Thursday, January 30, 2014

Symbols Week 2

Dr. Bledsoe becomes disenchanted with the Invisible Man following the events with Mr. Norton; and subsequently, he decides to take away his scholarship money. When the Invisible Man learns of his predicament, he decides to fight back; however, Dr. Bledsoe refuses to change his mind. Ultimately, he decides to help him find a job in New York to pay for next years tuition: "These letters will be sealed; don't open them if you want help. White folks are strict about such things. The letters will introduce you and request them to help you with a job" (Ellison 149). After rejection from all his attempts for employment , he considers reading the letters and struggles with his own values of right and wrong. Nonetheless, he decides to be faithful to his values, but those around him continue to follow a double standard. These letters are symbolic of the lack of control the Invisible Man possesses and of the deadly power of words. First,  Dr. Bledsoe controls the Invisible Man at college, but now even his future. In addition, these letters emphasize the narrators innocence and trusting nature despite the many clues he receives. This blind trust  illustrates  the inability of Invisible Man to look beneath surface and control his future. Furthermore, these letters symbolize the tremendous power of words.The narrator overlooks Bledsoe’s propensity for double-dealing precisely when he should  remember it. At the end, he discovers the contents of these letters and he becomes enraged by the betrayal ,but he still allows the others to control his fate. He is left powerless and must seek a simple job to survive.



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