Okay, these chapters tend to be a bit confusing. There is a goldmine of symbolic meaning, so if you try to read into pretty close to everything, you're doing your job well here. Try not to get too focused on plot here- symbolism is the name of the game. Think of these questions as you read:
*Explain the extended metaphor of Liberty Paints.
*How are Lucius Brockway and Dr. Bledsoe similar?
*What literary devices contribute to the sense of disorientation on pages 231 & 232?
*What is the rhetorical purpose of the conversation thaat the narrator overhears on pages 236 and 237?
*How is the narrator different after he leaves the hospital?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Edith Wharton
John Steinbeck
Mark Twain
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ralph Ellison
Alice Walker
7 comments:
The narrator is different after he leaves the hospital because he no longer is afraid of men like Dr. Bledsoe or the trustees. He has realized that he is no longer tied to the college or Bledsoe and this gives him a sense of liberation. This is a big turning point in the novel for the narrator. He is no longer blindly devoted to the college or its ideals. He is officially on his own and starting fresh.
The narrator gets a job that was requested by Mr. Emerson (the son) at a Liberty Paints plant. The "optic white" paint that is created in this plant is a very important metaphor. The process that goes into making the paint includes mixing a black substance called dope into the white paint. This symbolizes the mixture of the black and white races in society. Although black is mixed into it, white is still dominate. Mr. Brockway makes a statment that you could paint a piece of coal with the paint and you would have to crack it open to prove its not white all the way through. The optic white paint (white people in society) has the ability to cover up the blackness of the coal (the blacks in society). Even the sign in front of the plant keeps true to the idea, "KEEP AMERICA PURE WITH LIBERTY PAINTS". Black men and women are forced to adapt to the white race in order to be accepted.
Lucius Brockway and Bledsoe are similar in the way that they both know how to get what they want. They are both afraid of losing their jobs to white people. Both are paranoid and look upon the crowd, as opposed to the individual. They do not truly care about anyone but themselves, and will dispose of anyone who gets in the way of their priorities. Our narrator defends himself to Brockway, while he never had the courage to stand up to Bledsoe. Another important item is that the narrator is accused of something false by Brockway and Bledsoe (connecting with the courage issue).
After the narrator leaves the hospital he doesn't really care about his priorities anymore. He has no fear or determination. The things that mattered alot to him are blending into the background of Harlem. He cares about how he will live, not how he is going to return to school in the fall.
Brockway and Blodsoe? I agree with Nikki-They are both really paranoid. Bigtime. Brockway of the union, and Blodsoe of losing his white support. It forces them both into a corner, where the only way out is to punish anyone who stands in their way. Both are hypocrites to be honest. The values that Blodsoe supposedly stands for, he abandons in seconds when his funding is threatened. And Brockway undermines the company he works for, criticizing anyone who looks as if they are to take his job. Yep.
The narrator loses a lot of his fears after leaving the hospital. Dr. Bledsoe is no longer a concern to him and he isn't he feels free for perhaps the first time since his birth. The narrator may just be gaining control of his own life. However, the prologue makes me sure that more is to come.
Both Brockway and Bledsoe yell at the narrator for something he didn't even do. The narrator stands up for himself with Brockway, however. He just let Dr. Bledsoe kick him out of the school without an argument. The narrator insists on staying and working in the basement, even after brief fight with Brockway. However, something happens with one of the guages and the narrator ends up in a hospital. Upon leaving the hospital, the narrator has courage.
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