I feel bad for writing about the resemblances of Native Son and Invisible Man twice in a row, but they just keep popping up. This time, the moment that struck me was when the narrator discovered his invisibility as he paraded around town unintentionally disguised as the seemingly well-known but mysterious Rinehart. Over the course of this scene, the narrator encounters several people who all know and recognize Rinehart, but as a different man. For example, one woman acknowledges him as a pimp, while another acknowledges him as a reverend. It is after these encounters that the narrator sort of realizes he can say one thing but think another. Throughout this section, I couldn't help but be reminded of Bigger's discovery after having "gotten away" with killing Mary, where he similarly realizes that he can do whatever he wants as long as nobody finds out.
There was also another scene that happened within this sequence of events that I was interested in. When the narrator walked into the bar and almost fought Brother Maceo, I was reminded of when Bigger met up with his friends at their local bar and actually fought Gus. In Native Son, Bigger pulls out a knife and uses it to terrorize and humiliate Gus, and while in Invisible Man, the narrator doesn't have a knife, Brother Maceo does accuse him of having one. Also, in both scenes, Bigger and the narrator are kicked out, and afterwards they both have these weird laughing fits.*
Again, I don't know what to make of these comparisons, if they're even intentional at all. I kind of get the feeling that they don't hold any real significance, and they're just Ellison having fun and wanting to give a shout out to his buddy, but I could be violently wrong. Again, I'd love to hear any thoughts!
* In Native Son: "[Bigger] had an
overwhelming desire to be alone; he walked to the middle of the next block and
turned into an alley. He began to laugh, softly, tensely; he stopped still in
his tracks and felt something warm roll down his cheek and he brushed it away.
“Jesus,” he breathed. 'I laughed so hard I cried.'" (page 41)
There was also another scene that happened within this sequence of events that I was interested in. When the narrator walked into the bar and almost fought Brother Maceo, I was reminded of when Bigger met up with his friends at their local bar and actually fought Gus. In Native Son, Bigger pulls out a knife and uses it to terrorize and humiliate Gus, and while in Invisible Man, the narrator doesn't have a knife, Brother Maceo does accuse him of having one. Also, in both scenes, Bigger and the narrator are kicked out, and afterwards they both have these weird laughing fits.*
Again, I don't know what to make of these comparisons, if they're even intentional at all. I kind of get the feeling that they don't hold any real significance, and they're just Ellison having fun and wanting to give a shout out to his buddy, but I could be violently wrong. Again, I'd love to hear any thoughts!
In Invisible Man: "I felt the air explode around me and I stood just beyond the door laughing at the sudden relief of the joke restored...I was still chuckling when, in the next block, I waited for the traffic lights" (page 490)
I mean, specifically in the cases of the Rinehart journey in Invisible Man and Bigger's events following the killing of Mary, both characters were thrust into the situation of invisibility without having a proper concept of it, and this is how they truly come to understand it. I think it's just the circumstances that make these scenes so similar.
ReplyDeletethis is really interesting and I hadn't really thought about it. The scene at the bar with Maceo I think is especially true because when Bigger tries to fight Gus he knows he doesn't really want to, but something comes over him and he can't summon the courage to call it off. In a similar vein, when the narrator is about to fight Maceo, he realizes that this is his friend and he has no real reason to be fighting him, but he can't stop himself.
ReplyDeleteIt could very well be a shoutout from Ellison to Wright, but the fight scenes in particular have some similarities. Bigger had the option of confessing to his gang that he didn't support the robbery plan, but was pressured into maintaining a "tough guy" persona, and fought Gus. Similarly, InvisMan's narrator had the option of revealing his identity to Brother Maceo, but seemed to be pressured into maintaining his disguise, for unclear reasons.
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