At the beginning of the book, after the prologue, the narrator was very focused on succeeding. He wanted to finish college and become another Dr. Bledsoe. Throughout the story that we’ve read so far, the narrator becomes less focused on pleasing people and more focused on doing what pleases himself.
While the narrator is driving around Mr. Norton, he does everything that Mr. Norton wants him to do, knowing he will get in trouble with Dr. Bledsoe, yet knowing that he didn’t really do anything wrong. When he gets back to the college, Dr. Bledsoe really yells at him and tells him that he has ruined the future of the college by showing those places to Mr. Norton, who gives the college money. While getting yelled at, the narrator knows he didn’t do anything wrong, yet is apologetic toward Dr. Bledsoe. When Dr. Bledsoe sends the narrator away to New York, the narrator is very hopeful that he will be able to make his return to college in the fall after working all summer. Now he only wishes to become Dr. Bledsoe’s assistant.
The narrator goes all around New York delivering letters of recommendation written by Dr. Bledsoe to important men hoping to get a job. After no success, he visits one last man, who shows him what the letter really says. Finding out that Dr. Bledsoe has no intentions of letting him return to college in the fall, regardless of how much he works. Hearing this is shocking for the narrator, and he can think of nothing but getting revenge on Dr. Bledsoe. Now, instead of working to return to college, he works to earn money to return to the college to kill Dr. Bledsoe.
The narrator begins working at Liberty Paints where he works with a man named Lucius Brockway. Mr. Brockway threatens to kill the narrator after thinking the narrator has joined a union. Instead of just allowing Mr. Brockway to yell at him this way like he did with Dr. Bledsoe, the narrator actually fights back. They get into a physical fight where the narrator ends up knocking out his dentures. Before, I believe that the narrator would have just allowed himself to be threatened, but now he is standing up for himself. The narrator begins the novel as a follower and now is becoming a leader.
I agree, the narrator has changed a lot since chapter 1. He's starting to become more like the narrator from the prologue. Seeing him change from wanting to be Bledsoe to wanting to kill Bledsoe is, I think, a positive thing. Murder is bad, but at least now he's not naive and is becoming more self reliant, he's now able to look beneath the surface.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this transformation of the narrator because I personally didn't like how the narrator always "went with the flow" in the first few chapters. I felt annoyed how the narrator was used and manipulated by white men like at the Battle Royale or by people like Dr. Bledsoe. I like that we are seeing more of the prologue narrator and I do hope we get to see the narrator with his newfound confidence go face to face with Dr. Bledsoe!
ReplyDeleteIts really interesting to see this character develop. To me, the first chapter compared to the prologue was essentially two different beings and we are now finally seeing how he transforms, almost like a butterfly, to the something that is more like himself and true to his nature and not being like someone such as bledsoe who isn't true to the world or himself.
ReplyDeleteThere's a good deal of irony in the narrator's new assertiveness with Brockway. I agree that it could signal him becoming more of a "leader," more assertive and less deferential to authority, but there's also something so absurd and even comical about the fight--with a young man pounding on this older man until he loses his dentures, it's really not the narrator's finest hour in the novel. It's nice to see him not just "taking it" anymore, but Ellison signals in a number of ways that this fight is not necessarily noble or even necessary.
ReplyDeleteI love the narrator's transformation so far. He was so weak and passive before. He listened to other people and followed their direction instead of following his own. He was unable to stand up for himself and did not have his own voice. I think after reading Bledsoe's letter, something ignited in the narrator. It was like he had more of a screw it all attitude. So when he fought back against Brock, it was a moment of relief, like "YES FINALLY". I just can't wait to see what he does to Bledsoe!
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