IM seminar

The Invisible Man seminars are hands down the best assignments we’ve done all year. I really enjoy listening to how others perceived the novel and discussing it. Granted, some of the class mates’ opinions will obviously differ. However, listening to how others interpreted the novel allows me to get a better understanding of the book. Having said that, I want to talk about the section of the novel my group was responsible for leading the class in. I want to talk about Dr. Norton first. As we discussed in the seminar, Dr. Norton is really not a character, but a representation of the historical ideology of the White Man’s Burden. This term refers to the mindset of the affluent white men who believed that they had a “burden” to help the inferior race, the blacks. This kind of ideology is also rooted in the Manifest Destiny ideology that defined America during the 19^th century. Yes it’s true that Dr. Norton donates money to the all black institute which the narrator attends. But, what’s Norton’s true motives for donating the money? Is he really a nice guy that just wants to help some random people out? The answer is a resounding no. He is not genuinely concerned for the well being of others. He helps others out to help himself. The feeling of importance Norton feels when he donates money to the institution is the impetus behind Norton’s desire to help the school out. Oblivious to this fact, the naïve narrator blindly follows and basically worships Norton. To the narrator, Norton represents the Great White Father figure. Norton is not considered a man by the narrator, instead he is considered as a almost God like figure. Thus, the narrator tries his best to impress and look good in front of Norton. However, all of his intentions go down the drain when the narrator accidentally takes him to the bad places of the campus. At the Golden Day tavern, the veteran appears. I personally think that the veteran is one of the most significant characters in the novel. He is the only person in the novel that can see through the façade of Norton. He tells the narrator he is blind because he doesn’t see the real reason why Norton is helping him out. And he continues by saying that it is this ignorance and blindness which will be the narrator’s main tool to advancing in society. This refers to Booker T Washington’s philosophy of accomadationalism. In essence, Washington’s philosophy preaches blindness. As long as there is an equality in economics, social equality should be forsaken. And the blindness the veteran talks about is clearly evident in Washington. He thought that one would follow the other. But, this was clearly not the case. In this sense, the novel can be seen as a social commentary because Ellison was really against Washington’s philosophies. Well our last seminar is tomorrow and I’m excited to attend!