Yams = Bliss? For a moment.

Like some of the earlier posters, I found the scene with the yam to be entirely captivating. It seems as if, for once, the invisible man is truly happy as he is doing something he enjoys. I found it interesting that he happened to find this release through food. Food is something that is experienced sensually and it is hard to fake a reaction to food. Thus, by trusting only his senses and not some sort of artificial social code or protocol, the invisible man is able to find something he truly enjoys. The food imagery and the IM's reaction to it also reminded me of the presentation on Tuesday, where we learned that Ellison wrote the book to jazz music. As we learned in class, Jazz is a style of music that is supposed to be emotive, pure and raw, much like the reaction IM has when he eats the yam.
The end of this scene was just as poignant as the outpouring of pure joy. When the Invisible Man takes his last bite and finds that the yam is frostbitten, it is a reminder that this pure joy, life of yams, is not yet attainable for the Invisible Man. As we see in the eviction scene, IM is driven quickly back to his reality and is again unsure of his place in the world where everyone seems to have a purpose for him.