A Reflection

The semester's end took me by total surprise. Although I am happy to be finished I cannot believe that it is already over and the sheer volume of literary works we have covered in class. To know that I stuck through it is rewarding and I look back once more in a final blog to reflects by thoughts.
I believe that there was a purpose behind all this madness. I really did learn quite a lot and feel as though I have read stories that I otherwise would not have. Although some of the pieces I have read before, mostly poems, in my Honors British Literature class in high school I found was glad to brush up on the meanings behind each. The short stories that we had read at the beginning of the year made the largest impact of all. They were memorable as well as fun reads, well not including Ivan Ilych. Although they were of scholarly nature these stories were interesting and entertaining. This pattern continued in the Dramas and made the readings as pleasant as they could be while piled on with other class' homework as well. A Doll's House was interesting and will forever remind me why not to date a 'Torvald' as remember that these types of relationships still occur to this day. Furthermore Yellow Wallpaper will stay as an important reference in my mind. I feel as though it will be an important literary work to revert to. The only criticism I have is that I feel that there are other works that are just was good that could replace The Death of Ivan Ilych. Although no one will admit it I know not many students enjoyed that story. Another proposal is that the class makes enough room to finish the last literary work. By doing so it also signals the end and draws the class to a finish. It also does not hurt that I believe the stories are the best part of the course.
Overall I enjoyed the class. I finished it feeling more enlightened than when I had arrived. Although there was a lot of work it was worth it and the readings were interesting. It was worthwhile taking and I think can enthrall upcoming students as well.

Fallacy #2

On another note:



I was watching this YouTube clip online after a friend had forwarded it to me and I just realized it is a perfect example of Ad Hominem. This fallacy attacks the person instead of the issue. As you can notice in the clip above the journalist attacks McCain for cheating on his wife and then leaving her while she is in the hospital for his current wife Cindy. Although what he has done is despicable and insensitive on various levels it in no way supports that he will be a terrible president. His personal actions and his character in no way represent his foreign policy or his plan as president. When one sees smear campaigns during the election it is necessary to stay unbiased and search for the facts that are truly relevant.

Invisible Man

While reading Ellison's "Invisible Man" I noticed that the narrator viewed himself as insignificant (invisible) throughout the story. Although the people around him cannot appreciate his potential the narrator knows that he more complex than he appears and he want to be noticed by those around him. Throughout the story the narrator journey through the difficulties that being African American in a very racist era will present. He quickly comes to understand that he has to play certain roles around certain people and by being around a specific group of people means that he must change his demeanor to suit them. Playing these roles to fit in does not come naturally and he feels trapped. His experiences paint a clear picture of how he is treated and how he is expected to act. When recalling his job experience the reader can better understand what type of subservient role the narrator had to play solely due to the fact that he was black. The narrator tries to find solace by joining a group called The Brotherhood. He hopes that this will ultimately help him overcome the oppression he feels. Sadly his membership in The Brotherhood yields no rewards and he realized that by staying within it he would further shackle himself down and prevent himself from fully achieving fulfillment. He realizes that by striving to be something that other want and he is not he draws from ever becoming his true self and stays in this limbo causing the constant feeling of invisibility in society. Ultimately the narrator understands that only by being proactive and striving to be all he can be can he achieve self-fulfillment. Only then can he make something of himself, when he truly makes an impact on his surrounding.

I believe that Ellison is commenting on every humans desire to be remembered and to feel important. The invisibility that is central to the story actually symbolizes how the narrator feels. As incomplete, unnoticed and overlooked. Ellison also uses this to identify that everyone feels this emptiness but that one can change the situation they are in by being proactive. Then and only then will the invisibility subside.

This is an interesting YouTube video I saw that is user created but draws on Ellison's general idea.