How Does Revealing Bledsoe's Letter Affect the Narrator's Veil?
In Chapter 9 of Invisible Man young Emerson reveals the letter from Dr. Bledsoe to the narrator. Initially, the narrator is outraged and wants to kill Bledsoe. The narrator seems to become less angry as time passes. This could be simply because he is given time to process what happened, but also the narrator might have found a more specific reason to stop worrying about returning to college. The narrator seems to realize that before learning the contents of the letter he only wanted to become like Bledsoe. Afterwards, in some sense the narrator got more freedom. He could go to a different college and pursue the same career or do something completely different. He now was not influenced by only one role model.
Intitially, the narrator still wanted to become like Bledsoe. He was extremely surprised and devastated by the letter, he even questioned, "Perhaps it was a test of my good will and faith--But that's a lie, I thought." He wasn't quite sure what to think. He knew that Emerson was not lying, but he really hoped he was. He clearly still desired to be like Bledsoe. Next, as soon as the narrator takes a minute to think about what had happened and accepts that it is true, he plots to kill Bledsoe. This desire shows that the narrator is envious of Bledsoe. The narrator wants to prove to him that he can't just send him away and can also become as powerful as him.
After a while the narrator seems to find a sense of freedom knowing what he has learned. Initially, he ties his identity to becoming an academic leader. When he goes to the north, he follows exactly what Bledsoe tells him to do. After learning about why Bledsoe had sent him away, he felt much more free and was not tied to his identity as an educated man. One example of this is of the different foods he eats. Initially, when he goes to one of the diners for breakfast, he does not order the pork because he wants to fit in. Later in the novel, the narrator eats the yams from a merchant and says that he feels free. He no longer feels that he has to fit in. He feels the same way after returning to the men's house when he is released from the hospital. Opening his options outside of going to college makes him see how restricted his path was before.
The narrator gets many more career options and sees how he was part of a specific group of people from Emerson's reveal of the letter. He also gets more freedom in how he acts and how it ties into his identity. There is one question that is not as clear. Does the narrator like this change or would he have rather been accepted by Bledsoe?
Hi Lucas, this is a really great blog post! I enjoyed how you highlighted the relationship between Bledsoe and the narrator and its effect on the narrator after they part ways. I think that in some ways, the narrator accomplishes both options in your question, regardless of it being in a roundabout way. While the narrator clearly despises Bledsoe after he finds out the truth of the letter, he still reminds himself of what Bledsoe taught him. It is kind of ironic that even in his hatred towards Bledsoe, he still is becoming the person that Bledsoe is and wants him to be. The narrator seems pretty satisfied with the changes that have occurred in his life, regardless of their challenges. However, I think that although Bledsoe would not accept the version of the narrator that he last knew, I think that Bledsoe would be quite surprised to see how much the narrator has conformed, at least in some ways to be the type of person that Bledsoe is.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic blog post! I really like the topic discussing letter and its direct effects on the narrator's views on Bledsoe. I find your point about the narrator's "freedom" intriguing because I can see how the narrator placed themselves into this box that was supposed to follow the straight-and-narrow path to achieve the same level of success that Bledsoe had, and after realizing what the contents of the letter was, the narrator was able to feel a bit less of a pressure on their shoulders. I also really like your point about how the narrator had gotten stuck with intertwining his identity with Bledsoe and his social standing. I think it is nice to see the narrator feel a bit more free with their identity now, after having (hopefully) processed everything with Bledsoe. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHello Lukas Grosse Perdekamp. It's really important that you emphasize the stark contrast between the narrator before vs after hearing the truth about the letter, and how the narrator is able to go from admiring Bledsoe, even wanting to be like him, to literally wanting to end his life within a few seconds. While this is obviously a strong reaction, it effectively represents a change of self-awareness for the narrator. In an instant, he realizes what Bledsoe (and many people in his life before that) had done. Regarding your question (Does the narrator like this change or would he have rather been accepted by Bledsoe?), its hard to be certain, but I say that he would previously (as naive as he was), prefer to be accepted by Bledsoe, even if this change eventually leads him to grow as an independent individual. Good job Lukas Grosse Perdekamp.
ReplyDeleteHey Lukas Grosse Perdekamp, nice job. Great job exploring the character of Bledsoe and seeing how he affected the narrator and his growth as a character. I also find it really interesting how even though the narrator feels he has broken free, he is still controlled by Bledsoe in a way. He almost didn't want to accept the fact that the last few years of his life were completely pointless. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post! You did a great job of analyzing Blesdoe's letter and its affect on the narrator. The change in emotions the narrator feels from distraught to freedom is really interesting and you did a great job of explaining those changes in emotion. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGood job on your blog post! You clearly laid out how finding out the true content of Bledsoe's letters affected him, in the short term and in the long term. While anyone would be angry at such a betrayal initially, I liked how you talked about how it actually opened new doors for him and allowed him more freedom in his future without Bledsoe's constraints.
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