Invisible Man is riddled with symbolism and imagery tucked beneath the surface. We talked in depth in class about the multiple layers of meaning in the Liberty Paints factory in chapter 10. Everything in the chapter seems to have at least two sides and Ralph Ellison is very clever in constructing those sides. The part that stands out the most to me is the Optic White paint.
There is the slogan, thought of by Mr. Brockway who I'll discuss more later, that goes: "If It's Optic White, It's the Right White" (217). The first thing the narrator thinks of when he hears that slogan is "If you're white, you're right" (218). This is not very subtle. The Liberty Paint factory is a big collection of not-too-subtly racist symbols. It starts when a big sign pokes out of the fog, reading: "Keep America pure with Liberty Paints" (196). The use of the word 'pure' is not what you would usually find describing paint. It seems to suggest that America needs to be purified of something. As you read into the chapter, you get the idea that maybe America needs to be purified of non-white powerful people.
The narrator's first assignment at the factory is to drip coal-black liquid into pure white paint and mix it until he can no longer see the black. That in and of itself has blatantly racist sybolism because he is drowning the black liquid in whiteness. At one point, he can still see small streaks of grey showing through in the paint samples. When Mr. Kimbro comes to check on him again, the narrator is surprised to learn that Mr. Kimbro cannot see the grey streaks. This is showing that there are some black people with power, such as Bledsoe, but their power is invisible so only the white power shines out.
The narrator's second assignment is to work for Mr. Brockway, the one who deals with the making of the paint itself in the basement. It seems odd to me that the only black person in the factory with any real power is in the basement. No one knows about Mr. Brockway, but he has hidden power and is well favored by the director and "Old Man" (215). Mr. Brockway almost reminds me of Bledsoe because of their behind-the-scenes control that ultimately gets the narrator kicked out. Additionally, the union members and other factory employees dislike Mr. Brockway. I'm not sure, from the character's point of view, it is because of his skin tone, but Ellison seems to want the reader to infer that.
Ellison throws this odd chapter into the novel, perhaps to point out something in the factory that is really happening everywhere. The concept of the factory being a miniature city apart from most of New York City is unusual and is weird to comprehend. There are very likely more levels of subtle symbolism I don't see as easily, but this chapter definitely sets itself apart from the rest of the book in its obvious symbolism.
I thought that your comparison of Dr. Bledsoe and Mr. Brockway was really interesting. They are two of the only black men with their level of expertise in their field, and yet both seem to be running things mainly from behind the scenes. One interesting difference is that while the narrator wants to be just like Bledsoe when he is at the college, at the paint factory he looks down on Brockway and even ends up fighting him. I think that this could be Ellison emphasizing the narrator's disillusionment and how much he is growing as a character.
ReplyDeleteI really like the concept you bring up that maybe the narrator's different reactions is due to the disillusionment he has had between meeting Bledsoe and meeting Brockway. He used to give in a trust the method of the system. Now he rejects those who control the system because he no longer believes in the system at all. He still acts in it, he just no longer believes in it. Thank you for bringing this up. Does he do this with other people too or just the Bledsoe/Brockway figure?
DeleteI also see this change in attitude in the scene where he receives his scholarship and when he is offered his new job. Before his "reborn," he had complete faith in the educational system, the Founder's ideals, and thinks if he continues to show genuine respect and humility he can get somewhere in life. When Brother Jack offers him a sudden opportunity that seemed to be too good to be true, the narrator immediately has doubts. He has gone a long way from his naive former self, and is progressively discovering his real identity.
DeleteNice post maggie! I also saw this intense symbolism while reading this chapter and it really stuck out to me. I liked the point you brought up of the connections between Bledsoe and Brockway, and how in both situations these black men have hidden power, which eventually gets the narrator in trouble because they are doing all they can to keep their power secure. Also, I wonder why Wright decides to use these symbols very blatantly and obviously, contrasting to the other ones throughout the book. Maybe he is trying to say something about how the racism is everywhere and is so obvious, yet people are still blind to the reality. Hopefully as the book goes on we will see more of this symbolism emerge.
ReplyDeleteNice post maggie! I also saw this intense symbolism while reading this chapter and it really stuck out to me. I liked the point you brought up of the connections between Bledsoe and Brockway, and how in both situations these black men have hidden power, which eventually gets the narrator in trouble because they are doing all they can to keep their power secure. Also, I wonder why Wright decides to use these symbols very blatantly and obviously, contrasting to the other ones throughout the book. Maybe he is trying to say something about how the racism is everywhere and is so obvious, yet people are still blind to the reality. Hopefully as the book goes on we will see more of this symbolism emerge.
ReplyDeleteWow! That connection between Bledsoe and Brockway completely blew by me until I read this! I can totally see where you're coming from: they're the "wizards of oz," the men behind the curtain. I especially love the connection you drew between the two characters having some control over IM's fate, and that they both got him kicked out or expelled with relative ease. It really shows us how much power this seemingly powerless black man can have, doesn't it?!
ReplyDeleteBledsoe felt much more comfortable or at least confident in his role than Brockway. Bledsoe takes everything that comes at him and ends up on top, maintaining control over the situation the whole time. On the other hand, Brockway, who has similar effects on the narrator's life, has a completely different personality. While he also aims to maintain control and prides himself in his knowledge, he outwardly exhibits his insecurities to a complete stranger. Unlike Bledsoe, Lucius is a man who has found the job he is good at doing in life and doesn't have the will or know-how to better his position, something Bledsoe constantly seeks. As a result, while the two characters who provide the catalysts in the young narrator's story are similar in some respects, this key difference in mindset sets them far apart.
ReplyDeleteI like how in depth you went with the symbolism in this chapter. I wrote my blog post on the same chapter, but I read into some parts of the metaphor differently. I like that Ellison writes in a way that the symbolism can be interpreted in many different ways. I agree that this chapter is odd and may seem to be thrown in randomly, but I think Ellison places this chapter here very purposely. This is the narrators first move to the north and Ellison shows that the same racism that was present in the south continues even in the north.
ReplyDeleteI think this post is interesting to compare to Mr. Mitchell's, in that you both mention that the book is packed with symbolism, but he takes a different route and discusses that it's overdoing it to say that every little detail of the book holds a piece of extremely significant symbolism. However, I would have to agree that this chapter is particularly symbolic. There's something about how explicit Ellison is about color that makes this chapter stand out. I also think it's interesting how Brockway is somewhat buried underground. It's as if his role is trapping him, even though on the surface it is one of power. This is another way in which he is similar to Bledsoe. I think it would be a good idea to further explicate exactly what these instances symbolize both within the book and in the broader world like you start to get at in the last paragraph, but this is a really great start and does a really nice job of laying out some of the most compelling symbols in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteI like the comparison you made between Bledsoe and Brockway and the idea of them holding the power, but being invisible the whole time. The part about the narrator being kicked out by both of them also makes this point clear. However, the way I see it, Bledsoe is power hungry and his whole life is devoted to keeping his job and gaining power. Brockway on the other hand, acknowledges his important role but isn't as keen on increasing it, or even keeping it. At one point he even retires and only comes back after the owner asks him personally. These two characters definitely have similar aspects, but this is one thing I found different. Another difference I noticed was at the end of the narrators argument with both of them (when he raises his voice in both scenes), Bledsoe is completely unfazed and even laughs at the narrators outburst, while Brockway seems scared for his life and shocked at the narrators actions. This shows a contrast between the personalities of the two characters distinctly.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right that things going n at Liberty paints are things that happen al around us. But that makes sense considering one of the Invisible Man's first observations when he was talking about the size of Liberty Paints being "a small city." Also I liked the part about Bledsoe and Brockway, both of them seemed intentional, like they knew the IM was not going to work in their space so they sent him off to a place where they thought he had no chance. Nice to see him rise up from both of those exiles.
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ReplyDeleteI like your comparison between Brockway and Bledsoe. I think it is interesting that a lot of the authority figures/ characters that the narrator innitially looked up to such as Brockway and Bledsoe are depicted by the author as being very similar - I wonder if the author meant for the reader to make connections when writing those characters.
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