3/31/14


  Over the past week, we have been having some interesting discussions on the novel Invisible Man.  Due to an art field trip, I missed the seminar about the Liberty Paint and Hospital episode.  However, in the other seminars, we have made connections back to this episode, so it is an important episode on the novel.  I believe this episode is so important because it is a transition period for the narrator.  The Liberty Paint episode seems to be the narrators last ditch effort to succeed according to his beliefs as a young college student.  The hospital episode is a transition period.  What exactly is the narrator transitioning to?  Well that question was debated on A LOT during the Eviction/Women seminar.
  Before I get ahead of myself, I would like to talk about the Liberty Paint episode.  There are many contrasts during this episode.  There is the definite contrast between white and black.  These colors are not only contrasted, their qualities are flipped.  Throughout the whole novel, white is blinding while people can only see in black or in darkness.  The narrator states, "All were the same, a brilliant white diffused with gray.  I closed my eyes for a moment and looked again and still no change," (Ellison 205).  Usually, it is easy to tell whether or not a color is purely white.  White is clean, bright, and easily recognizable.  It is interesting to note that the narrator is confused when looking at the white paint.  White usually stands for enlightenment, but it is making the narrator confused.  However, the narrator is not confused when he is starring at black paint.  The narrator states, "But when I looked into the white graduate I hesitated, the liquid inside was dead black.  Was he trying to kid me?" (Ellison 200).  The narrator is certain that the paint is black,  He does not doubt himself when looking at the black paint.  He believes that the man could be trying to trick him.  However, when the narrator is looking at the white paint, he doubts himself.  He thinks his own eyes are playing a trick on him.  When the narrator is faced with darkness and the color black, he is certain of himself.  When the narrator is faced with brightness and the color white, he becomes wary and uncertain.  This connects to the end of the novel.  The narrator is certain that he is invisible and he knows who he is and how he wants to live when he is in the darkness of his cave.  He was not able to figure out who he was when he was in the bright light of the world above.
   During the Eviction/ Women seminar we discussed whether or not the hospital episode was a transition or a rebirth.  Personally, I did not see the episode as a complete rebirth.  The narrator did completely lose his identity and had to start fresh, but I believe some of his old beliefs and tendencies are still present.  For example, when the narrator is eating the yams on the street, he realizes that he did not come to New York to enjoy yams on the side of the street.  He remembers that there is a specific reason he is in New York.  After this moment, he falls into the trap of the brotherhood.  This is why I read the hospital scene as more of a transition than a rebirth.  Yes the narrator loses his identity because he is given a new name, but he still has the same tendencies and follows other people like he did before the hospital scene.