Weston's Take on "Invisible Man"

First Edition of "Invisible Man," published in 1952

I just wanted to quickly highlight Weston's post on Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man." It's a really good post, and I think he gets at one of the central concerns of the piece:

The paragraph ends with the idea that the whole time he was just trying to figure out who he really was, and what he found was that you can't ask others to define you, “I am nobody but myself,” he writes, “an invisible man!” The first paragraph seems to tell the whole story.

Ellison seems to be playing with this idea of invisibility. It's a concept that assumes a viewer, some other person, a two-way relationship. Sure, you could still be invisible if you were the only person in the world, but so what? Invisibility is tied to a relationship in which sight, the gaze, and eyes themselves play a large role. It also is a relationship defined by power.

Take a look at the cover of the first edition. While the face is obscured, the eye is the most prominent image. This is no accident.

Since we didn't get to Ellison last week, we'll begin with him this Friday. It might be a good idea to go back over "Invisible Man."

Also, don't forget that the Lady Gaga post is up for extra credit.