Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Situation That Never Sleeps

A simple person coming to the rage of a city like New York can have strong advantages, disadvantages, and plenty of surprises. Now, even though the Big Apple has been also nicknamed "The land of opportunity", the narrator of Invisible Man still finds himself trapped within his own world that is still connected to Bledsoe. He is letting this man take over his life. He certainly hates himself for letting him control him and with good reason. But he is viewing the world as a very limited place for a black man like him. Even though he just saw a black policeman direct the traffic of white people "as though it was the most natural thing in the world"(P159). Maybe the opportunities in this city are bigger than he may think.
He may very well figure out by himself sooner or later that he can do whatever he wants in this new world. But this small light is dimmed by the two intimidating cops standing beside the possible riot in page 160. They tell him to take care of himself but they still seem intimidating for some reason. This brings the idea of seeming versus being. They seem intimidating considering that he has no reason to trust cops since the ones back home are just too agressive. But they may have nothing really against him. Just because the ask "You sure?" and slightly treating him like an idiot does not make it a threat. But he still interprets it as one. Maybe these are just New York cops being New York cops.
Even though he has been rejected from several secretaries now, his hopes do not fade. He now feels equal to any other person walking along the street. The only difference now is the size of his wallet and everyone else's and even that makes very little difference. Such politeness is unmistakably a nonchalant tone. Even though this is an aggressive city, there is something smooth and calm about it that makes it ironic to the sight. But after a while, he realizes that his is standing on unstable ground and it could collapse on him at any moment. He is afraid in a land designed for people like him who come in without a job. He is afraid of the different and of what he does not know. But even though home may be harsh and the city even, he may find himself in a far better condition than he expected.

No comments:

Post a Comment