For me, the most pivoting scene in all of Invisible Man comes when the narrator is forced to burn everything in his briefcase for a few brief moments of light. Never in my life have I come across a scene with more symbolism than this one. Although there are many ways to take this scene, readers can get just as much out of it without ever even considering the metaphors explicitly. It needs no analyzation; it is a simply beautiful portrait of the narrator’s last moments as a visible man.
However, it is certainly able to be analyzed. Obviously, all of the items being burned are the narrator’s most prized possessions. These possessions comprise the narrator’s past; they are souvenirs of a naive life, a life in which he thought he could be the catalyst for change. Ellison writes, “I realized that to light my way out, I would have to burn every paper in the brief case.” With multiple people chasing him literally to death, the narrator’s only way to find the path to survival is the burn everything left behind him. Although sometimes we survive by fighting, many times, we survive by “yessing.” We must accept what has been given to us and docilely let go of previous battles... we must become invisible.
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I agree with you that this was an extremely poignant scene in the novel. It struck me as sad that he had to burn all of those things that meant so much to him, because it made them all seem so trivial. Just as the documents themselves were able to be burned away in an instant, so was the narrator's visible life. One second he was as bright as a flame, fighting for the brotherhood, and the next he was invisible. His diploma, among other documents, definitely represents the part of his life where he was striving to "be the catalyst for change," as you said. To see that come to such a quick end was upsetting. It seemed that he was giving up and submitting to the "yessing" lifestyle, which disappointed me because I felt that he was better than that. While I agree it is a fact of life that we sometimes have to let go of our battles, I wanted him to keep fighting for what he believed in and not fade away into nothingness like the possessions he burned.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have to disagree with is that the things in the briefcase are really the narrator's most prized possessions. When I consider some of the items in the briefcase... I just don't see how that makes sense. One of the things in the briefcase, for instance, was that bank that he hated so much that he threw it to the floor.
ReplyDeleteAnother hated item in the briefcase was the Sambo doll. He was so angry at Tod for selling these dolls... I mean, one could argue that the doll is Tod for him after he loses Tod, but... I'm just not sure I'm on board with that. Also, doesn't he have that letter from Bledsoe in there? Ultimately I think the items in the briefcase are symbols of things that have held him back. Once more, one could argue that at a time he valued all the things that have suppressed him, but... I dunno. That's why the briefcase is so interesting to me, I guess. There are several things it COULD be (like Ariel says.) But, ultimately I don't see it as prized possessions. That's all.
(Oh, and, as a sidenote, i don't know if it was discussed or whatever but Tod is the word for death in some language. I remember that from senior english. Just go back to where he is talking about losing Tod and Ellison is well-aware of this and is making a lot of plays on words... or, rather, is playing with the word. It's neat.)