"[...] 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.
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.
2 comments:
When I wrote my analysis of a symbol or theme for this novel, I too did the coin bank. The quote you used as your title, "Keep your coins, I want change!" ties in nicely to the point that the narrator is trying to make. The narrator is so embarrassed of how his race acts with white society that it drives him into a rage. He ultimatly wants change but not the coin change that he receives from smashing the bank. This symbolizes what Mary was discussing with him when he first arrived. She believed that change needed to start with him.
Great job. I like the explanation of the pain in his shoulder.
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