Last Invisible Man Journal

“The End was in the Beginning” (571).

What a crazy end to an amazing story! The battle at the end of the story brings an awesome climax to a story that already was full of suspense. The line “The end was in the beginning” is very interesting, but true. The story begins with him talking about the events at the end of the story, and ends the same way. This story seems very usable on AP Timed Writes due to its vast range of topics. The main character has so many things happen to him and is forced to change over a rapid period of time. I loved this book when I read it the first time, and I loved it again the second time. I noticed that, it wasn’t until the end that the narrator experienced a sense of finality in life. Throughout the entire novel, he was always looking for something, whether it was honor (at the beginning), an education (at the university), or a job. It wasn’t until he decides to go into hiding, that he experiences a sense of contentedness with the state of his life. It makes sense that his sense of self-assurance stems from the peace he feels from being in hiding.

Erik, did you like this book? I enjoyed it a lot, and I want to know how you feel about this book. It talks about a lot of touchy subjects, and pulls at your emotions, which is probably why I liked it a lot.

INVISIBLE MAN NUMBER 3

Jason Armer

Mrs. Disher

LA Period 1

04/25/2016

“And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone’s way but my own”

            It is amazing to see how many new things I have noticed reading the book the second time. I feel that, now that I have matured a bit, the book has a different meaning to me. I felt kind of naïve to the racist situation the first time I read this book, but now I feel like I understand the severity of the racism. This quote exemplifies the state of depression that the Invisible Man enters. Also, it shows a sort of autonomy that the Invisible Man has fallen into with the world around him. He gets thrown into this stereotype, momentarily shrugs it off, and then falls back into it again. It happens time after time in this book, and to read it frustrates me. I still have seen very little character development in the narrator, because he still does not understand the severity of the stereotype that he has fallen into. The narrator was forced to grow up in a big hurry when he went off to college, but he failed to live up to that standard. Deep down, the narrator remains immature, foolish, and uninformed about himself and the world he lives in. He does not understand the divisions in social class based on race and wealth. This class division causes him to make the mistakes throughout the book that he has.

Invisible Man Journal 4

Jason Armer

Mrs. Disher

4/21/2016

“Our hope shot down”

            The death of Brother Clifton seemed very peculiar to me. It kind of parallels racial injustice that we see today. Brother Clifton was selling Sambo dolls (dolls that mimicked African-Americans in a borderline racist way, when a cop showed up and all of a sudden started pushing him down. Naturally, Clifton retaliated, and things escalated quickly. At the end, the cop shot the defenseless Clifton, and ended his life. The cop did not see Clifton as the man he was, but as a threat to society due to the color of his skin. At his funeral rally, I feel that the narrator handled the situation well. The metaphors that he spoke in provided a sense of dramatic irony, because we know what he was talking about (protesting the Brotherhood), but the audience that was listening to him did not know what he was talking about. The story gets crazier and crazier. I love the plotline in this story (having read it before) and I know that it certainly does not get any more boring. My question for you is, how would you have reacted if you were in Clifton’s shoes? I think I would have reacted the same way that Clifton did in the story. Also, how do you feel about the way the narrator reacted at the funeral rally? 

Invisible Man Journal 2

The scene at the Golden Day was very interesting. I found it odd that the Invisible Man decided to take him to that bar/brothel. I feel the shock from the story that he was told probably would not have been lessened from going to the bar. I find that the Invisible Man is unable to think rationally in “in the moment” situations. I feel bad for the Invisible Man at what happened in Chapter 6. His naïve attitude caused him to do something dumb, which causes him to be sent away. I feel that the director of the school was not very nice to the protagonist during that exchange. I feel that he was downright rude and bitter towards him, for just doing what he was asked to do. I do, however, feel that he deserved what he got. It doesn’t take that much wisdom to know not to chauffeur somebody to places like the Golden Day.

            My questions for you are twofold. My first question is, what did you think about the sermon, and how do you think that will tie in to the journey of our protagonist? My second question is, do you think the narrator deserved his fate at the college?

Ralph Ellison's Beginning

Jason Armer

Mrs. Disher

3/16/2016

LA Period 1

            In my opinion, stream-of-consciousness stories are great because of the unique way we get to see into the protagonist. As the story starts in the prologue, you see that the narrator feels very passionately about being called a racial slur. When you see him in the first couple of chapters, however, he seems very naïve to the situation. As the spectators jeer him on watching him make his speech, he seems oblivious to what is going on. In addition, during the boxing match, he is unable to put two and two together to figure out that the reason they are in this laughable predicament are because they are African-American. Having read this story before, and knowing what is going to happen, I am trying to focus more on the character development of the narrator. So far, there doesn’t seem to be anything overly special about him, so it seems interesting that he is the main character of the story. He seems overly naïve, and he doesn’t seem to understand the bigger picture of the situations he finds himself in. However, it does seem quite interesting that the people that allowed him to make the speech did give him the opportunity to go to college. One would think that people that hate the race that much would want a man of his race to be uneducated. My question for you is, what does Ralph Ellison say about society through the actions and reactions of the white people so far in the story? Ralph Ellison is clearly painting a picture of the shortcomings of society through everyone involved.

Death of a Salesman from a Marxist point of view

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman shows the dangers of capitalism to the common man, the lie that is the American Dream, and how the only right way to conduct a society is that of the Marxist regime. The story centers on Willy Loman, a common businessman who begins to run out of money because he loses his salary from his job. Willy’s son Biff, a football prodigy, cannot find a prosperous job because of flunking a math exam, and turns to stealing to make a living. These characters struggle to make a living due to the unfairness of society and the oppression on them by those who are rich. For example, when Willy asks his boss to put him back on salary, his boss declines. This is due to the boss not wanting to have to take money out of his pocket to pay the old man. In addition, Biff, who also is looking for a job, is declined by his boss. Both of these characters, who have very little to their name, were declined by the greedy bosses of their society.

Also, Willy’s American Dream, which is shown in his flashbacks and his dreams, does not come to fruition, as shown by his family’s failure. For example, when Willy flashes back to a conversation about Biff’s classmate Bernard, Willy says that Bernard, despite being a math whiz, will not be able to make it into the business world because he is not nearly as interesting as Biff (Act I). In actuality, Biff fails his father, and the American Dream turns into a very difficult lifestyle for Biff.

            In the end of the story, Willy’s suicide shows the consequences of the stress that work in capitalist society causes. Willy, after receiving reassurance that his family is still alive, decides to kill himself, because he feels that the insurance money they will receive from his suicide is far greater than the wealth they can receive from his life. Ironically, before this event, Linda, Willy’s wife, reveals that they will not receive insurance money because they know that Willy’s “accidents” are not really accidents (Act II). The plight of the American Dream causes Willy to think irrationally, and make a poor decision financially and mentally for his family.

            Overall this story proves that Capitalism is a terrible form of economy. Had Marxism been in this society, Willy would not have lost his base salary. Also, Biff would have received a job, whether he had flunked out of math or not. Miller wrote this story to show how capitalism and the false hope of the American Dream caused the Death of a Salesman.

Death of A Salesman Reflection

One thing I learned from our class question session is how much we pay attention to the relationships that are forming throughout the story, primarily that of Biff and Willy. Nearly every question was about these relationships. It is interesting to see how these relationships have been formed and broken and how they are applicable to us.

Death of a Salesman Act I Questions

"Terrific, Terrific job boys, good work!" (17). How do the real world characters contrast from the dream world characters in the first dream sequence?

New Year's Walk

As I took my walk today, I wanted to reflect on 2015. I went to some of the places that influenced me more last year. Mainly my neighborhood and the Golf Course nearby. As I was surrounded by the beauty of nature in my neighborhood, I realized that the biggest regret that I have from 2015 was that I haven't been thankful enough for what I have. I realize that there are many things that I am blessed with that others are not, such as my friends, my family, and a roof over my head. Over the next year, that is definitely something I want to fix next year.

As cheesy as it may sound, I try my hardest to make a New Year's Resolution every year for myself. I look at these Resolutions as a road map to become a better person than I was the year before. For 2016 my New Year's Resolution is to cement the bonds that I have made at Seattle Christian so that they will last even after we graduate. You only get one shot at making these friends, so its important to be a good friend to others so that you can maintain these relationships going into the rest of your life.

Lastly, I realize that I need to face my problems head on. This last year has been all about excuses about why I don't need to do this or that I shouldn't do that. This next year, as I go off to college, it will be filled with unknowns. I need to tackle all the challenges that I face with an open mind, so that I can defeat any problem that I come across. If I let these challenges cripple me, I'm not going to get anywhere in my life. I hope to make 2016 an even better year than 2015 was!!!!