"I yam what I am."

In class, we were talking about Invisible Man being a reflection versus it being art. I've found the book to be very multifaceted and therefore cannot peg it as just one, but during this week's reading I'm finding more and more evidence that it is a reflection upon a life thoroughly lived. The main scene that comes to mind as proof of this is when our main character stops at a street vendor to buy yams. I love the imagery, and it is almost as if we are physically transported back to his childhood. Upon biting into the first yam, he is hit with "a stab of swift nostalgia" that results in a reminiscent view of his past. "At home," he narrates, "we'd bake them in the hot coals of the fireplace, had carried them cold to school for lunch; munched them secretly, squeezing the sweet pulp from the soft peel as we hid from the teacher behind the largest book, the World's Geography." If this is not a reflection then I don't know what is. These vivid memories show that the main character still remembers where he comes from, and it is interesting to see how this affects his future.

Another flashback occurs when he is watching the old couple get evicted; he sees a vision of "my mother hanging wash on a cold windy day...her hands white and raw in the skirt-swirling wind and her gray head bare to the darkened sky." This mental image is meaningful for him, and it is likely what spurs him to action when he decides to stand up and speak to the crowd. Our character seems to be heavily influenced by his past, including his grandfather's final words as well as thoughts of his family and childhood life. I think that Invisible Man is an artful reflection coming from a man whose past will always be permanently weaved into his future.