An ongoing theme throughout Invisible Man by Ralph Edison is the narrators ongoing and changing perception of his grandfathers last words. The topic is mentioned first at the beginning of chapter one and then then again during the epilogue. I think the way the narrator views his grandfathers message can symbolize his mindset at that time.
On his deathbed, the narrators grandfather tells his son (the narrators father) "Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open." (Ellison 16). Everyone immediately thought he had gone crazy in his last moments, rushing the children from the room and telling the narrator not to pay any thought to the grandfathers words. The narrator, however couldn't get the words from his mind. Everyone told the narrator that he was very similar to the grandfather, who was usually pretty quiet and didn't cause trouble/disorder often. The narrator seems to follow this same path his grandfather did, however he constantly feels guilty for doing so because of his grandfathers words. The grandfather had claimed to be a traitor, so following in his footsteps, the narrator feels like he might be a traitor as well. His grandfathers words trap him in a place where he acts the way people around him expect him to, but he feels as though it is wrong for him to be that way.
In the epilogue, the author says that he has been thinking more and more about his grandfather's message, however he still doesn't exactly understand what it meant. He considers the way his grandfather said he lived as a traitor and why he would do that. This reminds me of something the narrator says about himself, on page 573, at the beginning of the epilogue, the narrator says that he was liked better by people when he was completely agreeable with them, instead of what he believed true. On that same page he says "I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I call myself" (Ellison 573). I think that the narrator is trying to find some missing puzzle piece in his grandfather's words that will give him some sort of answer, when in reality he actually has lived and understands what the grandfather is saying. The grandfather was invisible, and so was the narrator, and they both created facades for themselves to avoid those feelings of invisibility.
Hello Olive, your blog post is captivating. The narrator has, literally, been kept running from different aspects of life, however I never stopped to consider that the narrator had been trying to outrun invisibility- while his grandfather had experienced these same things. I find it interesting how you bring up that both the grandfather and the narrator created facades to avoid feelings of invisibility whilst both the grandfather and the narrator disappear in the end- one to death, and one underground. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really insightful analysis of how the narrator's relationship with the grandfather's word changes as he does, and I thought you did a particularly nice job teasing out the meaning of the ambiguous ending of the book. I think it's interesting that you discuss how the narrator's family treats the grandfather as insane and even dangerous, and it reminds me a lot of the depiction of the vet and even the narrator's and Clifton's treatment of Ras—these men's ideas threaten the precarious worldview of the narrator and other Black people around them, and so they respond by writing them off as crazy rather than risking engaging with them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post! You make so many incredible points about the meaning of the grandfather's words. I think something that stands out is your analysis of the narrator's relationship as a search for a missing piece to a puzzle. The narrator has lived through so many identities and situations, he does not even realize that everything he does is the missing puzzle piece. There is no one specific answer, rather, everything the narrator experiences is exactly what the piece to his puzzle is. You articulate this perfectly in your final sentence. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fabulous blog post! You really dive into the deeper meaning behind the narrator's relationship with his grandfather and how that shapes his story. The change in the narrators mindset of trying to discover his grandfathers words, to knowing that he has actually lived out his grandfathers words is an important part of the novel. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on this blog post! You very clearly and concisely explained why the grandfather's words trouble the narrator so much, and how that continues to affect him. In many ways he does do what his grandfather instructed him to do, but by doing that, he also feels like a traitor which is inherently conflicting. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI love your writing! I found the way you contrasted the narrator's views and his grandfather's views to be especially interesting. Throughout the plot, the narrator would think about his grandfather's words to him when he was still alive. The grandfather, in a way, haunts him for the remainder of the book as he struggles to try to figure out what the missing puzzle piece in becoming truly invisible is through his grandfather's words.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting blog! You clearly explicated the meaning behind the grandfather's words and how they play into the rest of the novel. Although the grandfather dies at the beginning of the novel, he's a recurring character throughout the book, fitting with the haunting nature of his last words. These words continually manipulate the narrator's definition of invisibility and what it really means to be invisible. You described this conflict in the narrator very well. Again, great blog!
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