Invisible Man Chapters 4-6

Chapter 4

1. Imagery in chapter 4 belies the narrator’s inner tension by how the white line divided the highway.

2. The narrator hates Trueblood and the people at the Golden Day because he impregnated his daughter and also they destroyed his chance to get accepted into the white society including a good future for college.

3. The effect of comparing the campus building to an “old plantation manor house” represents how blacks are permitted on campus, but are still suffering due to how whites treat them.

4. Dr. Bledsoe achieved power in society by basically playing both sides and making sure the whites are pleased.

5. The mirror and the aquarium are metaphors because as many blacks see themselves as distorted within a society dominated by the blacks.

Chapter 5

1. The rhetorical argument behind the comparison of the moon to a “white man’s bloodshot eye” is that they are both elevated, but sooner or later they both have to come down and face their problems.

2. The tone of the two paragraphs beginning with “Into the doors and into the soft lights . .” was peaceful due to how he was talking about heaven.

3. The rhetorical effect of the italicized passage is for us to question ourselves of our freedom from the preceding words.

4. The phrase used to describe Dr. Bledsoe’s position relative to the trustees was, watched him smiling at first one and then another of the guests, of whom all but one were white; and as I saw him placing his hand upon their arms, touching their backs, whispering to a tall angular-faced trustee who in turn touched his arm familiarly, I felt a shudder. I too had touched a white man today and I felt that it had been disastrous, and I realized then that he was the only one of us whom I knew -- except perhaps a barber or a nursemaid -- who could touch a white man with impunity.”

5. Allusion is used during Rev. Barbee’s sermon by alluding back to slavery and the struggles that were faced during those times.

6. Simile is used to express the effect of the Founder’s death by representing how the men felt when the Founder died.

7. Sound devices are connected to the word “black” in the latter part of Rev. Barbee’s sermon by using dark visualizations such as the reverend wearing black glasses and a funeral.

8. The rhetorical effect of Rev. Barbee’s blindness is interesting due to him always talking about vision when he is blind.

9. As the narrator leaves the chapel he sees images as Barbee stumbling and glasses fall off, which then reveals to the narrator that he is blind.

Chapter 6

1. As the narrator enters his meeting, Dr. Bledsoe’s posture is jolly and relaxed.

2. Dr. Bledsoe is so angry with the narrator because he took him to Trueblood’s home and was exposed to negativity of blacks.

3. Dr. Bledsoe’s ideas about blacks/ white relations similar to those of the narrator’s grandfather because they both believed that the narrator should be himself and try to blend in with the whites.

4. Repetition is used to show the narrator’s shock when Dr. Bledsoe calls him a “n___” because he is in disbelief of his own calling him such a thing.

5. Dr. Bledsoe’s handshake is an example of foreshadowing because he didn’t shake his hand enthusiastically, which showed how little he would care and help him in the future.

Comments

Popular Posts