Some of our recent Invisible Man readings have included descriptions of a few interesting symbols Ellison uses to represent black stereotypes and how they affect the narrator. The first one that came to mind was the image of the “Jolly N Coin Bank” in chapter 15. This bank represents the stereotypical views of how humiliating it is that a slave must try desperately to be rewarded by their master with a trivial reward. The prison chain given to the narrator by Brother Tarp can also be seen as a symbol of racism, since it was the chain that held Brother Tarp back from being free. Even though Tarp is no longer a slave in the south, his limp is a constant reminder of his past. The Sambo doll is another racist symbol in the book based off of the Sambo slave, who acts lazy according to white stereotypes. The fact that this doll is a puppet controlled by strings also conveys the idea that white people can control and manipulate all the actions made by a black person. In the book, when Clifton gives his spiel he says “he lives upon the sunshine of your lordly smile,” (432) which is another indication of how the doll is meant to illustrate the power white people have over black people.
What is particularly interesting about these symbols is how the narrator continues to carry them with him. In the case of the bank, the narrator leaves Mary’s home with the shattered bank in his briefcase. He keeps trying to get rid of the bank, but he fails each time. Even to where we are now in the book, the narrator carries both Tarp’s chain and the Sambo doll in his pocket. These symbols all illustrate how black stereotypes weigh the narrator down and hold him back from ridding society of these attitudes. These are the first ones I thought of, although I’m sure there are many more throughout the book.
I agree with you. These symbols of oppression have followed the narrator from the beginning of the novel. But while he didn't really understand the briefcase or Bledsoe's leg shackle at the beginning, he seems to comprehend more the significance of Tarp's chain and Clifton's dancing dolls. I think it's representative of the narrator's growing awareness of how other people, especially white people, view him.
ReplyDeleteThe Briefcase plot was one of the most intriguing parts of this book for me. When the narrator is first handed the briefcase we see him wiping his blood off of it. From this point on the brief case becomes full of things that hold the narrator back. We see the Bledsoe papers that in many ways ended the first part of the narrators life. And by the end of the book this briefcase is full of all sorts of different identities and moments in the narrators life. Which makes it all the more satisfying when we see the narrator pouring out the brief case and burning it for light so he can see.
ReplyDelete