Name: Date: Period: Contents

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1 Name: Date: Period: Invisible Man can be a daunting novel, both in length and subject matter. This novel is most frequently used on the Advance Placement Exam for Literature and Composition, so please read it thoroughly and seek for the greatest understanding. Additionally, read the information carefully and do not miss due dates. *Late work requirement: If you must turn something in late, then please write the instructor a letter explaining what I should accept your late work. Contents Overview... 2 Invisible Man Reading Schedule... 3 Activity 1 Terms (Due 2/24)... 4 Activity 2A - Hidden Name and Complex Fate article (Due 2/21/2014)... 5 Activity 2B - Your Name Poster: (Due 2/24/2014)... 6 Activity 3 Poetry (Due 3/4)... 7 Activity 4 Songs (Due 3/4)... 8 Trapped... 9 Activity 5 - Critical respone Questions (See Reading Schedule) Activity 6 Motif Chart (Due 5/2)

2 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Overview Published by Ralph Ellison in 1952 to immediate acclaim, Invisible Man is the story of a man in New York City who, after his experiences growing up and living as a model black citizen, now lives in an underground hole and believes he is invisible to American society. Invisible Man is unique not only in the literature world for its improvisational jazz-inspired style, but also in the political world for adding a new voice to the discussion about blacks in America. Ellison depicts several ideologies in the novel that line up with the ideologies of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and communism. To equate the ideologies would be a mistake, because the characters portrayed in the novel are only caricatures of their real-life inspirations (in the same way that Pete in Family Guy is not an accurate representation of a middle-class father). But the novel's rejection of ideology in general is a central theme, which explains why Invisible Man wasn't exactly a hit among influential black thinkers from the civil rights movement in the 1960s to this day. Ellison drew heavy fire for being, in their view, politically disengaged and removed from the collective plight of black America. Invisible Man, in its efforts to transcend the confines of racial labeling, was criticized by those who wanted to keep those labels in place and use them as the impetus for political action. 2

3 Invisible Man Reading Schedule Note: when the term through is used, this means through the end of. So, for example, chapter 2 through 7 means from the beginning of chapter 2 through the end of chapter 5. Reading Schedule Section Questions Due by Reading 1-Prologue through chapter 1 2/25/2014 Reading 2-Chs. 2 through 7 3/6/2014 Reading 3-Chs. 8 through 12 3/19/2014 Reading 4-Chs. 13 through 15 4/2/2014 Reading 5-Chs. 16 through 19 4/16/2014 Reading 6-Chs. 20 through 22 4/30/2014 Reading 7-Chs. 23 through 25 (beware of pages ) 5/2/2014 Individual and Partner Projects Activity 1-4: Individual Projects Activity 5 and 6: Partner Projects Provided: Overview and Book of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 3

4 Activity 1 Terms (Due 2/24) Directions: create index terminology cards of these terms: 1. Prologue 9. Naïve Narrator 17. Propaganda Novel 2. Epilogue 10. Points of View 18. Naturalism 3. Satire 11. Epic Novel 19. Kunstlerroman 4. Idiom 12. Quest Novel/Motif 20. Bildungsroman 5. Reliability 13. Allegorical 21. Surrealism 6. Trickster 14. Stereotype 22. Freudianism 7. Taboo 15. Picaresque 23. Existentialism 8. Realism 16. Rite of Passage 24. Slave Narrative 4

5 Activity 2A - Hidden Name and Complex Fate article (Due 2/21/2014) Quiz on 2/21/2014 Directions: See the attached article Hidden Name and Complex Fate written by Ralph Ellison. Read the article carefully to fully understand his view point. Prepare for a multiple choice test and consider your own name in activity 3b. 5

6 Activity 2B - Your Name Poster: (Due 2/24/2014) An Introduction to Personal Voice (Adapted from Debra McIntire s IM Unit) To be used with Ellison s Essay Hidden Name and Complex Fate. On a piece of colored paper that you have received, create a NAME POSTER by following these instructions: 1. Utilize the long edge of the paper. Measure the same distance from each side and draw a 3 x 4 rectangle in the middle of the page. 2. Display your first name, your last name, OR another name which people call you at school inside the rectangle. Be creative in your display, using an image that says something distinctive about your personality. You can fashion the letters of your name in any way that you choose, as long as they are readable and school appropriate, but write only ONE of your names in the rectangle. Suggestions for the name display: comic strip paper, glitter, foil, fabric, wrapping paper, point, colored markers or pencils, crayons, pictures, etc. 3. In the space around your name display, write an explanation, a story, or a description which addresses ONE OR ALL of the following: a. The origin or meaning of your name b. Why you have this name c. Why you have chosen this particular material to display your name d. Why you like or do not like your name e. Other writing connected to your name in the rectangle Fill up the entire space around the name display. You can divide it up into four sections, you can wind your words around and around the page, or you can place the words in another way just be sure to fill up the space. Be prepared to briefly tell the class about your poster on the due date. The posters will then be hung up in the room for a few weeks. Your grade will be based on effort, creativity, and following directions. THIS IS THE SPACE TO WRITE YOUR DESCRIPTION AND NARRATIVE. NAME THIS IS THE SPACE TO WRITE YOUR DESCRIPTION AND NARRATIVE. 6

7 Activity 3 Poetry (Due 3/4) Discuss and compare these poems 1. What do they say about identity? 2. What do they say about the African-American experience? 3. What do they say about America and the American identity? 4. What is the relationship between the speaker and the dominant white society? 5. Is there an element of invisibility in these poems? Theme for English B Langston Hughes The instructor said, Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you--- Then, it will be true. I wonder if it's that simple? I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am the only colored student in my class. The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas, Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y, the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator up to my room, sit down, and write this page: It's not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page. (I hear New York too.) Me---who? Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records---bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesn't make me NOT like the same things other folks like who are other races. So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white--- yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That's American. Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you. But we are, that's true! As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me--- although you're older---and white--- and somewhat more free. This is my page for English B. I, too, Sing America Langston Hughes I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- 7

8 Activity 4 Songs (Due 3/4) Watch the clip of the song Trapped by Jamaican reggae artist Jimmy Cliff ( ) and the cover version by American rocker Bruce Springsteen ( Questions for Response (songs follow this page) 1. What is the song about? Is the song about identity? Race? Is it a protest song? Is it anti-government? What images and emotions do the lyrics evoke? How does Springsteen change the lyrics? Do these changes alter the meaning of the song? 2. How does the music affect the tone of the song? Compare the tone in Cliff and Springsteen s version? Does the tone affect the overall meaning? 3. Jimmy Cliff is a black Jamaican. Bruce Springsteen is a white American. Does this affect your interpretation of the song? Is the song still relevant when performed by Springsteen? Is there a suggestion of interconnectedness between the races? 8

9 Trapped Sung by Jimmy Cliff Trapped Sung by Bruce Springsteen Well, it seems like I'm caught up in your trap again And it seems like I'll be wearing the same old chains Good will conquer evil and the truth will set me free And I know someday I will find the key And I know somewhere I will find the key Well, it seems like I've been playing your game way too long And it seems the game I've played has made you strong But when the game is over, I won't walk out the loser And I know that I'll walk out of here again And I know someday I'll walk out of here again But now, I'm trapped, ooh yeah, trapped Ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah Now it seems like I've been sleeping in your bed too long And it seems like you've been meaning to do me harm But I'll teach my eyes to see beyond these walls in front of me And someday I'll walk out of here again And I know someday I'll walk out of here again But now, I'm trapped, ooh yeah, trapped Ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah Now it seems like I've been playing your game way too long And it seems the game I've played has made you strong Because I'm trapped, ooh yeah, trapped Ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah I'm trapped, ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah, trapped Ooh yeah, trapped, ooh yeah, I'm trapped Well it seems like I'm caught up in your trap again And it seems like I'll be wearin' the same ol' chains Good will conquer evil and the truth will set you free And I know someday I'll find the key Then I know somewhere I will find the key Well it seems like I've been playin' the game way too long And it seems the game I played has made you strong Well when the game is over, I won't walk out the loser And I know that I'll walk out of here again And I know someday I'll walk out of here again But now I'm trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeah yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeahhh! Now it seems like I've been sleepin' in your bed too long And it seems like you've been meanin' to do me harm But I'll teach my eyes to see beyond these walls in front of me And someday I'll walk out of here again Yeah I know someday I'll walk out of here again But now I'm trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeah yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeahhh! Now it seems like I've been playin' your game way too long And it seems the game I played has made you strong Because I'm trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeah yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeahhh! I'm trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeahhh! Trapped! Ooh yeah! Trapped! Ooh yeahhh! 9

10 Activity 5 - Critical response Questions (See Reading Schedule) Invisible Man: Prologue and Chapter One 1. What sense do you make of the title and of the epigraphs to the novel? (You may want to revise this answer after finishing the novel.) 2. Explain how the narrator views history, as expressed in the Prologue. 3. What does it mean to be a thinker-tinker? 4. Explain the following quote: Responsibility rests upon recognition and recognition is a form of agreement. 5. What is the grandfather s curse and how is it ironic? 6. Chapter One, originally published before the rest of the novel as a short story called Battle Royal, can be seen as both a rite of passage and as an initiation. Explain. 7. Why do you think the protagonist is left nameless throughout the novel? Invisible Man: Chapter Two Seven 1. Identify each of the following people: a. Burnside b. Kate c. Homer Barbee d. the Founder 2. What is Dr. Bledsoe s personal philosophy? 3. Explain why the Invisible Man s confrontation with Dr. Bledsoe is so devastating for him. Invisible Man: Chapter Eight - Twelve 1. How do the Crazy vet s advice and Bledsoe s letters echo the grandfather s curse? 2. What is really happening in the scene between young Emerson and the Invisible Man? 3. How is Brockway like Bledsoe? 4. In what ways does the Invisible Man s hospital experience resemble death and rebirth? Invisible Man: Chapters Thirteen - Fifteen 1. In Chapter 13, the central chapter of the novel, the narrator s search for himself reaches a turning point. The Invisible Man discovers what he truly values, finds a calling, and begins to shape a new identity for himself. Explain. 2. The narrator never tells Mary Rambo why he has to move from her apartment. Write a letter to her, either on his behalf from a member of the Brotherhood or from the narrator himself, explaining his disappearance. (Use the back of this page.) 10

11 Invisible Man: Chapters Sixteen - Nineteen 1. Explain the subjects of the Invisible Man s first official speech for the Brotherhood. How is he transformed by this speech? 2. How do Brother Tarp and the gifts (Douglass poster & leg chain) he gives the Invisible Man echo the grandfather s curse? 3. Compare and contrast Ras the Exhorter and Tod Clifton to each other and to the narrator. Invisible Man: Chapters Twenty - Twenty-two 1. How does the Sambo doll and Clifton s sales pitch echo earlier evnts? 2. Who are the Zoot Suiters and what do they represent for the narrator? 3. The Invisible Man s funeral oration employs techniques also used by Mark Anthony in his funeral oration for Caesar. Explain. 4. How does Brother Jack reveal his true nature to IM? How does this confrontation echo earlier ones with Bledsoe and Brockway? 5. What does Ellison say about History in these chapters? Quote appropriately. 6. As Chapter 22 ends, the narrator concludes, After tonight I wouldn t ever look the same, or feel the same. What has happened in this chapter to make the narrator so self- aware. Invisible Man: Chapters Twenty-three twenty-five 1. In what way is the riot at the end of the book reminiscent of the battle royal at the beginning? 2. Why does Invisible Man move underground after the riot? 3. Comment on the final dream of IM where all the major characters reassemble to discuss his progress-or regress. What do you make of the blinding/castration theme in the dream? Is he castrated or blinded or both? Of what illusions is he free? How does he interpret his dream? 4. At the end of the novel, Invisible Man says, "Whence all this passion toward conformity anyway?--diversity is the word. Let man keep his many parts and you'll have no tyrant states. Why, if they follow this conformity business they'll end up by forcing me, an invisible man, to become white, which is not a color but the lack of one...america is woven of many strands; I would recognize them and let it so remain" (577). The debate between the value of diversity versus conformity--or consensus--is still very much alive today, more than forty years after the appearance of Invisible Man. What contribution does the novel make to this cultural debate? 11

12 Activity 6 Motif Chart (Due 5/2) Motif Defined The literary device motif is any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature. Using a motif refers to the repetition of a specific theme dominating the literary work. Motifs are very noticeable and play a significant role in defining the nature of the story, the course of events and the very fabric of the literary piece Example: In all the famed fairytales, the motif of a handsome prince falling in love with a damsel in distress and the two being bothered by a wicked step-mother/ evil witch/ beast and finally conquering all and living happily ever after is a common motif. Another common motif is the simple, pretty peasant girl or girl from a modest background in fairytales discovering that she is actually a royal or noble by the end of the tale. Directions: See the attached document to track the several motifs in the novel. The motif is defined for you and some examples are provided in the motif chart. Not every blank will be filled, it is not like bingo. 12