about the fish's fin movement as a metaphor with the twinkle in Dr. Bledsoe's eye.
Dr. Bledsoe is a very successful man in life because in a way he is taking the narrator’s grandfather’s advice even though he was not there. He is polite to the white people, but does not show them everything that is going on. He only shows them the good things and not the bad that way they don’t know about the bad. That is why Mr. Norton did not know the road that the narrator took even though Mr. Norton had just got done saying that he knows the campus like his life and that was why Dr. Bledsoe was so angry when he found out that the Mr. Norton was taken to there.
I think the narrator hates trueblood and the people at the Golden Day because he does not want Mr. Norton thinking that the way theses people act is the way that all black people act. Also, the narrator works so hard to be the perfect model black citizen for white people that he does not want to be grouped together with the other black people.
I believe the scenery of the campus is the opposite of the narrators feeling completly. He was always used to a peaceful quiete life until the chaos at the Golden Day. The scene at the campus oozes peaceful perfection with its college students roaming about on the green grass withthe sun in their faces. With the heavy apprehenion thast the narator was facing, he couldn't handle such change of dynamic of surrounding from the Golden Day tot he campus.
I noted that the college was also like the historical plantations, and I think that shows how things may not have changed, even though history may repeat itself. The Truebloods had a shameful reputation, but it may have also been a big part of how things were in history and therefore disgusted Mr. Norton. He must not have realized how horribly things were for those that were oppressed. The shock of what was hidden from him, and to be the truth, may have been the most disturbing thing he heard, so this trauma caused his problems.
I believe that the narrator hates trueblood for several key reasons. One being that trueblood impregnated his own daughter. Another reason i believe he hates Trueblood is because his story is keeping him from taking Mr.Norton to where he needs to be. Trueblood also is the reason Mr.Norton became faint. If he hadnt kept him out in the sun so long telling his story, Mr.Norton would have never had a heat spell. The narrator had to now fear getting kicked out of school. Comparing the university to an old plantation manor house gives the reader a picture of what the campus looks like. To me, the comparison painted a picture of very many african american students, working hard, and also working for the school. Even though this book is past the times of slavery, the narrator makes it appear as though times have not changed that much.
Post a Comment