In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison has colors play a role throughout the book. Describe the role of each color, trace the color and its occurrences, and discuss its significance throughout the story. How does the color enhance the meaning of the story as a whole?
White- Shows the superiority that this color has over every other color/thing (ex. Optic White painting company- most important references: "you could put this white paint over a piece of charcoal and you wouldn't even know there was something black under it."). Enhances how powerful just the color (of skin or just in general) can be in society.
ReplyDeleteBlack- Represents the inferiority of African Americans throughout the novel for the sole purpose of their skin color. It appears when describing people, or places (ex. Harlem being a black dominated area). Whenever something is black in the story, it is always referencing something that is low/inferior (ex. the BLACK manhole that's pitch BLACK in a basement). Enhances how something as simple as a color can create a world full of differentiating people and opinions.
Brass/gold- Brass is like black, representing lower society, and not a lot of money, while gold represents the wealth and power of society, and how greed affects certain characters (ex. white member of the Brotherhood: they pay in gold, but they use the narrator).
Gold: The Golden Day represents pleasure from the alcohol and sex that the Golden Day provides, as black people are stereotypically portrayed as sex hungry drunks, their figurative gold is the Golden Day. Reinforces stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteWhite- Represents white power and superiority over black people. The paint factory was known for primarily producing white paint, and the factory workers possessed a white is right ideology.
Black: A polar opposite to white. As white represents power and purity, black represents being tainted and inferiority. For example, Harlem is a black dominated area, and as a result mostly poor and full of crime.
Blue: The narrator's favorite music is blues. Represents a feeling of calmness and feeling at home. It provides the narrator an escape from reality even for a brief time. It allows him to relax and think.
White: White symbolizes the power and control that white people have over black people throughout the book. The example of Optic White especially emphasizes the way in which white power covers up the struggles of black people, showing how "it's impossible to tell that a block of coal is black unless you smash it with a hammer" relates to this oppressive covering.
ReplyDeleteGold: This color symbolizes the false wealth blacks are constantly exposed to, and also refers to the greed and desire that these people have. As evidenced by the brass coins, their initial appearance as gold shows how poor the black fighters weere and how much they needed the money from the white spectators. The eventual reveal of brass coins continues showing the cruelty of whites.
Black: Black directly represents the lackluster position blacks have in society. The association of the color with negative connotations shows how blacks are very often discriminated against by white throughout the country, both politically and socially. This cruelty shows the importance of the color of one's skin throughout the book.
The color white represents the white superiority over the blacks in society. This can be seen when the narrator was mixing the white paint with the black drops. When the narrator put the black drops in the white paint, the white still remained strong.
ReplyDeleteAnother color is black. Black is used to describe places that are dark and dingy. An example is the manhole where the narrator hides, and Harlem, a black area dominated by crime. This black color is the opposite of white, which is associated with purity, as can be seen in the paint factory.
Finally, there is gold. The Golden Day is a place where blacks can escape and relax. They get their figurative gold from the alcohol and sex the Golden Day provides. Gold only provides material happiness.
The color white represents the white superiority over the blacks in society. This can be seen when the narrator was mixing the white paint with the black drops. When the narrator put the black drops in the white paint, the white still remained strong.
ReplyDeleteAnother color is black. Black is used to describe places that are dark and dingy. An example is the manhole where the narrator hides, and Harlem, a black area dominated by crime. This black color is the opposite of white, which is associated with purity, as can be seen in the paint factory.
Finally, there is gold. The Golden Day is a place where blacks can escape and relax. They get their figurative gold from the alcohol and sex the Golden Day provides. Gold only provides material happiness.
Gold: This color appears as the "gold" coins that turned out to be brass during the battle royal and the Golden Day. The coins showed the wealth needed by the blacks to attain any semblance of social status. The revelation that they are brass only shows the cruelty of the white man. The Golden Day fuels the stereotypes created by the white men by producing drunk, sex-driven black men.
ReplyDeleteWhite: Mainly seen as race, however also seen in paint company. Opal white, or the "right white", was created with a few drops of black. It showed the overall white superiority message of the novel.
Black: The entire black race. They are discriminated against throughout the entire novel, forced to live and work in black and dirty places.
Red- represents rage and anger as well as bloodshed and violence. Used in novel to show that violence and anger were main parts of the society that was run by white men to better their standing and solidify the blacks at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteWhite- usually used as purity but not in this case because the white race is extremely corrupt going to means to keep their power large.
Black- represents the race and how they were at rock bottom. The Opal white in the novel is almost 100 prevent white with few drops of black meaning that the whites own society and the blacks have the smallest say
Gold- represents wealth needed by blacks. and the wealth that is given to help cement stereotypes that help to worsen their status.
White: represents superiority and racial purity . White people were the dominant race in society, and the optic white of Liberty Paints was said to be able to cover up anything, even a lump of coal.
ReplyDeleteBlack: represents inferiority negativity. Black people were oppressed and discriminated against. They fought with each other when they really should have united and fought against white society.
Gold: represents wealth and happiness. Golden Day allowed black men to get drunk and have sex with prostitutes, providing temporary but profound happiness.
White: Whote is seen as the white men in this society, who are themselves seen as superior. They claim to be pure and dominant. White is also seen in the paint factory, where white is said to be able to cover up anything, therefore control it.
ReplyDeleteBlack: Black is seen as the black men. They are supposedly inferior, unintelligent drunks. This leads to discrimination and racism.
Gold: Gold for white men would mean money and wealth. For black men, gold can be related to the Golden Day, where they could satisfy their pleasures between the women and the alcohol.
Black: Black almost always has a negative connotation to it. (black sheep) Black can be seen as something dark or inferior to other colors. Black is clearly in reference to how the black population was viewed in this society. Besides just the men, the narrator's favorite song "Black and Blue" by Louis Armstrong basically says it all on it's own. (great song choice)
ReplyDeleteWhite: The purest color and something of higher value and purpose. Relates to the white supremacy in society and their dominants over the rest. We see in Liberty Paints how Optic White is praised, and even how it's made with dark brown colors which build to the pure white.
Black: Black symbolizes the inferiority of the black race and shows how much black people are discriminated against. Black is the darkness to the light, or what gives the white people their power. For example, in the paint company, Optic White is produced by mixing in a few drops of black into the white, making the brightest white in the market. This shows that without the black people to treat as inferior, the white people would not shine as brightly, and would not be so superior.
ReplyDeleteWhite: White is shown as the dominant color, what will always prevail even if there is black mixed in. The narrator is obsessed with the color white, and it is synonymous to the light, as the narrator lights his room with hundreds of light bulbs. Even he desired the light.
Gold: Gold is said to be the color that symbolizes wealth and pleasure, and the illusion of it. For example, in the Golden Day, it is supposed to be the place where black people can relax and drink, but it is a mask for the violence and discontent there. Same with the gold coins in the Battle Royal that turned out to be brass, they created the illusion of wealth even if it was not real.