Invisible Man-Keep your coins, I want change!

"[...] the cast-iron figure of a very black, red-lipped and wide-mouthed Negro, whose white eyes stared up at me from the floor, his face an enormous grin, his single large black hand held palm up before his chest. It was a bank, a piece of early Americana, the kind of bank which, if a coin is placed in the hand and a lever pressed upon the back, will raise its arm and flop the coin into the grinning mouth" (Ellison 319).

The above quote describes the coin bank our narrator finds, and destroys, as he is leaving Mary's house to join the Brotherhood. This coin bank, similarly to the Sambo dolls, represents the stereotypical views that our narrator and all blacks must endure as they attempt to make a place for themselves in a hostile society. The stereotype represented here, is a slave acting in a demeaning manner, desperately trying to be rewarded with a trivial gift from his or her master. Our narrator, enraged by this reminder of his unhappy heritage, finds himself having trouble destroying the iron coin bank. "I hammered back with the iron naps, seeing the silver fly, striking like driven sand against my face" (Ellison 319). Even after leaving Mary's the narrator find himself struggling to rid himself of the thoughts of this bank, which shows the stubborness that characterizes a stereotype. Our narrator makes a note of this coin bank when leaving to assist the Brotherhood, foreshadowing our narrator's inability to escape harassment and sterotyping, even in an organization that is supposed to be fighting for minority rights.

Ellison's careful word choice speaks to specific traits of African Americans. The coin bank is described as "very black," but then Ellison contrasts this statement with "red-lipped." Whites and African Americans, alike, share a red mouth, symbolizing the ability of African Americans to speak, feel, and comprehend just as well as whites can. Additionally, white eyes are a trait that characterize all human, showing that all people can see a situation and process it in a way that reflects their background, beliefs, and heritage. The "enormous grin" gives this face a goofy, unintelligent look, which again, represents a common stereotypical view of African Americans. The verb choice of flop indicates a careless way of giving something to another person. A slave was not rewarded by his master in a noble or honorable light, but rather in a perfunctory, demeaning manner.

"I seemed to go away; the lights receded like a tail-light racing down a dark country road. I couldn't follow. A sharp pain stabbed my shoulder. I twisted about on my back, fighting something I couldn't see. Then after a while, my vision cleared" (233).

Chapter Eleven describes a symbolic rebirth of our narrator. While in surgery, our narrator describes a moment's emotion with the above quote, which has immense importance to his journey told throughout this novel. The "tail-light racing down a dark country road" is symbolic of the same empty promises that our narrator's empty suitcase carry. A car is not described in that statement, but simply the headlights. Our narrator finds himself chasing dreams, such as being a successful and powerful speaker in the Brotherhood, but in actuality, there is no hope attached to such aspirations, just as there is no car attached to the tail-light.

Hollywood often plants images in our minds. I picture our narrator running after a car that races around a turn and out of site. Our narrator halts and it starts to pour rain. Now, of course this does not happen in the novel, but the idea that this statement allowed my mind to wander to such a visual shows its power and legitimacy to our narrator's state of desperation.

The sharp pain in the back of his should that he cannot see, is foreshadowing of the Brotherhood's betrayal, Bledsoe's betrayl, and others. The idea that our narrator could not see the pain is indicative of his naivete that characterizes him at the beginning of the novel, however as he grows and learns betrayal and pain, our narrator's vision is cleared, and he assesses human nature in a negative light. This idea parallels the theme of blindness and invisibility.

Amazingly deep novel. This novel was one of my favorites of the year, possibly my number one favorite. It amazes me that a single person can come up with the words to convey hidden meaning and it makes me appreciate the time and dedication that must go into writing a novel like this. I realize that this is not a book to bring to the beach for light reading. Without our class discussions I would not have forced myself to examine to text as closely as we did. Even without knowing the name of our protagonist, I grew to feel a connection to him and found myself feeling his emotion along with him. I particularly liked the fact that our narrator was not making himself out to be the victim, and was not trying to gain sympathy. Instead, the narrator analyzes human nature and the stereotypes that society tends to follow and believe. Although the Battle Royal scene did not make a lot of logical sense in my mind, I thought it was a very powerful opening to a deep novel.

Heart of Darkness-Dream Alone

The Role of Women- Through some research I learned that Joseph Conrad was a supporter of the suffragist movement. This little known fact changed my perspective on Conrad's portrayal of women in Heart of Darkness. I had previously thought that Conrad's depiction of women was one of ignorance and simplicity. While this may still remain true, Conrad was portraying the thoughts of others, not his own. After examining the text closer I found that despite Heart of Darkness being a tale of men, women form the basis of Marlow's growth throughout the novel.

The European men in the Congo are the ones who stage colonization, while the European women are the behind-the-scenes crew. They are the modest strategists. Thisis evident through Marlow's aunt and her references to the people of prestige that she is acquainted with. Though Marlo is apparent when Marlow tries to obtain a position in the Congo on his own and fails. Marlow comments: "Then-would you believe it-I tried the women. I, Charlie Marlow, set the women to work-to get a job! Heavens!" (Conrad 83). There is a certain amount of embarrassment and shame in his comment, yet even Marlow would have to admit that women form a crucial part of Europe's development. Their ability to influence the male-dominated business world w may be ashamed of seeking assistance from his aunt, he recognizes her efficiency. "I got my appointment-of course; and I got it very quick." (85).

The women at the company's main office are the next women mentioned. When Marlow arrives at the office, he encounters two women knitting black wool. This black wool could symbolize the women's grasp on colonization and the black natives that reside in conquered lands. These women seem to know everything about Marlow and are described by him as "guarding the door of darkness." This statement represents the admission these women present to Marlow. These women mark the beginning of Marlow's descent into the heart of darkness.

Kurtz's fiance (his "Intended") is another significant woman. It is suggested that she is the reason Kurtz initially traveled to the region. Marlow learns that their engagement wasn't approved of by her relatives, and it "was his impatience of comparative poverty that drove him out there "(164). Thus, the Congo was a land where Kurtz could prove himself financially. This suggests that women are often the driving force behind men's motives. Being in love with a woman can clearly inspire a man to prove himself, and indirectly, it was his Intended's view of Kurtz as unsuitable that led Kurtz on the path to his inner evil.

There is one woman who stands apart from the others: the native woman who emerges from the forest. She is described by Marlow as "savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent." The text leads the reader to believe that this is Kurtz's mistress. Regardless of her physical relationship with Kurtz, she is the opposite of his Intended. Whereas the Intended is at home, sitting safetly in her home, the native woman is there, with Kurtz, experiencing the darkness of the lush wilderness. While his Intended mourns his absence quietly, the native woman shouts and physically moves to ensure Kurtz's safety. This women represents temptation that is often associated with evil because of Eve's temptation to eat the apple in the Bible. Her primitive behavior is representative of Kurtz after his transformation, while the Intended represents suppression of inner evil.

"We live as we dream--alone" (Conrad 131).
Marlow expresses this feeling en route to Kurtz. Aside from learning the horrors of inner evil, Marlow learns the solitude that each person lives in because no one will ever feel the exact same way another does. Even before Marlow has a complete grasp on his inner evil, Kurtz dies, leaving Marlow stranded on the verge of his primitive instinct . This quote compresses life into the capacity of a dream. While dreaming, one is often taken into a world of absurdity that can be felt by the dreamer alone. Conrad frequently uses words that typically describe an intangible idea, such as a dream, to describe the wilderness that surrounds Marlow.

This quote also leads the reader to believe that we live in a hostile world where a solitary life is the only option. From this quote, we realize that Marlow views the world as a lonely and desolate place. The choices he makes throughout the novel reflect his need to express his feelings to others. He needs to find Kurtz to prove to himself that he is not alone in the world. The quote emphasizes the tests of strength that Marlow must go through to survive in an absurd world where he is isolated. The whole novel depicts his struggle with isolation, confinement, and absurdity.

In the end, the main characters end up living alone. Kurtz leaves his Intended to a life a solitude, while he himself dies alone. Marlow narrowly escapes the heart of darkness and does on to lead a life without anyone to understand his experience. The natives are left to fend for themselves in a world taken over by useless conquerors.

Hmmm....the first read-through of this novel was nothing short of painful. Three-page long paragraphs left me frustrated and my head jammed with descriptions and an overload of visual images. However, the second time I read through, I found myself enjoying Conrad's word choice and character development. I particularly enjoyed Conrad's vagueness in his personal views. Does he portray women in a positive or negative light? Is Conrad a racist or is he simply expressing the views around him? This unanswerable questions led to lively class discussion that allowed me to grasp a better understanding of the book as a whole. I would have enjoyed knowing a bit more about Marlow's life after this encounter with darkness, but I liked the frame format of this novel.

Mechanized Heart-Player Piano

"As Paul dropped up once more, he murmured an automatic reply. 'And i love you Anita'" (Vonnegut 258).
The excessive mechanism of Paul Proteus's life wedges its way past his job and into his personal life and emotions. The above quote represents the part of Paul's brain that previously felt love that has been taken over by computer programming and mechanized repetition. The verb "murmured" can typically be equated with a lack of emotion, or gibberish. Instead of a word like "whispered" that implies speaking softly, but with integrity, Vonnegut chose the word "murmured" to portray a lack of emotion. Paul may not even realize that he said "I love you." It has become simply what he is supposed to say. Just as someone may murmur a useful piece of information to themselves while taking a test, Paul murmurs his feelings of affection (or lack of affection) for Anita.
This quote is also indicative of how Paul does not love Anita, but rather the idea of her. Anita is reminiscent of a typical 1950s housewife who can find happiness buried within her household, and catering to the every need of her husband. I think that it is Anita's lack of education that allows her to be content taking care of Paul and representing his status in society by attending functions and driving reputable vehicles. Her lack of education has built a wall that separated her from her true beliefs and sense of self. Anita becomes representative of Paul's confinement to the world of engineering. Their relationship that becomes strained is representative of Paul's escape from the world that he pretended to love for so long. Although the word "you" in the above quote is italicised, it should not be because Paul is not in the love with Anita but rather the idea of her. Anita becomes the object of Paul's life in mechanized conformity.

Paul's car- "The engine wasn't working properly [...] His other cars, a new station wagon and a very expensive Sedan were at home [...] for Anita. Nor was it logical that a man with so special a car would be put off an put off having the broken left headlamp fixed" (23-24).
Paul's car is a symbol of close-mindedness and conformity. "The engine wasn't working properly" symbolizes Paul's initial inability to fulling embrace the "non-engineers" that live on the other side of the river. His job, Anita, his money, and his intelligence hold him back from seeing a different, artistic kind of intelligence that lives outside of his world. Paul's first taste of the other side of the river is when a man fixes Paul's car using a rubber band and paper clips. The ability to spontaneously fix a car represents the opposite of intelligence regarding conformity, like engineering in this world. The fact that Paul's two other cars are expensive and primarily for Anita show that ironically, the engineers are not nearly as interested in the human mind as they are in conformity. Meanwhile, Paul uses his old, decrepit car, which foreshadows his eventual escape from the conformity of his world.
The broken headlamp represents obstructed vision. Anita and Paul can only understand life on one side of the river. Paul's lack of interest in fixing the headlamp shows his ability to force comfort on himself in his mechanized lifestyle. Paradoxically, it is the left headlamp that is out. Left-brained people tend to be the logical mathematical thinkers. The fact that it is Paul's left headlamp is out is used as foreshadowing of Paul's eventual part in the revolution and the Ghost Shirts, and it is representative of the lack of deep analytical thinking that is needed in Paul's workplace. Deep thinking leads to a machine, that makes the work of humans obsolete.

I enjoyed the character development in this novel, but not the theme development. I particularly enjoyed the development of Anita. I think that Vonnegut perfectly combined feelings of humor, frustration, and pity to form Anita's character. I found myself feeling sorry for her, but at the same time I found myself pitying her lifestyle and her inability to accept people of different economic backgrounds. Paul became rather frustrating at times, as I found him to be rather inconsistent. His inability to decide what he really wanted for a good portion of the novel left me hoping for him, but at the same time I was impatient waiting for him to finally break free of his life of engineering. However I enjoyed Paul's questioning of his own motives, suspecting that he may be going through a period of personal uncertainty rather than a real revaluation of his social and professional environment. I loved Haycox. His bluntness contrasting very well with the conformity and hidden emotions that characterize Paul and Anita and others that work at the Ilium Works.
As far as theme is concerned, I enjoyed the Utopian theme but found that the theme became monotonous rather quickly. I found myself waiting for the revolution that did not happen until the last two or three chapters. A found that descriptions of technological devices overshadowed some crucial themes.