Jim Trueblood's story in Invisible Man can be taken many ways. One of these interpretations made by looking at the reaction of the narrator is how each african-american person seems to represent more than just themselves. They represent the community they live in and the african-american community in general. I also believe that the story provides some sort of rationale for invisibility, especially if you look at it from the present narrator's (the one in the prologue) point of view.
If we take invisibility to mean the narrator's isolation and separation from society, then we can see that his crimes, although somewhat noticed, cannot be traced back to him at all. The narrator steals power from Monopolated Light and Power with the company only knowing the area in which the power is being taken, not knowing anything about the narrator or where he is. The narrator also lives right under white-only housing, but draw no attention to himself because he is invisible. His invisibility give him the freedom to do almost whatever he wants because there is nobody who knows that he did it, and if nobody knows then no person can give him repercussions.
I draw this in contrast to Jim Trueblood as his "act" draw a large amount of attention from both the people directly around him, his community, and even people who don't even know that he existed before they heard about the incident, like Mr. Norton. As Trueblood is very visible to everyone, his actions have direct repercussions, such as his community shunning him.
The problem with nobody noticing your actions is that when you do something positive, or noteworthy, no one is there to give you praise for it. This means that unless you want to live a completely solitary lifestyle being invisible is not a great option even if you don't want repercussions for your bad actions.
Overall, would you want the narrator's invisibility, or do you think it would lead to a lonely and unbearable lifestyle?
If we take invisibility to mean the narrator's isolation and separation from society, then we can see that his crimes, although somewhat noticed, cannot be traced back to him at all. The narrator steals power from Monopolated Light and Power with the company only knowing the area in which the power is being taken, not knowing anything about the narrator or where he is. The narrator also lives right under white-only housing, but draw no attention to himself because he is invisible. His invisibility give him the freedom to do almost whatever he wants because there is nobody who knows that he did it, and if nobody knows then no person can give him repercussions.
I draw this in contrast to Jim Trueblood as his "act" draw a large amount of attention from both the people directly around him, his community, and even people who don't even know that he existed before they heard about the incident, like Mr. Norton. As Trueblood is very visible to everyone, his actions have direct repercussions, such as his community shunning him.
The problem with nobody noticing your actions is that when you do something positive, or noteworthy, no one is there to give you praise for it. This means that unless you want to live a completely solitary lifestyle being invisible is not a great option even if you don't want repercussions for your bad actions.
Overall, would you want the narrator's invisibility, or do you think it would lead to a lonely and unbearable lifestyle?
I agree that it would be quite a lonely existence living completely invisibly, but I think that it is harder for us to understand and imagine what it would be like if your actions (good and bad) reflected on your race as a whole. So, in this context, maybe being invisible woulde be easier, since nobody would be watching the bad things that you do and judging you and people of your race based on your bad choices. They may not see your good actions, but I think in the context of "Invisible Man" the bad actions are judged and noticed a lot more than the good actions.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree with you. Especially with Trueblood's story, having your entire race be judged based on the actions of one person doesn't seem...ideal? Also I feel like the narrator is less concerned with being noticed for all the things he does right. Because of the society he is in, he is constantly worried that he's going to accidentally offend someone or get in trouble, so maybe for him invisibility is better.
DeleteI think that being invisible would be very difficult to take as a person. Sure, you would face no consequences for negative things you do, but you are just living. If you aren't going to be able to change anything or enjoy the world you are living in by talking to others, and gaining recognition for good things you do, your life will just be surviving rather than truly living.
ReplyDeleteThe invisibility strikes me as a high cost, high reward kind of thing. There is a huge cost to pay for the invisibility, the loneliness and feeling of isolation. However as shown by the narrator it can be immensely valuable, allowing you to live the life you want. This is shown nicely in the yam scene, where the narrator mention the freedom he feels being able to do what he wants without others judgement. Overall, I don't think I could stand invisibility but it is very easy for me to see why others would relish the power it gives them.
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