Ok, so Invisible Man is......weird. The novel itself is quite
interesting, however, the dialogue makes the comprehension of some parts of the
novel almost unbearable. When I first started reading this, I expected the book
to be similar to the Warmth of Other Suns; a nicely written novel that
evoked emotions of empathy towards the main character of the novel due to the
unfortunate time period he was born into. The novel has similar themes, and the
actual story itself makes one feel empathy for the characters in this novel
after seeing the situations they've been forced into (the fight scene in
chapter one reminded me on the Mandingo fighting from Django Unchained.....just
the thought of it was making my skin itch. SO VIOLENT), however, the set up of
the novel is, well, driving me crazy. A main problem with this book is the
rambling stories the characters seem to engage in; similar to A Catcher in
the Rye, the characters, in my opinion, go off into rants that actually
take away from the meaning of what they're saying. It's ridiculous. I find
myself actually becoming interested in the stories, yet, after around a page or
so of reading I'm confused to the point where my head actually starts hurting
(someone save me). For instance, Jim Trueblood’s long (and at times off topic)
explanation of his life story/ current situation started off really interesting;
when he tells Mr. Norton that "it was cold so all of us had to sleep
together; me, the ole lady, and the gal" (page 53) I was suddenly hooked!
The story seemed as if it was going to be scandalous or none the less leave
some sort of an emotional impact, which it did in a way, however, when he
starts mentioning waking up from dreams and his daughter reaching for him as if
she is comforted by him in a fathering way after he previously stating that she
"wants to tease and please a man" (page 56), I couldn't help but find
myself suddenly lost and full of questions. Was his situation actually a dream?
Why would his wife attempt to shoot him with a gun if the vivid situation he
was describing was actually a figment of his imagination? Is Jim Trueblood a
child molester or no? So many questions, so little answers!! At times, I've
began to wonder if the ramble like dialogue was something that was done on
purpose; Ralph Ellison more than likely knew what he was doing when he created
pages filled with the dialogue of one person, right? Maybe Jim Trueblood's rant
was something needed to help highlight just how "invisible" the main
character truly is? Mr. Norton does "wave his hand in annoyance"
(page 61) when the narrator attempts to even interrupt the very
"visible" Jim Trueblood while he’s speaking....was that just by
coincidence? Or is there a deeper meaning? Who knows. As the novel continues, I’m
excited to see just how the narrator being invisible affects him in life, while
at the same time hopefully discovering some sort of secret message in all of
the ramble-esuqe rants these characters just love. Ya feel me?
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