Monday, April 21, 2014
Question 5
What is the significance of the battle royal? What pattern does it set up for the remaining events of the novel? Why is the narrator chosen to "represent his race"? Discuss the prominent white men who choose the narrator for battle and the speech, is there any real benevolence in them? What roles do battle royals/fights/violence play later in the novel?
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The battle royal can symbolize the anger, hatred, and sadism (enjoying the suffering of others) of humanity and their willingness to exploit others for their own advantage. Invisible man represents his race to fight for equality and rights of his people; thanks to others in his life and his own encouragement he believes that he has what it takes to rescue his people. Characters such as Mr. Norton were only out for their own gain: He (and a few other White men) use these African Americans for sport in an arranged fight to watch them hurt each other, then he invited Invisible Man to his college only to run errands and be is chauffeur and once he is finished he sends Invisible Man off to the city with no intentions of helping him and letters that undermine his purpose and hope. There is not a trace of benevolence in any of those actions of Mr. Norton!
ReplyDeleteThe significance of the battle royal was to prepare Invisible man for the world of cruelty. Throughout the novel invisible man faces predicaments with liars, and fake "brotherhood" that hurt him as much, or more than the battle royal did. Hes chosen to represent his race to show that he is not weak but that he is strong and intelligent. Yes there is an abundant amount of benevolence because invisible man conveyed that he's smarter than he look, worthy, and he wont allow anyone to underestimate him because of the color of his skin. He actually faces even more violence once he becomes the man he always wanted to escape, his grandfather.
ReplyDeleteThe fights later to come in Invisible Man's path also show Humanity's true colors. In the End, Ras the Exhorter was as ready to kill his own people and all who opposed him and his cause. The conflict Invisible Man could have endured would have came from his disguise as Rinehart who had many faces. Invisible Man could have easily used anyone of the people who mistook him for Rinehart but he didn't, although he did regret not taking that beautiful woman (whom Rinehart must have been exploiting because she was very offended when she found out that it wasn't him).
ReplyDeleteThe battle royal demonstrates and represents the control that some people have other others. It also shows the slight ignorance that the invisible man shows toward certain situations. What occurs through the rest of the novel is also connected to the man being "blind" to certain set-ups and deceptions. This would include Dr. Bledsoe's letters to the man's potential employers. The narrator is chosen to "represent his race" in order for the prominent white men to humiliate his race by putting them against each other. The people who choose him to fight and then speak are high-ranking school officials including the school superintendent. It appears as if the high-ranking school officials indeed intend to do good, as this is evident in the invisible man being given his scholarship. The battle royals and violence within the novel are foreshadowing for later incidents within the novel that convey that fact that ignorance and "blindness" turns groups of people against each other or even against themselves. This is shown during the invisible man's time during the Brotherhood as Brother Jack uses the man and Jack's other followers as pawns. This contributes to the theme that ignorance can be a pretense for gullibility.
ReplyDeleteThat battle royal was the initial event that made the narrator realize he'd never get to experience equality. The events leading towaeds the end such as his expulsion, his accident at work, and his run ins with the brotherhood all support this notion. Brother Jack originally expressed to the invisible man to learn his place and stay in it but the ideals of the Brotherhood did not support this. The invisible mans innocence snd inability to see this in the beginning is why he is chosen to be a part of this. The battle royal symbolized the sadistic attitude of potent administrators and that hr could never be a part of that.
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