Monday, July 14, 2008
Chapter 4: Feelin' the Heat
*How does the imagery on pages 98 and 99 belie the narrator's inner tension?*Why does the narrator hate Trublood and the people at the Golden Day?*What is the effect of comparing the campus building to "an old plantation manor house" on page 100?*How has Dr. Bledsoe achieved power in society?*Explain the mirror and aquarium metaphors on page 102.Hmm, the "only identity [he] had ever known" is tied inextricably to the school, and he "believed in the principles of the Founder with all [his] heart and soul." Sounds a bit like a cult, does it not? Although he desperately wants to stay, maybe it would be better for him to go...This is probably what scholars are talking about when they say that the narrator isn't speaking for Ellison- Ellison is much more savvy and less naive than this guy. I do feel sorry for him, though...Great mask metaphor describing Bledsoe's face on page 102- this idea of masking one's emotions will come up again.
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Dr. Bledsoe has achieved power in society by acting humble and meek in the face of white people, but in actuality he is manipulating them to get what he wants. He is basically doing what the narrator’s grandfather told his family to do. A difference though is that Bledsoe doesn’t just manipulate white people. Reading on one discovers that Bledsoe actually manipulates all people to get what he wants, including those of his own race.
The narrator hates Trublood and the people at the Golden Day because by meer consequence, they have veered off the direction that the day otherwise would have went. The narrator was the driver and it didn't matter what happened or how it happened, if it happened he was at fault. I also believe that he hates Trublood and the people at the Golden Day because our narrator sees his own person in them.
The narrator hates Trueblood, and the people at the Golden Day because they did not treat a white man properly. They did not show Mr. Norton respect like the narrator is use to seeing people do. Since Trueblood, and the people at the Golden Day acted this way, the narrator will probably get expelled from the college, which is another reason he hates then. The narrator at this point is blaming them for his miss fortunes when he is really the blame because drove Mr. Norton to these places. It makes me happy though that the narrator did this because Mr. Norton believes that black people are in his destiny, but he only personly witnessed the black lives at the college, which are really good. Now Mr. Norton actually realizes how most of the black people are living.
The narrator hates Trueblood and the people at the Golden day because he believes tat it is all their fault that he is in the situation he's in. If they had behaved themselves then the narrator would not have to face maybe getting expelled.
Here is the rest of my comment, I had to go somewhere in the middle of writing it so I posted part of it.
Comparing the campus building to "an old plantation manor house" has the effect of the reader looking at it as a house that owns slaves. After reading it I felt as though the students were "slaves" for Dr. Bledsoe, they have to do things his way and he does not care about what happens to them. The narrator constantly says how much he loves the school and that is why he hates Trublood and the people at the Golden Day even more. He wants to stay where he is. The only place where he has ever felt noticed or wanted. It ties back into the invisibility thing, because at this point he considers himself visible, but only at the school. He feels as though Dr. Bledsoe will do what is best for him so he decides that it must be better for him to go if that is what Dr. Bledsoe says. You see very clearly here that the narrator is very naive and does not understand that because Dr. Bledsoe is in a power situation he will do what he needs to do in order to stay in power.
Bledsoe has gotten his power in society not by being powerful and being who he is, but by putting himself in the good graces of the white man. The narrator hates the people at the golden day and Jim Trueblood because if it wasn't for stopping at Trueblood's home Mr. Norton wouldn't have gotten ill and needed whisky. The said whisky being found at the golden day where he became ill again. With Mr. Norton under his charge, the narrator could not afford anything to happen to Mr. Norton, but it did.
the narrator hates trueblood and the vets at the goldent day because they are the opposite of what he wants to be. unruly and expressing their beliefs, they are not seen as civilized by anybody else. the golden day seems to be a foil of the college campus. the vets at the golden day were expressing their feelings and were free to do as they wished. at the college, everything is calm, but they wear masks to hide themselves, as shown through bledsoe when he changes his face to hide his anger before meeting with norton.
The author seems to have an extremely deep hatred for Trueblood because of his strong disrespect for the white man, which in the mind of the narrator is an unthinkable action. Trueblood seems to almost be following the advice that the narrator's grandfather had given him although this is obviously impossible. Thus an internal conflict may be beginning in the narrator's mind when in contact with those at the Golden Day or Trueblood, which can certainly lead to hatred.
Dr.Bledsoe has achieved power in sonciety by giving the white people what they want to hear. He acts like maybe he is mellow and down to earth to go with the flow, but in reality he is just tricking the whites into thinking that. In the end he tricks them and gets what he wants not only with whites but with blacks.
The narrator hates Trueblood and the people at the Golden Day because the narrator feels that it is their fault that his day with Mr. Norton is not going as planned. The narrator thinks that they angered Mr. Norton, and now the narrator will be blamed for their actions.
Dr. Bledsoe achieved his power in society by acting differently than most other African Americans do towards the white society. Dr. Bledsoe isn't "invisible" to most whites, he will actually say what he wants done and doesn't always listen to the white peoples commands.
I think one of the reasons the narrator dislikes Trublood and the people at the Golden Day is because they give african americans a bad name. It's like the trashier people of the race and I think the narrator is embarassed by that. He doesn't want Mr. Norton to think he participates in the same kind of things as the people they encountered that day. Trublood also mistreats white people and he doesn't want Mr. Norton to be offended or mistreated by him. The narrator really respects Mr. Norton and doesn't see why other people weren't showing him the same respect.
Comparing the campus building to "an old plantation manor house" shows how the building is being perceived by the narrator. Back when slavery was legal, it was the norm to have slaves work in crop fields, with their master living comfortably in a plantation manor house. Often slaves were treated horribly, and their master, and often reprimander, would be widely feared. Comparing the college to a plantation manor house would give an effect of fear.
Trueblood and the people at the Golden Day are the ones who ruined the narrator's chances of being on excellent terms with Mr. Norton, also hoping that he would get a reward. Also, since he blames Mr. Norton's casualties on them, he hates them because if anything happens to Mr. Norton, the narrator knows he'll be blamed. Then comparing the campus to an old plantation is significant because it's a black school, so it's like the black students are compared to slaves, and they are still segregated from white schools (shows lasting racism).
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