Focus: Understanding the narrator of Invisible Man in his college days
1. Announcements!
2. Warm-up: Reading ticket musical chairs
3. Socratic seminar: Chapters 1-5; assign our first scribe.
4. Counterclockwise wrap-up
HW: Read Chapters 6 and 7 in Invisible Man for Monday's Socratic seminar with 10 one-liners as your reading ticket (or something more poetic and creative if you choose).
When will the narrator first discover that he is invisible? Page 94 – top paragraph – He’s first told. – No, because he’s so emotional when he’s afraid he’s going to lose the place in the school, he’s not invisible yet.
ReplyDeletePg 37 – reference to white man’s burden – how has Mr. Norton done this? – what is emphasized in the poem is the role of the white man to civilize the black man – Norton takes an interest in building understanding with black people – no: Norton is undercover racist, emphasizes their fate, imperialistic figure – helping them is to help himself, his destiny . Pg 49 – condescending to black people – “your people” – language is degrading, segregating.
Description of the incest – “Trueblood” – ironically named – why the grotesque description with Trueblood as narrator? All stories are intensely detailed – showing the ‘brute’ side?, story also includes the Sambo. Interesting as a dream – connection to the ‘sleepwalkers’ – don’t have to take full responsibility because they’re sleeping – subconscious = true desires?
Mr. Norton has specific views of the black community – can’t reconcile his vision with other scenes
White line – pg 44 – serves as comfort zone, stabilizing color
Pg 120 – compares Founder to Christ figure – Is that an appropriate comparison, what was the author’s purpose? – college is some sort of cult, Founder is the head and can’t do anything wrong – pg. 36 – narrator walking around the campus, looking at the statue – contrasting image of the Founder – pg 103 – recurring image of the veil, has definitely fallen now
Dr. Bledsoe – college is teaching them how to be
blind like Bledsoe?
Pg 16 – Grandfather’s message – kill them with kindness, get inside the system in order to manipulate it – or: white people will realize the humanness of black people if the black people are so agreeable and considerate – or: don’t take up your gun and be who they expect you to be. Bledsoe has achieved balance between the black culture and white expectations – can manipulate his own sense of living and leadership throughout college.
Thanks, Emily--impressive work!
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