Focus: Student-led discussion of Invisible Man
1. Announcements and project sign-up!
2. Warm-up: A little sketching while we listen to Chapter 21
3. Socratic seminar: Chapters 21-23 in Invisible Man
HW:
1. Poetry projects and essays.
2. Finish Invisible Man by Thursday for our final Socratic seminar.
Presentation order:
ReplyDeleteMonday
David
Emily M
Cayla
Joy
Margot
Tuesday
Brit
Katie
Kristen
Eric
Nate
Evelyn
Anna
Did you think the cop was justified in shooting Clifton?
ReplyDeleteThe struggle of the ideals in that scenario is whether racial motivation played a role in the shooting
The narrator brings up that he doesn’t understand why Clifton acted out in this way, was his anger manifested in the shooting?
“Southern Cop” Poem- ambiguity of not knowing what the black man did to deserve death
Ignorance of the white men
P457, the cop was eager to pull the trigger
P435, the cop was the one who started the fighting, provoking/ initiating the fight
Or was the cop trying to talk to him and Clifton was ignoring him, causing him to push and get his attention.
Syntax of the p435, active voice when referring to the cop, makes Clifton seem less in control of his own movements than the cop- perhaps Clifton is the Sambo doll in the situation
Fell forward, “like a man saying his prayers,” standing and then falling, illustrates how the black society is right now, when they are knocked down by the white men
Parallels to the Battle Royale
P446 The dancing Sambo doll and the electric rug, both ways in which society are making the black men “dance”
Why is it that it is a fine black thread? Because you can’t see the black, maybe because like the black men the black thread is invisible. Also, maybe the black thread, or black men are not seen but are what help the white men, or the doll, to operate. The narrator’s obedience could also be represented by the control these white men have over the doll through the thread.
The narrator is more of a method or a tool in getting the points across, both with Bledsoe and with the Brotherhood. P469, “you weren’t hired to think”-narrator comes to the realization that he hasn’t been thinking for himself, and when he tries to, he gets put back in his place.
Another rebirth has taken place in the funeral scene, realization. Is it the last rebirth the narrator will undergo?
Rinehart- After he bought a new pair of shoes, connects to the running imagery. A new direction he discovers to run. He would have been Rinehart but was wearing the wrong shoes. Rinehart might be reflective of the narrator because both characters are both seen as many different things, neither is specifically seen.
P498, “Still, could he be all of them?” The narrator is questioning the multiple aspects of the Rinehart character and in turn is reflecting on himself.
Why does the narrator’s body start to itch? Because of his discomfort with himself or his situation, he feels like, realizing his similarities to Rinehart, he could do more.
Clown vs. fool. Narrator calls himself a fool. P446, refers to the Sambo puppet, connection to brother jack in the clown-like creepiness. Both are projecting a show to the world, falsifying their actions as a show rather than reality. The smile does not always represent real happiness, but the smile more emphasizes the stereotypes or a characterization rather than an expression of emotion. Every time the narrator genuinely feels like laughing, it is at an inappropriate time.
Interesting to see the image of him crying at Clifton’s funeral, one of the first genuine expressions of the emotion or are they fake tears?
Speech at Clifton’s funeral, the emphasis was solely put on the fact that the man had a name, trying to bring significance to Clifton’s life regardless of what he had done in it. Does this reflect the narrator or provide a juxtaposition because he does have a name while the narrator doesn’t.
Did Clifton die a martyr? He died the way people needed to see him. Like in The Dark Night, his death brings him to light in a way that represents him positively, as a victim of the police officer who shot him.