It has been a theme throughout the book for the narrator's name to be hidden from the reader. We never know what it is (or at least not so far). Before the last few chapters, it was at least semi-believable that we might not know the narrator's name. It may have just never come up. But starting from the hospital/lab scene, the author has clearly gone out of his way to avoid telling us the narrator's name. In the hospital, the narrator is asked what his name is, and he never answers. He himself does not know it. Later, someone in the office asks the narrator what his name is, but right before he can reply, the office worker finds the name on some hidden piece of paper, and we remain ignorant of it. When the narrator is given a new name, he is not told it, but rather handed it on a piece of paper that we the readers, once again, cannot see. This all seems exceedingly deliberate on the part of Ellison.

At first, I just figured that we did not know his name, because he is invisible. Fair enough. It represents the narrator's invisibility in his world. But just as I was beginning this post, it struck me that everyone in his world knows his name, and yet we are blind to it. The readers are just as blind, if not more so, than the characters in the book. I probably realized this a while ago, but it only now surfaced in my mind at a conscious level. (Level is a really level word, that's pretty cool). But back to the matter at hand. The narrator is incredibly invisible to the readers as well as everyone else. This seems strange, because we have spent so many days in class talking about the narrator, I feel like I know him well. I think that Ellison is hiding his name to remind us readers that we don't know the narrator as much as we would like to think we do. By with holding the narrator's name from us, Ellison is hinting that the narrator is invisible to us as well, and that no matter how much we discuss and interpret and debate who the narrator is, none of us really know him. He is a person too (debate-ably) and is just as invisible to us as anyone he interacts with. We only see him through our perceptions of how we expect him to be. I know that I am making assumptions about him based on his early actions, the genre of book, and how I am used to other fictional characters' being and acting. I will try to my ignorance in mind in future class discussions, and I think that it is important that everyone else does as well. Sure, we have to assume things about him, we must make guesses and form opinions and theories based on what we believe, but it is important to remember that what we believe about the narrator and his feelings may be wrong. I think Ellison is trying to show his readers that, and I think that that is very wise of him.

Note that I gave this post no title. I did that because I was going to name it invisibility or some such nonsense, but I figured that making the title itself invisible would be cooler.

Symbolism in Chapter 15

I found chapter 15 exceedingly interesting, not because there was a lot of action or dialogue, but because the the symbolism which is evident in this chapter. I am sure that there is more allegory and whatnot in other chapters, but I found that which was in this one particularly intriguing. I feel like every single thing that occurs could be taken in a metaphorical sense, because so much of it seems unnecessary to the plot. from the knocking on the pipe in the beginning, to the smashing of the bank, and then the narrators inability to get rid of the bank, this chapter is rife with deeper meaning. I am not really sure what any of it means, and some it it may just be there to mess with readers, but I will give it a shot.
I think that the banging on the pipe probably has a lot of deep meaning, but what struck me about it was the disharmony of the community. The people are all getting mad at Mary for the lack of heat, and then at each other for the noise, but they only confound the problems by banging the pipe (other than the fact that their body temperatures probably go up some). What I found important is that there is a total lack of cooperation, or of the desire to understand anyone else. Everyone there just assumes the worst of the other people, and immediately starts banging the pipe to prove their point, or to ask for more heat, when it obviously won't help. Later though, after the narrator stops banging the pipe, the knocking goes beyond a protest for heat, and turns into a "ragged rumba rhythm". I am not sure what exactly that signifies, but it is undoubtedly important. Perhaps it means that disharmony can be harmonious, or harmony can be achieved through disharmony, or just the the narrator is causing the disharmony, or at least perceiving it. I welcome any other takes on this matter gladly.
The other symbol I found intriguing was the bank. A small, racially exaggerated, figure which contains many coins. The narrator uses it to bang on the pipe, but than it breaks apart and pieces and coins are strewn about his room. He has a need to hide all of it, but cannot find anywhere in the room to do so. This could represent the inability of anger to solve problems, or the narrators hatred for racism, or something altogether different. Probably all of these. My favorite part of the chapter was when the narrator was walking in the street, and repeatedly tried to get rid of the broken bank, and was repeatedly unsuccessful. The manner in which he was unsuccessful was for sure meaningful, but I am not sure exactly in what way. I think that the overall inability of the narrator to let go of the bank represents his inability to let go of his anger, and to let go of this thing which attaches him to his past. He also cannot get rid of the racial prejudices. I was really intrigued by this scene, and would love if anyone else could enlighten me with their takes on it.
One other thing that I would add is that at the end of the chapter, the narrator has a similar feeling as the end of the first chapter, when he is forgetting about the bad stuff he just did and looking blindly ahead to college, and the chapter where he ignores what the vet tells him and focuses on going to NY. At the end of chapter 15, he forgets about the broken bank and what it means, and focuses ahead on the night's rally.

Ohm and Beat Boxing

While we did cover many things in class on Friday, there are quite a few aspects of the poem Ohm that I still would like to delve into. We touched on the parallels between "ohm" and beat boxing some in class, but I think that there is still more to say about it. I mentioned how it seems to me that Saul Williams was drawing a connection between "ohm", the essential sound of the universe, and beat boxing, or just rhythm in general. I think that there are a multitude of lines in the poem to back up my interpretation of this. For example, the first lines in the poem are "through meditation I program my heart/to beat break beats and hum bass lines on exhalation/ [beat boxing] ohm." Programming your heart to beat break beats is likening the beating of your heart, the most essential rhythm of your life, to other rhythms which are found in music. Humming bass lines on exhalation is a reference to "ohm", which is supposedly the sound of exhaled breath. Comparing thins to a bass line is, again, a reference Saul Williams opinion that rhythms in music are, like "ohm", the most essential sounds of life. Beat boxes and "ohm" are both repeated quite often throughout the poem. This is because they are repeated so often in our lives, and in life itself. Just as Williams was comparing musical beats to the beating of our hearts, something that is always there, and that keeps us alive, and signifies life, this repetition signifies the infinite quality of both the "ohm" sound, and that of beat boxing. At points, it even seems like he is incorporating the word "ohm" into the beat boxes. At another point in the poem, Williams claims that "the universe remains our center, like ohm [beat boxing] ohm." He is saying that both the sound "ohm", and the rhythms of beat boxing are our centers, and are at the center of the universe. The last lines of the poem further back up the supposition that beat boxing is, like "ohm", the essential sound of the universe. At the end of the poem, Williams says "and out of darkness comes a [beat box] ohm." This can be interpreted to mean that, when there is nothing (darkness signifying nothingness), there is still these primal and everlasting sounds of beat boxing and "ohm". This would mean that beat boxing imbues everything, including nothingness, and is therefore the bass line of the universe. Another thought that I had about this line, which does not as much support my thesis, is that the darkness could be representative of Williams skin color rather than nothingness. If this is the case, then it would be saying that beat boxing is more essential to black people, as opposed to everything. I think that perhaps Williams means both of these things, paradoxically, at the same time.