Denver Explained

Although Chapters 20-23 were arguably the most confusing section of the novel (so far), we did get new insight into Denver, who turns out to be more complex than I initially thought.

Denver's unhealthy devotion to Beloved is not a manifestation of her loneliness. Rather it turns out that Denver is desperately trying to protect Beloved from Sethe, whom she believes is insane. It's also revealed that Howard and Buglar was not run out of the house by Beloved's ghost but ran away to escape Sethe's "wrath." Denver herself is so traumatized after finding out the truth that she loses her hearing for several years. Since then she has lived in fear of Sethe, only staying with her for Beloved. Apparently, Sethe has elected not to explain her perspective to her children but rather let them find out only the surface of her action.  

We also learn that Denver's animosity toward Paul D is not from jealousy and what seemed like an attachment to Sethe. Denver was afraid that Paul D would force Beloved's spirit out of the house. She later even wishes for him to run off with Sethe, leaving Denver and herself to wait for their father.

Is anyone else anticipating a Halle appearance? 

Response to Style Wars

After watching Style Wars last Thursday, my perspective on graffiti was somewhat altered. I always thought graffiti was interesting but also insignificant. Clearly most, if not all, writers would strongly disagree with my past self. I never knew how something I've overlooked all the time could have such a deep culture behind it.

The key aspect of graffiti culture that the documentary stressed was that it isn't just the art itself but also the act of doing it. A form of rebellion against the society that spurns them. Freedom of expression in a life that restricts them. You could tell how serious each and every one of the artists were through their descriptions of how important their work was to them and how it feels to see it displayed. The doc really emphasized the advantages of train graffiti over the "traditional" wall graffiti in that the former allows for coverage all over the city.

It got me thinking, if something means that much to you, why don't you try to preserve it? Why not canvas instead of public property? Why not make money off of it? I asked these questions but right away I knew the answers. Who wants to be a sell-out? But is it really selling out when you're just trying to help your struggling situation?

An equally important part of the culture is the unspoken honor code similar to that of music. The greatest disrespect in the community is passing off someone else's masterpiece or style as your own. The fact that this is more of an offense than to erase or take down further shows how graffiti is more like other (more widely-accepted) art forms than many people think.

From my viewpoint, graffiti hasn't made nearly as much progress as rap in its progression and evolution but it certainly hasn't stopped. Although you could still make an argument that graffiti isn't art, you definitely can't reduce something so elaborate and rich to mere vandalism or defiance.

Justice For Some

Like many other people, I was unsurprised to hear that Darren Wilson was not to be indicted for his murder of Michael Brown. Nevertheless I was and still am incredibly furious and disappointed at the state of our justice system. It got me thinking of the Pledge of Allegiance that a lot of us were required to blindly recite every morning in grade school:

"I pledge allegiance, to the flag of the United State of America,

and to the Republic, for which is stands,

one Nation, under God, indivisible, 

with liberty and justice for all."

With recent controversies (e.g. Zimmerman, Rice, Wilson) springing up so often, "justice for all" is becoming further and further from the truth. It got me thinking, why have we gotten so lenient (to say the least) with severe law offenders? Recently I started watching How To Get Away With Murder. For those who don't watch it's about a defense attorney who hires a group of law students to help her win cases for the sleaze and scumbags of Pennsylvania. The show shows the extremes the defense go to in order to win at any cost and how immoral they are. Yeah yeah I know it's fiction but still, most defense attorneys are known to be despicable people. People are getting away with murder (hence the title) in cases where it's damn near obvious they're guilty! Of course I'm not only blaming DAs for the issue of injustice but they are undoubtedly a huge part of the problem.

When you think about it, our justice system gives way too much opportunity for those indicted to get off easily or even scot-free. Sure I'm all for fair trial for all but too many criminals end up not getting what they deserve. I mean I thought we hit rock bottom when Zimmerman was found not guilty but then came the Ferguson decision. It's one thing for juries to wrongfully acquit someone but to not even indict is just asinine. Still I'm not ready to give up on humanity as so many people seem to be doing. It always gets worse before it gets better, right? 

Final WBS Thoughts

Let me start off by saying how much I enjoyed the roller coaster that is The White Boy Shuffle. The change of pace and setting was really refreshing and it was interesting how there were still many connections to be made to the previous three novels.

Out of the three, there's no doubt that TWBS is most similar to Invisible Man. So much so in fact, it could almost be a remake set in the 90's. Gunnar and the narrator both start off incredibly unaware of the racial tensions between whites and blacks. They then get their whole worlds turned upside down by moving to opposite environments (Santa Monica to Hillside, the South to New York). There they undergo a series of transformations that culminate in a huge event of chaos that leave them forever altered.

Unlike Invisible Man, however, TWBS ends very somber and dark. Rather than signing off with a positive outlook toward the future like the narrator, Gunnar seems to have completely given up on the world. His dismal disposition is somewhat shocking as he has a growing family and friends to live for. On the other hand, it's understandable how he's fed up with the endless blind worship he faces at every turn. He wants to go out his way and the only way he can is to embrace death. Why give those who detest him the satisfaction of the kill? Beatty then closes spectacularly with the image of painted white targets centered around Gunnar's motel printed vividly in our minds. How appropriate.

Rant on Race

Last week we had an interesting discussion on whether or not white culture exists in our society. Some jokingly said it doesn't while others pointed out various white stereotypes. It got me thinking, why isn't white culture as tangible as other ones? What does race mean to us?

There's no point in denying it: our society is comprised of countless divisions ranging from a variety of characteristics. No matter how hard we try to break down those barriers, they still exist. That being said, out of all of them, it seems the racial one has cracked the most. All one has to do to see the progress is compare 17th century to 21st century America. It makes sense that we are the most progressive/open-minded today then we've ever been but it doesn't mean we should take it for granted or be satisfied with where we are.

When you think of white people who immediately come to mind? Caucasian Americans right? Black people? African-Americans. Asians? Chinese. Latinos? Mexicans. Alright so the last two aren't consensus but definitely common misconceptions even today. It's easy to place minorities into set groups but what about whites? Black people are associated with rap, slang, fried chicken, watermelon and Asians with math, video games, bad English, rice. We've heard it all. Most racial cultures are pretty concrete yet when one encounters a random White person, it's hard to categorized them into a predetermined standard. Yeah there's the rich white man or the redneck hillbilly but they aren't as "obvious" as the other stereotypes.

By definition a Caucasian is a white-skinned person; a person of European origin. So there's the answer to my first question. There are just so many different types of white people all with varying physical features, accents, dialects that it would be preposterous to put them all under one huge classification, right? But then what about other races? For Asians, there are Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. each with -American counterparts. Latinos: Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Argentinians, Columbians, etc. each again with northern hybrids. Most Asian-Americans are more similar to Caucasian Americans than Asians. While occasionally we have prejudices derived from personal experience it's mostly media and/or ignorance that fuel the irrational organization. I admit it, I do it a lot. Happens to all of us.

It's fair to say that race has more of a social association than biological. That barrier is no longer held up by science but by us. It's so easy to get entrapped in our own bubbles and forget how massive the world is. Everyone is most accurately defined by where and how they live, not by social constructions.

Criticism of Wright's Criticism

I was little surprised to read that not only does Wright think Hurston failed to write about white oppression but that she goes a step further by entertaining white people, catering to exactly what they want to hear about black life. I can understand how Wright was upset about the book's purpose but I disagree that it was made for white people. The story focuses almost entirely on African-Americans albeit in a racism-free environment.

He hates how Hurston supposedly illustrates black stereotypes which is extremely hypocritical. Prior to writing the novel, Hurston spent a great deal of time living and documenting the lives of Eatonville's citizens. She then does them justice in the novel by giving them the same humanistic characteristics that white people have: ability to think, feel, and love. Wright's objection is most likely to the dialogue but Hurston clearly structured it based on the recorded speech of real citizens. Wright does exactly what he hates in his own book, Native Son. His main character is a static black male defined only as the product of white oppression.

In my opinion, protest novels do little to advance a group of people. While writers like Wright focus on angrily blaming white people for black suffering, Hurston took a different approach by trying to show that black people are the same humans on the inside. I think it would've been significantly more effective to have a balance of both types of literature during this tumultuous time period.

Janie's Evolution & Final Thoughts

In the beginning, I really disliked Janie because her static character made her a very uncompelling protagonist. I didn't feel much sympathy for her even after she was forced to marry Logan. My feelings were so strong that I wrote a full blog post (a controversial one I might add) expressing my disapproval. I'm glad to admit, however, Janie is actually a very dynamic person and much like her, my perspective has drastically changed.

The turning point in the novel for me was Jody striking Janie after the unsatisfactory dinner. This sudden jolt allowed her to finally realized Jody was not the person that she met. She had tried to disguise Jody's true self with her own version of him but that had been completely destroyed after steadily cracking since they arrived in Eatonville. Her imagination had finally run dry and now it was time to accept reality. When I first read this, I was annoyed to some extent. Why hadn't she realized this sooner? His mistreatment of her had begun long before this revelation yet she still managed to shake it off time and time again. We know that Janie never really knew who Jody was, but just assumed he was the one to save her from Logan. Of course, since she was 17, it wouldn't be fair to question why she didn't realize the moment she met Jody but it's perfectly reasonable to wonder why she didn't sooner into the marriage.

We see an incredibly different Janie when she meets Tea Cake. After rushing into two bad marriages, Janie takes her time and really thinks things through this time around. Although I felt she should've waited a bit longer to marry him, at least she didn't do so immediately. It was nice to finally see Janie experience true love and you could tell it was the only thing that mattered when they moved to the muck. Even through the tedious work and the wild hurricane, their love was enough to keep them going.

Now I want to touch on the pistol under the pillow. While others questioned why she didn't remove all the bullets or simply get rid of it altogether, I saw it as way for Janie to know when it was time for Tea Cake to die. She knew the minute he pulled the gun on her that he had reached maximum insanity and it would be cruel to let him live any longer. Had she not loved him so much, I think she would've put him down much sooner. It was when Janie held the dying Tea Cake in her arms that I felt real sympathy (for her) for the first time. I was also impressed how she was able to compose herself and move on with her life.

When we contrast Jody's funeral with Tea Cake's, we see an even further evolved Janie. With Jody, Janie only cared about the appearance of mourning while with Tea Cake, she is genuinely devastated, not even bothering to wear black. We also see that Janie no longer cares about what others think of her. She know that they haven't experienced what she has and therefore can never understand her. Hurston ends with Janie at peace which was really heartwarming.

I really applaud Hurston for developing such a strong female character. There aren't enough of those, especially as protagonists. 

Janie's Fantasy

After today's discussion, I knew my final blog post of the quarter was going to be about Janie. Whether you think she's whiny, lazy, or are sympathetic toward her, (I think) we can all agree her conception of love/marriage is very flawed and warped.

When Janie was 16 she had a very intense experience with witnessing what "love" is with the bees and the pear blossoms. With all the fertility of springtime around her, her developing sexuality was clearly accelerated and magnified. One can't really blame her for then creating an expectation and desire for exactly what she's seeing: a love that's pure and genuine and a marriage that represents that. We can blame, however, Janie's grandmother for not helping her understand what's she's feeling and going through like many mother figures often do. One can argue that it's not entirely Nanny's fault since she herself never experienced or got to experience what it feels like to fall in love. She was forced to grow up in the real world right from the start with the birth of an illegitimate daughter. It's easy to understand how Nanny would be more preoccupied with making sure Janie had a stable future life than to worry about her personal wishes. However, had Nanny at least given Janie some hope for finding love, perhaps Janie would've learned to love Logan with time.

Nevertheless, we see Janie doesn't fully understand how marriage works when she can't accept the work responsibilities of being a farmer's wife. It's safe to say she never gives Logan a fair chance. After a short period of contemplation, she then elopes with Joe Starks who gives off the initial impressions of the perfect husband to satisfy her. That, unfortunately, turns out not to be the case as Joe reveals himself to be overly protective and selfish with Janie despite being very generous and helpful to the town. Ironically, she runs out of an unhappy situation to an even more miserable one.

Although Janie hasn't had any luck with a properly functioning marriage, her fantasy of a man simply taking care of her for the rest of her life is just ridiculous and juvenile. To me, Janie is only in love with the idea of true love and perfect marriage. It's obvious she was way too quick and eager to be able to find it. It takes her two unsuccessful relationships and many years to finally develop patience as well as appreciation for being single. Although no woman should have to endure Janie's terrible 20 year marriage, it seems to have been just what she needed in order to learn, mature, and get her life in order.

Rapper "Credentials"

After two raps performed for poetry readings (Q-Tip's Dance on Glass by Linus and Kanye's Heard Em Say by Jonah), it got everyone, including me, thinking what are the qualifications of being a "legit" rapper? What are you allowed to rap about?

In class today we seemed to reach an agreement that a quality rap song should have a balance of self-praise and skill. I, like many others, think all good rappers have a certain level of confidence (some more than others). The success that a rapper achieves and the duration of their career are really what allow expression of their greatness to be acceptable. For example, it would be completely blasphemous for me to write a rap right now dissing Biggie, 2Pac, Eminem, etc, and stating how great I am. That of course is an extreme case but even an amateur/starting rapper shouldn't be arrogant if they want to stay relevant in the game. Respect and paying your dues goes a long way in life and the same goes for rapping.

The most common criteria (in my opinion) when judging the legitimacy of a rapper is how they grew up. "The struggle" is an equally recurring theme in rap songs and it varies from personal stories of one's past to how one made it out successfully. Although it doesn't seem entirely fair that you have to start from the bottom (sorry I had to), you probably have a lot more stories to tell if you've come from the unstable inner cities. With all of those memories etched inside, rapping can be an extremely helpful outlet. It's not necessary to rise from the ground up, but a lot of the great ones do.

Rappers often get criticize for only doing it for the money but for me that's not a really big deal. Unless that rapper is proclaiming themself as one of the greats while displaying little-to-no skill, I have no problem with them (it's likely I haven't heard of them anyway). Like I said before, great rappers tend to (but not always) come from desolate beginnings so it makes sense that part of their desire to join the rap industry is to reach financial stability. Many them repeatedly support or show love to their hometown communities as a way to remember their roots and stay grounded.

So the next time you criticize a rapper, ask yourself: do I know enough about them to condemn them? Obviously it's perfectly okay to dislike and even hate songs but you can't fairly judge the artist without knowing their story.

The Narrator's "Invisibility"

The main theme of Invisible Man is obviously invisibility. The very first line itself is the simple statement: I am an invisible man. As we continually discussed this over the course of the book, we realized that everyone has their own interpretations of what it means to be invisible. Here's mine.

In order for us to get a solid grasp on what the narrator means, we need a lot more information. To provide sufficient context, he retells his entire life story through a typewriter. Through his perspective (the only one I might add) we're able to see just how each event pushes him, in varying extents, toward the full acceptance of invisibility. For the first half of the book, nothing really seems to change his mindset no matter how bizarre or evocative an event may be. Such occurrences that come to mind right away would be the battle royal and the Golden Day incident. In the case of former, he's preoccupied with appeasing the white elitist crowd rather than being angry (like a normal person) at the injustice he's subjected to.

It's only when he's "treated" following the explosion by the Liberty Paints doctors that he becomes a different man. Evolving only when something drastic like this happens speaks volumes about his character. Nevertheless, we finally get to see the narrator think more carefully and profoundly which reminds us of the man from the prologue. He gives in to his desires and roots (yam scene) and even speaks his mind (eviction speech). Things are definitely looking up for him but then the Brotherhood crosses his path. While they initially seem like a good vehicle for him to continue in the right direction, the complete opposite happens. Even with his new found sense of wariness and questioning, the narrator fails to realize how he is not in control of his actions but rather the Brotherhood is steering him. When he finally uncovers the truth, he is able to take himself out of society completely. Took him long enough, am I right?

His ultimate revelation is that in order to avoid the lose-lose situation of what actions to take, he must fully succumb to his invisibility. He found himself in unfortunate circumstances regardless of whether he acted for others or on his own so he took the only way out. With the arc finished, I can properly analyze the opening statement. His "invisibility" does not have the connotation of complete imperceptibility but rather the inability of being viewed as an individual. The same invisibility that Bigger faces in Native Son as well as countless other African-Americans during this time period. The same invisibility that we all experience from time to time.

Symbolic Yams & Piggy Banks

In Chapters 13 & 14 of Invisible Man, we finally get to see a changed narrator, similar to the one from the prologue. His accident at Liberty Paints led him to undergo "treatment" from the factory doctors and he came out reborn to an extent. No longer does he feel afraid of all the rich. important white man that controlled his life. Although his transformation starts in Chapter 12, we don't really get to see the new version of him until the next chapter.

The next morning, the narrator walks the streets and notices a yam vendor. Instead of angrily masking his Southern roots as he previously did at the diner, he lets go to his emotions and engorges in his first yam. This is a very significant milestone in his life as he's finally unashamed of being something other than what people tell him to be. He further satisfied his homesickness with two more yams and at last we get to read a genuinely amiable conversation. The yams not only represent where the narrator grow up from but himself. This is a huge first step in the narrator new path. He further progresses into his new form when he spontaneously rallies a crowd to act against an unjustly eviction. Immediately afterwards he gets a job offer from Brother Jack to which he initially declines but ends up reconsidering.  

When the narrator wakes up the next morning he's further reminded of his debt to Mary. In his exasperation with an irritating noise, he notices, for the first time, a piggy bank in the form of a black man with bright red lips. Instantly he's enraged and, with some difficultly, destroys the offensive figure. His sudden outburst is in direct relation to his identity struggle. The statue represents a piece of White mockery and Black subservience that he was his whole life. The difficulty with the piggy bank also reflects the equally challenging task of eradicating his past self. What's really interesting, however, after several attempts he can't get rid of the pieces, which is also an obvious metaphor to his inability to fully detach himself with his previous spirit.

His progression is abruptly deterred by his involvement with the questionable Brotherhood. Although he feels he's finally in control of his life, his brothers are clearly dictating his actions.

The Validity of the Narrator's Recollection

In Invisible Man, the entire story is told from the perspective of an unnamed African-American narrator. It's appropriate since it's his life that we're entertained and intrigued with but the question of the accuracy of the events that are recalled rises up time and time again. I, like Jonah, can draw several significant comparisons to the cult film Fight Club. Has all or even any of it happened or is he just subconsciously making stuff up like his Fight Club counterpart? We learn in the prologue than he tried marijuana for his first and last time (so he says) but who's to know he hasn't decided to give it another chance? Or maybe he's even drunk at times when writing rigorously on his typewriter. We, as readers, don't know the answers to any of these questions which is why we are prey to the narrator's whim. That being said, there must be a solid basis of truth for everything he's telling, assuming that he's not completely insane or delusional of course.

For each event, all the background given appears to be legitimate. The narrator being invited to deliver his graduation speech to the town's elite whites is realistic but when he gets there, things become very surreal. The whole battle royal scene is really drawn out in a way that makes me skeptical of the narrator's ability to remember so vividly. Every second of the nightmarish fight is described with incredible detail, almost as if his past self is narrating. While the idea of white people of the 1940s having something like this for entertainment is in no way far-fetched, the circumstances of all the other fighters (with blindfolds on) ganging up on him is improbable.

Then there's the day out with Mr. Norton. Driving around one of the rich founders of his college for a summer job is pretty normal but it just doesn't seem rational that the narrator would inexplicably lose attention and end up at the familiar shacks home to the infamous Jim Trueblood. Prior to his realization he's really focused on driving and conversing with Norton so why would he suddenly veer off into a known red zone? To me, it seems like a plot device for the narrator to have to take Norton to the Golden Day where things get even more bizarre. Even before he enters the bar/brothel, we can tell things are going to get worse. A group of mentally unstable black veterans just happen to pick that same moment to visit the bar and consequently become the catalysts for the surreal action about to take place. The wild and frenzied atmosphere inside would definitely not have existed had the vets not been there. Again, the pace is slowed down noticeable into a dreamlike reality, leaving us readers confounded.

Obviously there are countless more examples but these just happened to be the first ones. Ellison purposefully incorporates them through interspersed intervals characterized by the all-too-familiar surrealism. Hopefully, as we delve deeper and deeper into the novel, we can get some long-waited insight into what's real and what's not.

Unpopular Opinion: The N-word

Like many others, I first encountered the n-word at school. One of the biggest jumps from grade school to middle school is undoubtedly the amount of profanity used by the kids. It went from timeouts for calling someone stupid in Kindergarten to discipline for cursing someone out in 6th grade. Unsurprisingly, the n-word was amongst the main words. Right off the bat, I knew that I nor any other non-black person could use it. That much was clear but it was the why I was confused about. It made absolutely no sense to me because at that point I wasn't fully aware of the historical and cultural context. It wasn't an issue that mattered much to me so I just accepted it and moved on. Immeasurable amounts of media consumed and history classes taken later brings us to the present day, where I'm writing this right now. What's changed? The n-word is used and scrutinized more than ever.

What follows is not a popular opinion but it's something that I truly believe and am comfortable with expressing. The existence of the n-word is, in more ways, good than bad. Now let me explain myself. Aside from the deep history we all know it embodies, it also represents an equally deep evolution. A large part, in my opinion, is from the change from the -er ending to the more contemporary -a. Many would argue the insignificance of the spelling but I beg to differ. What was initially used to insult and oppress is now often used to express relationships. Of all the times I've heard it, at least half were used in conjunction with "my," proclaiming a close bond between the speaker and the receiver. I view this as a direct mockery of the word used by slave owners and white supremacists over the years, a message from the African-American community saying we are using your own weapon against you.

Ryan Higa and I both agree that this is the most effective way to extinguish prejudice, bigotry, harassment, and any other discrimination. By embracing a word or phrase, the effectiveness will, sooner or later, die out or at the very least diminish. While hatred will never be fully eradicated from the world, I think the n-word is one of the keys to significantly reducing it. Sure it has its negative connotations and uses but what doesn't? There can be no good without evil to match it. I can think of no better way to beat adversity than to turn weaknesses into strengths.