Music Week 5

When the Invisible Man went to the bar after purchasing his new disguise, everything that he could see was in a new green tint giving the appearance of rebirth for his character. One thing that appeared in that new green tint for the Invisible Man was the juke box sitting in the “smoke-green haze” in the depths of the “murky cave”(486). The Invisible Man then noticed that the juke box was “lit up like a bad dream of the Fiery Furnace, shouting:

Jelly, Jelly

Jelly,

All Night Long” (486)

This is an allusion to the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach,and Abednego (Daniel 3). Through the use of this reference to the juke box and music, Ellison creates a situation in which the fiery furnace a punishment that comes back to hurt those that attempt to hurt the victim instead of the victim himself. This can be seen as foreshadowing for the “punishment” that the brotherhood is going to receive after betraying the Invisible Man. It could also foreshadow the punishment that Ras the Destroyer is going to receive similarly to the brotherhood for his attempt at hurting and bringing down the Invisible Man.