I have been trying to view Invisible Man as an existentialist novel. At first I was confused by how they connected, but as I researched more I found that Kierkegaard's three spheres of life fit perfectly with the novel.
One of the leaders in existentialist ideology, Kierkegaard believed that there were three parts, the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious, and that as we move through life, we experience these different phases. The aesthetic phase can be a time of intellectual enjoyment and enrichment; the ethical is when one must take responsibility for one's actions, and the religious is when one realizes sinfulness and its social effects. These different parts of human life conflict, at times, and they may be experienced together or separately.
In Invisible Man, Ellison develops these three different aspects of the character chronologically. The Invisible Man's aesthetic phase can be found during his time at the college, when he just wanted to give speeches and be among other intellectuals. During his ethical phase, he has to take responsibility for his actions as he is expelled, looks for a job, and eventually finds out that the letters were not positive at all. The religious phase comes in when he joins the Brotherhood. It is here that he learns the truth that men are not always what they seem to be and that they can, in fact, be cruel. These three aspects of life cause confusion for the Invisible Man, and he runs away and hides in the basement. It is there in the basement that the existentialism in the novel really appears, and his previous experiences lead him to it.
-Erica W.
Hey Erica,
ReplyDeleteI also had trouble connecting the idea of existentialism to Native Son because it is such a sort of random and frenzy-filled novel. But I soon came to realize that existentialism is not a theme that can be identified with just one definition or situation.
- Jake S.
Hi Erica!
ReplyDeleteAt first, I did too had problems associating the novel with experimentalism. However, as I got into Book II I began to notice how Bigger compared to Meursault, the protagonist of a very famous existentialist novel, The Stranger. Bigger went through tough trials, both socially and mentally, to emerge as an existentialist hero.
It was nice reading this considering I read Native Son.. I too had to do outside research to figure how existentialism was related. I was surprised at what i found. A little research goes a long way!
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of the novel that I fount to be most existential was the end of the novel when he is burning the things the represent his past. This seems to represent the existential ideal that "existence precedes essence." In that by burning that items that came to define him he is free to exist as what he chooses. He is no longer controlled by the standards of society. His essence can now be defined by what he chooses to be his existence.
ReplyDelete~Vanessa S.