Invisible Man Entry #2

            Welcome back to your favorite activity of the week!  Since I accidentally included chapter three’s exciting details in my last entry, I’m going to pick up in chapter four this time.  So this Bledsoe guy seems to be a little sketchy and fairly unforgiving as he quickly judges our mysterious narrator.  After the excitement from the first three chapters, our beloved narrator brings Mr. Norton back to his room, only to be met with hostility from this Bledsoe guy.  Bledsoe chastises the narrator for bending to the wishes of Mr. Norton and taking him to the slave living areas by saying they “take these white folks where we want them to go, show them what we want them to see” (102).  The narrator claims Bledsoe has been kind to him in the past, but it seems interesting that he would advocate for only showing the prominent white folks certain aspects of the black peoples’ lives, as if trying to keep up the preconceived stereotype many  white folks of the day most likely bought into. Why do you think Bledsoe was so adamant in his point of only letting the white folk, namely Mr. Norton, see certain aspects of the slave life?  Chapter five is very insightful into the desires of the narrator’s heart.  While hearing the chapel speaker, Reverend Barbee, a chord is struck in the narrator’s heart about the founder of the college and his story of overcoming violent beginnings, escaping slavery, learning to read and write and ultimately founding this institution.  Do you think the narrator thinks of himself as a slave, even though he has a job?  Chapter six is pretty strange as well.  Bledsoe is still angry with the narrator for taking Norton to the slave region, and admonishes him that he should have been able to lie his way out of following Mr. Norton’s orders. Bledsoe threatens to punish the narrator, but ends up sending him to New York for a summer to earn his way back to school.  The narrator still seems to be passive and meek in the eyes of authority, which he remembers his grandfather warned against on his deathbed.  Can’t wait to hear your responses!           

Invisible Man 1

This book is definitely going to be an interesting read.  So much happened in the first three chapters I barely know where to begin.  In chapter one, the narrator talks a lot about his grandparents and the change they experienced after slavery of taking the mindset of being separate but equal.  It seems that the narrator attempted to emulate his grandfather’s mannerisms, being passive and meek in his community, namely with the white folks.  The narrator evidently thinks he is doing the will of his family, but is shocked when he hears his grandfather speaking harshly to his father about being too compliant to the whites and bending under the pressure to remain different.  The grandfather called on the narrator’s father to undermine the agenda of the white folks and “agree ‘em to death and destruction”.  This phrase could be referring to the Biblical death and destruction stemming from sins committed. Perhaps the grandfather is warning his family to not sink to the level of the whites and commit the same sins and let those who believe themselves to be so righteous to fall from their own sins.  The narrator also relates of his strange acceptance to college.  The fight scene didn’t make much sense to me.  I don’t understand why this would be allowed to happen if these black boys were technically free.  However, the narrator’s life seems to change when he receives the bag with his acceptance letter in it, almost like a new life was beginning for him. 

            The narrator’s tale about his job of driving Mr. Norton around.  The narrator seems to regret taking this prestigious man to such dark places as the Trueblood house, as he is despised by the community.  Norton seems to go into a sort of trance as he listens to the weird life story of this Jim Trueblood guy and offers him money.  The narrator becomes concerned for Norton and attempts to take him to a bar to revive him with a drink.  This Norton guy seems to be pretty touchy and wimpy.  Why do you think this wealthy, prestigious man is so sensitive and willing to help Trueblood? And why do you the narrator admires Norton so much?

"Death of a Salesman" Deconstructionist View

Many views of "Death of a Salesman" center around the decline of Willy through his job. Readers obtain glimpses of the beginnings of his decline in Willy's flashbacks and dreams. Often, in terms of relationships, that of father and son between Willy and Biff is examined for the tough love exhibited. However, how would this play change if the relationship between Happy and Willy is examined? In deconstructing this aspect of the play, readers may gain greater insight into why Happy seems to be more content with his life than his brother.

With much of the attention being focused on the star child Biff and his prospects after high school, Happy often gets swept under the rug and ignored. Although there is only a two year age difference between the boys, pressure is put in Biff by Willy to make something of himself while Willy hardly acknowledges the presence of Happy. Even in Willy's dreams and flashbacks Happy is no more than a supporting character, barely recognized as a son. Happy seeks some form of attention and keeps submitting "I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop?" (18). Every time Happy mentions something about himself, Willy turns right back to his assumed favorite son.

Happy seems to live up to his name even in the face of being cast aside. Never once does Happy comment harshly against his father and constantly is seeking to reconcile Biff and Willy in their strained relationship. Happy loves his father and looks up to him in his younger years, in Willy's dreams, and wants to protect him when the decline begins. Happy seems solely concerned with the well-being of his father, even if he is given no conscious attention. Biff acknowledges towards the end of he okay that his father had fed his ego in his childhood, which contributed to his later restlessness and inability to find contentment. Happy, however, has had to build himself up without the affirmation from his father, this lending him a greater sense of self worth, even if he is still searching for ultimate happiness.

From reading other posts and questions, I found it interesting that even within one family the American Dream can have many interpretations. Happy and Biff seem to think that a person attempting to achieve the American Dream works hard with little profit, even if it is what hey have always wished for. Willy on the other hand seems to think that the American Dream is the only means for satisfaction and that material objects will bring ultimate joy. Willy views the American Dream as being a goal for him to constantly be working towards, while his sons seem to think they have lived the Dream over and over again, achieved what they wanted, yet still feel empty and lonely.

Willy: "Did he apologize when I left this morning?" (6)

~Why would Willy be wondering about whether Biff had apologized when he was the one who lost his temper?

To Be Rewrite

To ride or not to ride - that is the question.
Whether it is worth it to tack up
and endure the pain
or to crawl under blankets and skip practice
to be lazy, to slack - no more
and by taking a rest day to say I deserve
a break and take it easy for a day
an off day would be nice.
To wallow and laze - oh, to laze - perhaps
lose some time.  Ah, but here is the problem.
For if I don't ride, we will have lost a whole day.
I will have gained pounds and not progress
so I must choose -- I have no choice
but to throw on the tack and heave myself up.
Who else would deal with the load,
the pressure, the expectation to perform,
the dry arena, the jolt of adrenaline at the gunshot,
the shock of moving muscle -
when I could be curled up on the couch not racing?
Who could deal with self-competition, to shoulder the pressure, to take time to properly prepare -
but the fear of failure, which could come at any
turn, urges me to get up anyway and ride.

Antigone Reflection

This whole process and project was fun and entertaining to watch.  Most of my knowledge of the justice system comes from the few episodes of law-based TV shows I have watched, so watching and listening to people my age discuss Antigone as if we really were in a court room was exciting.  When we first received the project, most people in the class seemed pretty confused, as there were no definite rules or clear argument set.  Once the directors and other characters in charge began to make decisions, we were finally able to start the process and work towards a solution.  This project really magnified who the leaders in the class are, as these people were the ones making definite decisions and helping make the court system run smoothly.  I also liked the freedom within this project to pick a part that I was comfortable with.  I am not a fan of acting or speaking in front of people formally, so doing the written work for a character was perfect for me.  Perhaps for future classes doing this project, it may be beneficial to start with a purpose behind the trial and make that known before each individual character begins to prepare, and to also state the purpose of the trial clearly to the jury at the beginning of the trial.  Obviously, this play was rigged so Antigone would be charged innocent, but I feel that both sides of the issue did a fantastic job of arguing their cases and appealing to the jury and judges.  Once the initial kinks were worked out in the dress rehearsal, the process seemed to go pretty smoothly on performance day.  One thing I really appreciate about this class is that although we can fight and argue in an academic setting, we still support one another and help each other to improve for next time.