Literature Analysis #1 Invisible Man

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses.
The novel begins with the narrator claiming himself as an invisible man because everyone refuses to see his true self. He reminisced about the time when he was selected to give a speech at his high school graduation. He was later asked to join in a boxing match with other black students. They made a fool out of themselves when they fought above a rigged carpet that electrocuted them for the white men's entertainment. After the match the men gave the invisible man a scholarship and briefcase to the state's college for colored people. The invisible man was given the opportunity to drive around Mr. Norton, a school trustee. The invisible man ended up getting expelled from college after falsely endangering Mr. Norton. He had to work in a paint factory to pay off his next year's tuition in New York. Everything was going well until he got into a fight with Lucius Brockway, the person who the invisible man was assisting. Lucius caused an explosion in the basement after being beaten, causing the invisible man to severely black out due to his wounds. The invisible man was fired from the factory and returned to Harlem. A kind woman named Mary Rambo took the narrator in after he almost passed out from his weakness. Mary healed him and took good care of him. The invisible man met a man named Brother Jack, who offered him a job that involved making speeches for his organization The Brotherhood. The price on joining the organization involved leaving Mary and his past behind. The invisible man later on found out that Tod Clifton, a member of The Brotherhood, had disappeared. He also found out that Tod was selling dolls. Tod resisted arrest and was killed by a police officer. The invisible man made a funeral for him without agreeing with The Brotherhood and then left the organization. The invisible man returned to Harlem and came back to see a riot. He ran into Ras the Exhorter again, and he ordered his men to hang the invisible man. The invisible man escaped the men, but then ran from 3 other white men who were curious about what was in his briefcase. The invisible man fell inside a sewer hole and the police trapped him inside. As he stops reminiscing, he claims to have been living underground ever since.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel.
I believe that the main theme of the novel is that achievement has no color. The author probably chose to write this topic to prove that anyone is capable of accomplishing anything and that it doesn't matter what race you are.

3. Why did you choose this book? 
I chose this book because I already knew that it had nothing to do with an actual invisible person, but that it involved racism and discrimination. I wanted to know the story and the character who overcame or endured all his experiences. I also knew that in one way I could connect with that character on how he felt during that time.

4. Did you find the book realistic?  
I found the book very realistic. It didn't really have anything that someone would find unreal because everything that happened could become reality. I made only one connection to the book and that was with the invisible man. He felt unwanted, and there have been times where I've felt the same way. 

5. Describe the author's tone.
The author's tone seemed calm and thoughtful at the most. "Something in this man's thick head had sprung out and beaten him within an inch of his life. I began to laugh at this crazy discovery." "I ran away into the dark, laughing so hard I feared I might rupture myself." The author put a lot of thought into how the invisible man was feeling, but seemed to have put very few emotion into it. This tone seems to continue to the end, although there was some comedy.

6. Describe a minimum of 10 literary elements/ techniques.
Simile: "You go along for years knowing something is wrong, then suddenly you discover you're as transparent as air" (pg. 575)
Hyperbole: "That is the real soul-sickness, the spear on the side," (pg. 575)
Point of View: The narrator's point of view is shown in the entire novel 
Assonance: "-without his motives being considered consciously or unconsciously malicious?" (pg. 314)
Alliteration: "-and below in the street the sound of sirens and shouting" (pg. 285) 
Conflict: "Oh yes, I kicked him! And in my outrage I got out my knife and prepared to slit his throat" (pg. 4)
Epilogue: (pg. 572)
Flashback: "One night I accidentally bumped into a man," (pg, 4)
Allusion: "No, I am not a spook like those who hunted Edgar Allen Poe;" (pg. 3)
Imagery: "The room spun around me, a swirl of lights, smoke, sweating bodies surrounded by tense white faces. I bled from my nose and mouth, the blood spattering upon my chest." (pg. 23)

CHARACTERIZATION 
1. Describe 2 examples of direct characterization and 2 examples of indirect characterization.
Tod Clifton is described as handsome, clever, and dedicated to The Brotherhood. The man that the narrator fought in the beginning was described as tall, blonde, and had blue eyes. A perfect example of indirect characterization is the narrator himself. His name has never even been mentioned and there wasn't much information about his appearance. Another example of indirect characterization is Ras the Exhorter. What we know about him is that he believes that blacks should never be with the whites and that he has a foreign accent. 

2. Does the author's syntax and/ or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? 
The syntax changes with different characters. With the narrator everything seems to be in good order. With the other characters there's not as much good use of words and descriptions. Good uses of words were used during the narrator's speeches.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or Round? Explain.
The narrator is both dynamic and round. He learned a lot about himself and society as the book went on. He was just a teenager in the beginning of the story when he started to reminisce about his past. He also impacted the people's thoughts and beliefs in Harlem. He became a very wise person in the end. 

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?
After reading the book, I feel like I had both met the invisible man and experienced some events that he's gone through. Just knowing all that has happened to him and him telling all of it makes me feel like he had actually been talking to me this whole time. When the story ends with him saying "the end was in the beginning" got me thinking about what he had really meant and to whom he had been talking to.

ENDURING MEMORY

Write a paragraph in which you describe the one or two ideas from this book that you expect to remember for a long time.
One idea for sure that I'd remember for a long time is that color doesn't matter. Everyone has the capability of doing anything whether it's public speaking or having a good work ethic and education. We're all human and we should all be treated the same. Another idea from the book that I'd remember is that you have to open your eyes and see the reality. One thing that the narrator struggled with is discovering that there was many bad people in the world and that you shouldn't drop your guard for a single second. I always have known this concept but this book helped me view it in a different way, that is being in racism terms.