1. Ralph Ellison ( )
Invisible Man (1952)

2. The Invisible Man

3. H.G. Wells

4. Richard Wright

5. Autobiographical Feeling
The text may bring to mind Richard Wright’s Black Boy (1945).
What is autobiography? What distinguishes it from an autobiographical novel?
Note that Ellison is writing a work of fiction.

6. Belief and Action
Those of you who have read Racine’s play Phaedra may recall the conflict between thought and deed that dominates that work.
Is Racine’s problem relevant to Ellison’s novel?
Note the recurrence of this problem, for instance in Frost.

7. Grandfather’s Directions
What does the grandfather tell his son at his death?
Who is this position directed at (that is, the “them”)?
passage: 1

8. Belief and Action: Ellison and Us
The grandfather’s attitudes are complex in their juxtaposition of belief and action.
Suggest examples relevant to contemporary life.
At the same time, remark why the situation is different for us.

9. Speech What is the subject of Ellison’s speech? How is it received?
Why does it nonetheless create anxiety for him?
What is the battle royal which precedes the speech?

10. Black and White
What explains the speaker’s reaction (and the other black men’s) to viewing the naked white woman?
Why do the whites make contradictory demands on the black men (look/don’t look)?
passage: 3

11. Process and Parallel First, how do the black men react?
Then, what connection is suggested between the black men and the displayed woman?
Is there a parallel between race and gender? What distinguishes the positions?
Are either there by choice?
passage: 4

12. Body and Mind Juxtaposition (again)
Why is Ellison’s juxtaposing of the boxing match and the speech is ironic.
How should we explain the strange (obsessive) thoughts about the speech while the speaker is being subjected to dehumanizing violence (by other victims)?
passage: 5

13. Blacks against Blacks
Why doesn’t Tatlock agree to allow the speaker to throw the fight?
How do you explain his violence, even though he should be able to grasp the meaning of his own victimization?
passage: 6

14. Connections to Black Boy
Shame and its function/dignity
Behavior around whites/dual consciousness
Guilt (and treachery or betrayal)
Blacks pitted against each other in a (symbolic?) fight (boxing)
Hate (of blacks against blacks) and the inability to cooperate

15. Dreams What is the significance of the dream?
Why does the speaker say that he must first go to college before he grasps its significance?
Those of us studying Freud should pay attention to any dream sequence we encounter in literature, especially in the mid-twentieth century.
passage: 11

16. Ellison’s Purpose Some possibilities: What else could you predict?
the beginning of a Bildungsroman (but where is it tending?)
a measure for future development in terms of an ethical commitment (again, tending where?)
a rejection of a false consciousness (but how is true consciousness attained?)
What else could you predict?

17. Colonization and Origins of Slavery
When was North America colonized? Who were the colonizers? What economic pursuits were common? How did they differ regionally and how did labor relations develop differently?
When did slavery begin in the United States? Where did most of the slaves come from? Who brought them? How were the slaves exploited? Who owned slaves and what characterized slave ownership in the social pyramid? What is the color line?

21. End of Legal Slavery
Slavery officially ended in the United States with President Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” in 1863.
In 1865 a Constitutional Amendment was passed to abolish slavery.

24. Slave Populations and the Civil War
Where were slaves concentrated geographically in the United States? Geographically, how was slavery distributed across the United States? What problems dominated the early nineteenth century in terms of slavery?
When did the Civil War take place? Where was the fighting concentrated? What issues was this war fought over?

26. Segregation
What is segregation? In what areas of life were blacks segregated from whites? When did a large-scale Civil Rights movement begin in the United States? Who was important in this movement? What were the goals of the movement? Were these goals achieved? What important laws were passed to protect civil rights? What methods were employed to achieve more equality?

28. Malcolm X

29. Discussion Focus Video file 01 (08b Malcolm X 01)
The Speeches of Malcolm X [0:00-1:00]
The Speeches of Malcolm X [4:20-9:19]
Video file 02 (08c Malcolm X 02)
“Stop Apologizing to the White Man”

30. Martin Luther King, Jr.

31. March on Washington, 1963

32. Language and Identity
How does Malcolm X relate language, history, and identity to each other?

33. Object and Audience
If this first speech is aggressive, where is the aggression directed?
Who is the “you” he is speaking to, that is, who is his audience?
How does he expect his audience to react to his speech?
Is this approach a rational way to deal with the complex issue of racism?

34. Blacks in the Military
What is the main conflict for Malcolm X concerning blacks serving in the army, particularly when this service leads to fighting in wars?
Why does this conflict seem ironic from the standpoint of Black people in light of the generally ideological position taken by the U.S. government?

35. The Religion Card
When and how does Malcolm X refer to his religious beliefs?
How do these references differ from King’s religious references and beliefs?
What connection between religion and race does Malcolm X make?
How does it differ from King’s?

36. Thematic Segments, excerpt 2
Break the second excerpt down into parts.
What is the theme of each part?
How are the parts related to each other?
Are there transitions between these parts?
Is there a clear logic between the themes?

37. Possibilities Religious rationale against war
Self-contradiction of fighting for principles not enjoyed by the fighters
Symbolic meaning of world disorder
Self-determination of blacks

38. Object of Blame
Does Malcolm X blame the government in the same way that King does?
Does he have the same expectations from the government?

39. Nationalism and Black Nationalism
What is nationalism? What is Black Nationalism?
What is Malcolm X’s view of nationalism as he sees it in other places?
Is Black Nationalism a practical philosophy considering the situation in the US?
Would this idea be applicable to Taiwan?

40. Consensus Does any philosophy eliminate disagreement?
Isn’t the opposite true?
Even if it were possible, is it healthy to eliminate disagreement?
Is Malcolm X simply presenting a utopian situation by claiming that Black Nationalism gets rid of disagreement?

41. Black Political Influence
Why does Malcolm X believe that blacks have political strength?
What must they do to be influential in the political process?

44. Audience and Tone
How do King’s and Malcolm X’s audiences probably differ?
How does Malcolm X change his diction, style, and delivery in different speeches?
What does this imply about his audience and his goals?

45. Plan
Does Malcolm X give us a practical plan as to how to make the changes which would lead blacks out of the problems they face?

46. Violence
King and Malcolm X are often portrayed as symbolic of non-violence vs. potential violence, respectively, to achieve racial and social goals.
When is violence justified in achieving racial, social, and cultural goals?

47. For Next Time
Read: Poetry