In chapter 11, the narrator says “when I discover who I am I’ll be free.” But if the prologue is any indication of the narrator at the end of the book, he just becomes more invisible. He certainly seems to feel more free, but he explicitly says that “people refuse to see [him],” meaning that he has no meaning to other people and therefore no identity.
On the contrary, identity is very important to other characters in the book. Bledsoe has spent his whole life working to create his identity, and has one of the most prestigious identities in the book. His identity is so potent, that he is trapped inside of it. Bledsoe has little to no freedom because he must adhere to the expectations of his identity. The paint mixer has a very definite role and identity to everyone who works in the paint shop, but he in the lowest basement.
The more the narrator tries to get somewhere in the world by following the rules, to be someone and create an identity for himself, the less free he is. In the beginning of the book he allows himself to be tossed around, and all aspects of his life are determined by people other than himself. This is literally symbolized in the battle royale scene where other people are pushing him from one thing to the next, purely for their own benefit.
The vet has a very little identity. We don’t know much about how he got to where he is now, but he is able to say nearly whatever he wants, whenever he wants to. He has freedom of speech and little consequence if he acts out, and is essentially free.
When the narrator is “reborn” in chapter 11, he realizes his identity is essential to his freedom, at least subconsciously. After his identity is literally zapped out of his brain and he can’t remember who he is anymore, he is free in that he stops following the rules like he did in the beginning of the book. Instead of total compliance like in the battle royale, the narrator plays games with the doctor in the hospital, and dumps a spittoon on the leader of the men’s house. The freest the narrator has even been is when he has completely lost his identity, which shows that freedom in this book comes from a lack of identity.
Very interesting point. I had never thought about that correlation between identity and freedom. This comes back to the idea of how power and money might not lead to freedom. You talk about how Bledsoe has very little freedom, and that makes a lot of sense, especially when we see the mask he must wear. As you said, the most free person thus far is the vet, and because everyone writes him off as crazy he has no need to wear a mask. Without the mask, he is free. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you made between identity and freedom, one that the narrator still has yet to recognize. When the narrator is reborn without his identity he is more free, but despite realizing this subconsciously, he still feels the need to search for an identity, thinking he'll be free when he finds it. Because of that he still hasn't completely left his old self behind, his goals of becoming somebody.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the narrator is free in the prologue? Is it possible to be invisible and still be free? Maybe his invisibility and lack of power is what in part contributes to his freedom. Bledsoe can go where he wants, but cannot speak freely, and the vet can say what he wants--who listens to a madman anyway--but is carted around against his will. The narrator, however, lives where he wants to live, and can say what he wants to say.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the narrator is free in the prologue? Is it possible to be invisible and still be free? Maybe his invisibility and lack of power is what in part contributes to his freedom. Bledsoe can go where he wants, but cannot speak freely, and the vet can say what he wants--who listens to a madman anyway--but is carted around against his will. The narrator, however, lives where he wants to live, and can say what he wants to say.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm trying to lay out here is that the narrator's freedom does come from his invisibility. I am using invisibility and lack of identity nearly synonymously in this post (and perhaps should make that more clear). I agree with the fact that the prologue narrator is even more free than the vet, even though that isn't something I thought deeply about before. I think his freedom of mobility comes from the fact that he seems to have exited The System completely, whereas the vet is still a part of it because he is still "seen" because he is Bledsoe views him as a threat (if I'm remember that chapter correctly) and sends him away.
DeleteI think there are multiple ways to consider the concept of identity. The narrator in the beginning of the book considers his identity to be what other people see of him, that is, how he shows himself to other people. The narrator in the prologue/ at the end of the book sees his identity as the way that he sees himself. No one else can determine his identity for him. The whole time, he sees himself as free, or trying to be free. The beginning narrator would say that freedom is the power to do what you want. The end narrator would say that freedom is being so invisible that no one cares/sees what you do. I really like how you show the narrator's identity/ sense of identity changing throughout the book. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteYeah, this contradiction is definitely really interesting, the idea that with more power comes a restriction of freedom. Even Trueblood at the beginning was free to tell whoever he wanted his story, but if anyone of the "powerful" figures in the novel really said what they wanted too, if they revealed that they were "playing the game", the would no longer have the opportunity to play it and would lose all of their power. I think it's also interesting to think about how right after the Narrator found his freedom, he was given a new identity by the Brotherhood, which may limit his freedom but will (I guess) give him new power as an important speaker.
ReplyDeleteIt seems significant that Ellison uses the same word, "discover," here to talk about the narrator's identity, which he also uses in the Prologue to talk about his "discovery" of his invisibility. This formulation suggests that it's been there all along, waiting for him to become aware of it. Is it possible that "discovering" his identity and his invisibility are the same thing? It seems counterintuitive--how can invisibility be an identity, rather than a total LACK of one? This is precisely the kind of a paradox that Ellison loves, and which we come up against repeatedly in this novel.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really insightful post. The theme of invisibility and identity is really complex in the novel. I like the point you make about comparing the prologue narrator to the narrator later in the book, and how the identity he finds does end up resulting from his invisibility. Your point about the vet is also interesting, it seems like throughout the book the narrator becomes more like him and understands more of what he says.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas you discuss are very interesting. The ideas of this identity versus invisibility in the novel are obviously very difficult to grasp. I think that is because Ellison is emphasizing how much they really do conflict with each other. Specifically in the case of Bledsoe, these contradictions are very prevalent. His identity is the once he creates for himself. But in many ways his identity is an admission of his invisibility. He is invisible to the white man, so through this he gains power over him without the white man's knowledge. The identity he holds is as a very powerful man. The contradictions of his invisibility giving him such a strong self-identity is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. The narrator definitely seems like he is more free after he loses an identity. I think that when the narrator doesn't really have an identity, he is the most free. When he was a student at college or working, he was confined to certain things. He became free for the bit of time after the paint factory but before the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood gave him a new identity and then controlled him. After he leaves the Brotherhood, he is free again.
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