Ralph Ellison "Invisible Man" Page 2298

In this story of the invisible man the character takes great pride in what he has accomplished in falling off the grid. He has managed to secure an abode without a specific address but has also successfully managed to draw utilities from what he perceives to be a white establishment. He is so pleased with his pirating of energy that he makes every attempt to increase his consumption by putting a ridiculous amount of light bulbs in an otherwise dark and dreary cave. Additionally the character has fallen from society’s grid. He seems to have no known associates and no occupation. Truly he has become an insignificant member of the social structure so far as perpetual contribution is concerned.

The invisible man identifies himself as the vehicle of his grandfathers legacy. In his dying hours his grandfather expressed deep regret for having conformed to the demands of the white society. The invisible man viewed any success or praise from the society as evidence that he too was falling victim of the system as his grandfather had done so many years before. When he graduated from high school and went through such dehumanizing events as being forced to fight those with whom he had no quarrel, and being tantalized by a white goddess he could never have under the societal norm, he farther realized the wisdom of his dying grandfather. The honor of giving the speech and receiving the offer of scholarship at a black university were the praises of the establishment. The juxtaposition of the honor of the speech coupled with his beaten and bloodied condition furthered the budding of invisibility that was growing within him. The realization of the mockery that was made of his accomplishments resonated in him like the countless “atta-boy’s” that his grandfather must have received from days of hard work in his backbreaking background as a slave. As my own father has told me a thousand times, “Morgan, It don’t matter if you collect 10,000 atta-boys, it only takes one awe shit to get you in trouble.” No matter how significant the achievements the invisible man realized, he would never be on equal standing with the establishment. He decided to cease playing the game. By falling off of the grid he did sacrifice the ability to gain approval of those in control, but he also allowed himself the freedom to exist without their scrutiny. His invisibility could have been referred to as insignificance by the power company.

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden page 2264

This poem about Winter Sundays seems not be about winter Sundays at all. It serves as one of many small examples of the selflessness of the speakers father that were realized through the crystal clear images provided by the lens of hindsight. In the first line Hayden chose the word “too” which carries tremendous meaning. The implication of course is that the speakers father woke early every day of the week, and Sunday which would be a day of rest, was no exception.
As the father woke early and made “banked fires blaze,” he did so with “cracked hands that ached.” Here the poet is showing us the type of man that his father is. He is implying a strong work ethic and lasting endurance in providing for his family through hard manual labor. I believe that when the poet referred to banked fires which were made to blaze that there is also the implication that the coals that were banked were the remnants of his father’s labor the night before when stoking the fire.
Hayden ends the first stanza with the line “No one ever thanked him.” I believe that this was to serve a couple of different purposes. The first and presumably more obvious reason was to illustrate the speaker's remorse for the ingratitude that he as a child had shown. Also for that of the rest of his family. Truly they took for granted the warmth that was provided without acknowledgement. The second purpose I believe the author intended in presenting the omitted thanks, was to show that it was not necessary. This was part of the explanation of his father. He didn’t work hard every day so that he could be praised for his efforts, he did so out of a sense of duty to his family. We can see by the willingness of the speakers father to endure the cold while forgoing the most restful hour of the night that he was truly a selfless man. He abstained from those small luxuries to afford them to those he loved.
When the speaker awoke it was not to the call of his father. It was to the sound of the crackling wood as the cold splinters succumbed to the persistent flames. Then as the speaker laid in the warm bed he waited to hear his father’s call. When his father called it was to give the “all clear” to the household to let them know that the cold demons of the night had been exercised. Then it was safe for his family to rise. The young Hayden would then rise slowly. This too I feel is an important piece of information. Later in the poem we are told that his father had not only prepared the warm home for him, but also that he had taken the time to polish the boys shoes. In doing this the father has also afforded the boy the luxury of rising slowly to prepare for church. The tedious chore of shoe polishing which presumably would be necessary to look his Sunday best was already taken care of.
In the final stanza the author reiterates the ingratitude toward his father as he mentions the indifferent way he spoke to him. Then twice he asks “what did I know.” I believe that the first was to address the lack of gratitude that was shown, along with the associated remorse. The second time the author asks the question I believe served the purpose of addressing the character of his father and the role he played in the family. “Love’s austere and lonely office” was held by the father. Love and compassion for his family was shown through a strict routine which seemed to be completely void of selfish pleasure. The speaker referred to the role of the father as an office to indicate the sense of duty felt by the father and entitlement by the family, a realization appreciated through the perspective of hindsight.

I have hit the mother load. I was going through an old chest that my grandfather bought several decades ago and I found a very curious piece of literature. I read through it several times and I believe that it may be a lost piece of work from Mark Twain.

It bears many of the ear marks of some of his stories. The speaking in the story is very similar to the way that Twain writes in that it seems to have a southern flavor. The story is also very full of dry whit and humor which is indicative of Mark Twain as well.

I intend on presenting the story in its entirety. Once I have presented the story I will of course be burdened with the near impossible chore of drawing the parallels between this new found literature and some of Mark Twain's previous work. I will attempt to show similar progression of ideas, similar character development, as well as similar characters in general. Any more description of my idea would ruin the surprise and would likely be just fluff.

Pi-Ku I wrote on Pi day

Pi- holla
Yum
Tasty and round
Plus
A la moded up
It’s creamy and smoother going down.

While Cakes,
Though fluffy and good,
Will do in a bind,
Pi alone,
Is truthful to form
Pleasant, round, and scrumptious each time.

(Please note that the syllables per line follow the first numbers in pi and as with pi this poem is irrational and cannot ever be completed.)

Ezra Pound's "A Retrospect" p. 1506

Ezra Pound is the absolute authority and expert on how poetry should be written. Just ask him. The tone of “A Retrospect” is very preachy and arrogant. I believe that the author realized this as he wrote it because he felt it necessary to ask for the reader’s pardon right up front. He did recognize though that not everyone who reads this would necessarily agree that he was qualified to make the claims that he did so he felt the need to drop the name of another person, Richard Aldington, to lend credibility to his case or perhaps to deflect a portion of the blame in the event that this work did not enjoy the reception he was hoping for.

Moving into the 3 commandments which he postulated would enrich the world of poetry I find myself torn. The first one, to treat the “Thing” directly, is what I both like and dislike about reading this stuff. On one hand, there is great value in just coming out and saying what you mean rather than dancing around it, but on the other, I believe that if all poets just said what they meant and wrote literally at all times that poetry would be very boring to read, not to mention that classes on literature would become very dull and potentially obsolete.

The third commandment, preceding the second for reasons later explained, of metonymical abstinence farther reduces the appeal of poetry to me. While I am not a huge fan of the art of poetry, one of the things I have learned to appreciate about it most is that it provides many levels for the consumer to enjoy. Students get to enjoy the dual meanings of the ideas presented. Scholars and Philosophers get to massage deeper meaning from the words still. On a very basic level, one enjoyed by anyone with language, the cadence and rhyme of poetry can be enjoyed.

The second commandment I saved for last because it is the one that cannot stand on its own. The minimal use of words seems ridiculous for tradesmen who use words as tools. I certainly would not prefer a contractor to build my home with that attitude. The author says that words should not be used unless they contribute to the presentation but he fails to recognize rhyme and meter as valid contributions. Poetry has from its inception been a form of art. While art does not have to be beautiful it should invoke some emotion. If all poets adhered to the commandments of Ezra Pound then the only emotions people would pull from consuming poetry would be boredom and longing for something beyond boredom.

Frost's "Neither Out Far Nor in Deep," p.1406

On first reading I thought that this was a fun little grass is greener on the other side type of poem, but upon closer examination, I determined that while that may be true on one level, it is just a few moments contemplation away from being a captivating 450 word blog post.

Robert Frost begins by painting a picture of the inherent curiosity of people as they turn to pay attention to the sea. I don’t believe that it was by accident or necessity of rhyme that he is speaking about “people along the sand.” The ones along the sand are those who notice the sea most prominently, thus they are the ones tormented by it. It also should be noted that I read the land as being what we have or may have and the sea being what we may not. As people “turn their backs on the land,” they are ceasing to appreciate the things that they do have or can obtain. Then as they “look at the sea all day,” they covet the wives of their neighbors.

I suspect that when Frost mentions the ship continuously raising its hull as it passes by he is talking about the flaunting of what the people on the beach desire, as well as the duration of their obsession. Perhaps this is even a reference to envy that people feel as they see the ship indulging itself on the glass-like wetter ground that they lack the buoyancy to enjoy. I have to admit that I fail to see the symbolism of the standing gull being reflected in the water. Maybe the purpose for including this line is to show that the reflection of the gull standing on the pier gives the illusion that the water is in fact just wetter ground and not impossible for the people to inhabit.

Regardless of whether or not the people have more options and opportunities on “land” then they do at “sea” the temptations (waves) of the things that people may not have persist indefinitely and in response they will always lust for those things.

The final section of the poem addresses the mystery of the desire. “They cannot look out far” and “cannot look in deep” to learn more about their dream. The mystery of the ocean is largely responsible for the appeal it possesses. An adventure with a known end is not and cannot be as exciting. The last two lines of the poem further confirm my suspicion that the poet is describing a yearning for what cannot be obtained. The sea is just one example of the flirtatious unknown. Those people who are not on the shore are finding their own objects of affection to channel their desires.

Booker T. Washington's "Up From Slavery" p.665

Booker had a very different way of seeing the world then any other I have heard of from his time. When others resented the white people for their sins against the slaves, he recognized the troubles that slavery had caused the white people. He states that "not one, so far as I know, ever mastered a single trade or special line of productive industry." He actually feels that the very fact that his race had been forced to perform manual labor in the service of the white people had given them an advantage.

Despite the advantage that he felt his people had in that they were skilled laborers and craftsmen, the author coveted the whites ability to read and write. "I determined, when quite a small child, that, if I accomplished nothing else in life, I would in some way get enough education to enable me to read common books and newspapers." This today is something that we all take for granted in that we are all expected to be able to do such things long before adulthood. In the time shortly after slavery such an achievement must have seemed to be nearly unattainable for the author to say that he has no greater goal.

Unfortunately as we progress through the Text for this course I am finding more and more that it is just a tease of many works rather than a complete set. "Up from Slavery" skips several chapters and drops the reader of this book right into the Address at the Atlanta Exposition. This was truly an inspired speech. I hesitate to break it down and analyze it because it was so well written to begin with. I enjoyed his call to his race to "Cast down" their buckets. This was a message to establish themselves and to root themselves in the culture which they were already a part of. It was also a call to the white people in the South to fill the buckets of the former slaves with fresh water when their buckets were cast down. It seems as if the author believed that there was a mutual respect between the people of the South of both races. He believed that the white people had grown to love the Black due to the mutual dependence on each other and that they needed to continue to depend on each other and work together in their new capacity as free people of two separate races.

Dunbar's "We wear the Mask" p. 1043

I wanted to write about "We Wear the Mask" because it is short and it rhymes. I also enjoyed this poem because it reflects one of my own little rules of life albeit from a completely different perspective. Dunbar, having been born into so new an idea as freedom for African Americans, must have been one of the first to enjoy the ability of expression through written language.

I love the reference to supressed emotion as a mask worn by African Americans in that time. I believe that this small poem may well have lent inspiration to Amy Cunningham for her short essay "Why Women Smile." Both Dunbar and Cunningham feel like they are wearing the masks to keep their emotions secret but for different reasons. Cunningham seemed to feel that she had to maintain a positive outward appearance out of a sexist stereotype that had to be supported, while Dunbar protected his "Tears and Sighs" out of pride.

I too think about the artificial smiles and causual niceties that many people practice but my take on the issue is completely different. I see a friendly smile as the most selfless offering any one person can bestow on another. How often do we pass and exchange casual words such as "How's it going?" A simple smile can often alleviate the need for that exchange. When someone asks how someone else is doing they often could not care less about the well being. That is why I find it incredibly rude to be honest in these types of situations. The odds are that I have my own issues and that your bad day is the least of my concerns. That is why I wear the mask! I smile because I realize that my concerns are mine alone to bear. I didn't sleep well last night. I have been fighting a cold for a few days now. I am very stressed out with my school work right now. My migranes are coming more and more frequently but I don't have health insurance. Of course these are all legitimate complaints that I don't volunteer when asked. The fact of the matter is that my meager complaints do not hold a candle to the terminal brain cancer my friend's husband has. I doubt that when she asks about how I am doing she is that concerned that much with my fatigue.

That is why I wear the MASK!

Mark Twain's "Letters From The Earth," p. 307

I have enjoyed the stories by Mark Twain since I was very young. First having them read to me and later enjoying them on my own accord. His dizzying intellect and quick wittiness always manage to keep a light hearted feel in his writing. I recently discovered that there is also a wealth of wisdom available in quotes he wrote. "Letters From The Earth" delivered the same quick wit and sarcasm that any who have read his work before have come to expect, but it did so in a much more abrasive fashion.
In the opening the speaker is a narrator who is casually observing God and the archangels as they attempt to entertain themselves. The tone in the opening seems to me to be matter of fact and indifferent. God says to his angels, "I have a thought. Behold!" Although this occurs early in this work I believe it may be the most significant indicator of the overall message that Mr. Twain was trying to convey. Following the thought the creator mentioned he created the universe. Not because he had always wanted to do so or because he loved mankind or any other reason other than it was a passing thought.
In the next section, "Satan's Letter" the speaker changes from a casual narrator to the voice of Satan. I particularly enjoyed this idea. Having been indoctrinated constantly though out my childhood and since, I thought it was refreshing to hear the other side of the story. Mark Twain paints Satan as the smart ass who was just misunderstood. In Satan's correspondence he explains about man, "He believes the Creator loves him; has passion for him; sits up nights to admire him..." I am sure that this strikes a very dissonant cord for many religious people but I thought it was hilarious. The author is pointing out that the very act of showing humility and worshiping God is evidence of the narcissism of mankind. Every time a person whispers a prayer to god they do so under the assumption that he cares about what they have to say and that the creation of the universe was more than just a passing thought or experiment.
The tone of the Letters seemed to become more and more sarcastic. By letter VII the author favors us with a hymn sang by the microbes inhabiting the impacted colons of the men and women onboard Noah’s ark.

Constipation, O Constipation,
The Joyful sound proclaim
Till man’s remotest entrail
Shall praise it’s Maker’s name

It seems like the author is really upset when he wrote these letters. They seem to be coming from a position of frustration that could only be felt by a person who felt abandoned by their Creator. Of course there is always the possibility that this is just Mark Twain goofing around and ruffling feathers.

Whitman's "Song of Myself" p. 30 & a bit about "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" p. 21

Whitman begins by calling the reader's attention to himself, as if to say "Hey I'm so glad you're here, there is someone I would love for you to meet!" As he works his way through the introduction selling the reader on his physical existence he makes a concerted effort to bring focus on his living breath. "The smoke of my own breath, Echoes, ripples, buzz'd whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine..." Through the 3rd chant Whitman introduces us to the duality of his existence. At this point it seems as if the voice of the poem is Whitman's soul. I believe that I even detected some sexual undertones as Whitman welcomes "every organ and attribute of me..."

I did a bit of research on Whitman and unfortunately it didn't seem to help me understand him any better. I know that he is well regarded as on of the great poets in American history but as far as I can tell he seems to be just one of those people who likes the sound of his own voice. The type that shares far too many personal stories. The type that could talk your ear off for hours and never catch your name.

In Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry I enjoyed his writing a bit more. I though that though it became extremely redundant that it served his purpose of conveying his feeling of over-stimulation. He seemed to want to catch the detail of everything around.

My First Poem Since High School

I havn't written a poem since 1998.

This

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