Initial Takeaway from the Invisible Man...

From brief summary on back of book I know that the book will eventually reveal itself to be about racial prejudices. It tells of a story that faces the perils of the great racial divide and also narrates the ignorance of society towards race. The effects of racial prejudice are revealed thorugh the perspectives of the people made victim anf those who inflicted prejudice on others. So ,what does the title have ot tell us. Unlike some titles, I believe the “invisible man” will be telling in my understanding of this text. From the firstline of the prologue which states, “I am an invisible man”, I know the protagonist to be the subject of Ellison's title. I will be looking into how his feeling of invisibility plays into his character development.There are a couple of motifs that I have already noticed just in the prologue. As the title suggests, there is reiteration of the idea of being invisible. The main character, whose name is not known yet, even opens the prologue with "I am an invisible man".Since this book is not science fiction, I presume the protagonist’s “invisibility” is completely metaphorical. But, in what sense? Invisibility, is one looks at its denotations, mean 1)not visible; not perceptible by the eye 2) withdrawn from or out of sight; hidden 3) not perceptible or discernible by the mind 4)not ordinariliy found in financial statements or reflected in statistics or a listing 5) concealed from public knowledge.The second motif is that of eyes which is frequently mentioned even throughout the first few pages. It seems that the protagonist’s feeling of invisibility is one that is 1) not visible; not perceptible to the eye. The man states, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me”. This is such a telling and profound statement. It is to me a direct commentary on what prejudice and ignorance is, refusing to see what is right in front of you. This type of ignorance is what which causes racism. Furthermore, the nameless protagonists is the victim in this story and generally society is the victimizer. The protagonist speaks of the eyes of people he witnesses. In just the first page, there is mention of the “eyes “ motif four times which seemed to me to represent an idea that could pervay throughout the novel. Eyes are regarded as windows to the soul or as a barometer of emotions. More simply eyes represent focus, clarity, vision, perception, observation. This is ironic as the pople he encounters do not see him . The source of his invisibility is the inability of pople (presumably “society”) to see him. As an African American man, the protagonist is most generally probably speaking of the case between blacks and whites in America. Much of the unrest and turmoil that ensued was dues to a refusal by some to reject social bias and injustice. It will be interesting to see how the speaker copes with his reality even though society perceives a different reality.

 

"Time and Eternity" Emily Dickinson

F I should die,

And you should live,

And time should gurgle on,

And morn should beam,

And noon should burn,

As it has usual done;

If birds should build as early,

And bees as bustling go,--

One might depart at option

From enterprise below!

'Tis sweet to know that stocks will stand

When we with daisies lie,

That commerce will continue,

And trades as briskly fly.

It make the parting tranquil

And keeps the soul serene,

That gentlemen so sprightly

Conduct the pleasing scene!

 

Emily Dickinson poem

Death is to be feared. Its inevitability is daunting, challenging the ephemeral nature of human life. The most notable feature of Emily Dickinson’s “Time and Eternity” remains the tone of the poem, which conveys a unique optimism towards death as well as contentment in the afterlife. Dickinson expresses an objection to the characterization of death as marking an end. Impassive to the obligation to mourn death, the speaker rather espouses the feeling of peace and gratification that arises from one’s passing. The speaker in the poem abolishes angst that arises from the idea of death, reassured nonetheless by the constant cyclic nature of life even following death. Dickinson portrays that in death there can be happiness in the assurance that life will carry on. In the first two lines of the poem, the speaker establishes a contrast between life and death. The speaker’s consideration of “If I should die” conveys a dark and heavy tone that is parallel to “And you should live” which conveys a hope and optimism (1-2). The contrast between the speaker’s statements demonstrates morbidity and promise that qualify Dickinson’s characterization of death as forlorn yet hopeful. The speaker then discusses that “time should gurgle on” even in the wake of her death. The word “gurgle” connotes an irregular or broken flow. Thus, Dickinson acknowledges that time is endless and eternal but but not constant. The speaker parallels the inconsistency of life with the constancy found in death. In death, the speaker states that “morn should beam’ and “noon should burn “further elaborating that time carries on even after one’s death. The imagery of the morning sunshine and the afternoon sun represents that the days will continue “as it always has done “and time will go on after death. The final twelve lines of the poem diverge from the tone expressed in the first section. The speaker transitions from reiterating that time is unchanging and infinite in the wake of death to praise of the constancy of life after death. If the speaker is to pass, she describes that birds “build as early” and the bees “as bustling go” (7-8). Life continues undisturbed by her death instilling in the speaker so much content that she feels as if “one might depart at option from enterprise below!” (9-10). Instead of a mourning for life lost, the speaker that her death would have no impact on the continuation of life. She further expresses the comfort received from knowing that life is uninterrupted absent of her presence. “Commerce will continue” and the economy will prosper (13). “Stocks will stand” even with her death (11) . Nevertheless, the speaker’s apparent feeling of insignificance in the layout of life is not a disturbing thought yet one of joy. Assurance in the continued prosperity of life makes her “soul serene”. The speaker’s reference to her soul is reminiscent of transcendentalist ideals in which the soul is a part of a universal spirit that returns to that universal spirit upon death. Thus, the speaker seems to express a desire in a spiritual elevation in order to escape the constancy of an earthly life. However, the consistency that the speaker tries to escape is also what creates pleasure in the continuing of “gentlemen so sprightly” carrying on after her death. Furthermore, Dickinson structures the lines of the poem in a way that parallels the idea that life is constant in death. In the first seven lines of the poem, the speaker discusses that time is infinite and days never ending even after her death. To parallel this idea, these lines have no rhyme scheme, conveying the eternal yet unpredictable nature of time. On the contrary, the last twelve lines of the poem discuss the speaker’s pleasure and hope in the continuation of life following her death. These lines have an ABAB rhyme structure that portrays the cyclical nature of life and death. Also, The ABAB rhyme scheme demonstrates that life and death are a continual pattern. This pattern is what the speaker wishes to maintain. Emily Dickinson offers a unique outlook on life and death in her poem. The speaker establishes that life is tranquil in its eternal, cyclic continuation. The infinite nature of time seems to dwarf the speaker’s will to live. Throughout the poem, the speaker expresses that life and time will undoubtedly persist even if she does not. The speaker’s hopeful attitude towards death transforms a usually morbid and depressive occurrence into an opportunity to find peace. This peace is found once she departs from mortality to an eternal spirit. The speaker seems to be reassuring the “you” that she addresses in the beginning of the poem that her death is not a time to lament for a life perished. However, she offers comfort in a promise that in her death, life will continue on unscathed. Death is not to be feared nor mourned because life will go on and order will remain as the cycle of life and death continues. Thus, Dickinson conveys an alternative message that death should be appreciated for the peace it brings, not sadness. Death is not a tragedy.

Hamlet Act 1 Debrief

Angry ghosts, incest, murder, and a hesitant hero-to be? Hamlet already seems to be full of drama and a little bit of comedy.  The ghost of Hamlet's father and ex-King is active and haunting over this seemingly corrupted kingdom. Hamlet is wretched over his mother's distastefully hasty marriage and his uncle's suspicious assumption of the throne. In Act 1 Scene 2, the stage directions that Shakespeare provides hint that the state of Denmark is not as well as it appears. All gather in the castle's council chamber as Claudius prepares to deliver a speech regarding his brothers "death". However, Hamlet is described to be "in black, with downcast eyes". Unaffected by the fanfare of King Claudius, Hamlet is sulking and creepily keeps to himself. Is he angry, stricken with grief, ashamed, alone? Hamlet's responds to Claudius's speech is quite telling. He is almost disgusted by his mother's marriage so fast to his father's brother. Furthermore, he does not view Claudius as the "Hyperion" that his father was to him. Hamlet's familiar affairs are not the only ones that seem to be an "unweeded garden".In Scene 3, Laertes has a conversation with Ophelia, warning her against her relationship with lord Hamlet. He thinks "his will is not his own" and tells her not to give up her "chaste treasure" to Hamlet. Polonius, Ophelia's father also is not fond at all of Ophelia's "rendezvous" with her Hamlet. He believes her to be acting as a prostitute and forbids her from any further interactions with him to which she responds, "I shall obey, my lord". Thus, much can be said for the "state" of Hamlet's family and romantic lives. The kingdom of Denmark has been overtaken by a "serpent" that has seemingly invaded the garden that once prospered when King Hamlet was alive and well. In Scene 5, it is revealed from King Hamlet's ghost that Claudius, his own brother, poisoned and killed him while he was at rest in the garden. His ghost summons Hamlet to avenge his death leaving Hamlet feeling unhappy and pressured immensely by his sudden lofty fate. Thus, Claudius has broken Hamlet's connection with his father and taken his mother from him in marriage. Furthermore, Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia is broken as her brother and father disapprove of him and ban her from seeing him. Hamlet is alone. The only hope he has at reclaiming his father's life and love for Ophelia is by avenging his father which may bring the kingdom of Denmark back into sorts. All affairs seem to be headed south with all resolutions on poor hamlet's shoulders.Horatio and Marcellus are worried for Hamlet’s fate. Horatio believes that Hamlet’s listening to his father’s ghost could draw Hamlet into shear madness. Even though Hamlet promises his father’s spirit that he will fulfill a prophecy to avenge his death, he is not at all sure of himself. “O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!” Hamlet exclaims. He is not excited over this “call to adventure” which may foreshadow Hamlet’s failure as a hero. After all, the archetypal hero is ready for his journey. So is Hamlet a tragic hero?

A Shakesperian Sonnet

To acquiesce my overwhelming anticipation to read Shakespeare's Hamlet, I am reading a few of the poet's sonnets. From over one hundred, I narrowed my broad selection down to sonnet 98. It reads as follows: 

From you have I been absent in the spring,

When proud pied April, dressed in all his trim,

Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,

That heavy Saturn laughed and leapt with him.

Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell

Of different flowers in odour and in hue,

Could make me any summer's story tell,

Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew: 

Nor did I wonder at the lily's white,

Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;

They were but sweet, but figures of delight,

Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.

   Yet seemed it winter still, and you away,

   As with your shadow I with these did play.

 

After first reading, the speaker is expressed to be aloof to the changing seasons evoking a deepening sense of stagnation. This idea is reinforced the speaker's reactions to  the landscape and planets in the midst of this transition form winter to spring. The speaker is "absent" in the spring , expressing that there is a sense of preoccupation or lacking for them. Furthermore, Shakespeare describes Saturn's planetary movement with the seasons representing its rotations at different speeds. In purgatory, Saturn is representative of sloth.  Saturn is also representative of absolving the cardinal sin of sloth, do-nothingness, stagnation. the planetary motion of Saturn abdicates the stagnation of winter in which all planets and life cease to be active and die. It commences the season of spring in which the prosperity of flora and fauna is resumed. Despite the sprouting of lilies, rose and their striking brilliance of color, the speaker remains frigid to these displays of new life and beauty. Mere "figures of delight", the flowers are only figments of a happiness the speaker seems to yearn for their brilliance does not manifest in the rejuvenation of his spirit.In an environment engulfed by the resilience and vivacity of spring, the speaker seems to forbid the welcome of new breath. The speaker's inhibitions to the spring time are further expressed as Shakespeare writes, "yet seemed it winter still". Stuck in winter, it is almost as if time has escaped the speaker. So now, the poem seems to describe a lamentation of years lost. Thus, the speaker chooses to remain in the darkness for winter stating, "As with your shadow I with these did play". The darkness can be interpreted as the past. There is a comfort in the past that the speaker finds. Representative in the new light of spring is the youth that precedes and threatens to replace his existence. As much as the poem portrays the liveliness of spring, it can really be alternately viewed through an entirely polar lens, one of death. If taken from the speaker's point of view, he bemoans over his/her own life. Perhaps the speaker is elderly or regrets some part of their life...