Invisible Man Chapters 6-9 Reading Questions

Chapter 6

1. What shocking aspects of Bledsoe’s character are revealed to the narrator?

→ Bledsoe believes that he has lot of power and that he is better than most of the black people just because he has authority in the college.

2. What specific statements does Bledsoe make that show his concern is for himself rather than for the school or for the advancement of other Blacks?

→  "I'll have every Negro in the country hanging from tree limbs by morning if it means staying where I am" (pg. 112)

3. Read the last paragraph on p. 146 beginning “How did I come to this?” What do you make of the paragraph in terms of the narrator’s struggle to find his identity?

→ The narrator believes that Bledsoe is a bad person. He loses all respect for him because he thought he had done things right. The narrator believes that he can be successful doing things the right way and not being corrupted by others or his surroundings.

Chapter 7

1. Who does the narrator meet on the bus to New York? Why does the encounter make him uncomfortable?

→ The narrator meets the veteran saw at  Golden Day.

2. On p. 152, the narrator is told New York is “not a place, it’s a dream.” Interpret this statement.    → New York is seen has a very beautiful place. It was a better state to live in if you were a person of color to live at because it was up North and less racism.
3. How does the fate of the vet parallel the fate of the narrator? Think of how both are controlled.

→ I believe that what the fate of the narrator and the fate of the vet was parallel because they both had someone that was holding them back from doing what they wanted to do.

4. Reread the final paragraph on p. 153. What do you make of the vet’s advice?

→ The vet’s advice to the narrator was good advice. He said it nicely and wasn’t rude or racist to the narrator.

5. On p. 155, the vet says, “there’s always an element of crime in freedom.” What does this statement mean to you? Do you agree or disagree?

→ I believe he is right. For everything you get, there is something that you have to give back in return. For example, living in the United States we are considered to have “freedom”, however, we have laws that prohibit us from doing things that we want. It’s not complete freedom.

6. Describe the narrator’s encounter with Ras.

→ The narrator is intimidated and scared of Ras.

Chapter 8

1. In the first six chapters, the narrator’s identity is defined by the scholarship. Now the letters define it. Describe them.

→ The letters were mysterious because Bledsoe did not let anyone see them.  

2. Notice the narrator’s decision to get a watch. How does fit with his new identity? Look for other images to watches and time.

→ The watch will be a good thing for the narrator because now he can use accordingly to the schedule he has and make it on time.

3. How does the narrator deny his Southern heritage? Why does he do this?

→ The narrator begins to change the way he speaks because he believes that if he speaks like a southerner, he would be treated badly.

4. Why do you think the narrator dreams of his grandfather?

→ The narrator dreams about his grandfather because the narrator has not listened to the warnings his grandfather gave him in the beginning.

Chapter 9

1. How does Peter Wheatstraw (with plans) make the narrator homesick?

→ He sang a song that he heard back when he was in the South.

2. What is the symbolism of Wheatstraw’s blueprints?

→  They represent goals for the future.

3. How does the narrator continue to deny his Southern heritage?

→ He does not buy the deals at the drugstore.

4. Look at the details from Emerson’s office.

→ Emerson's office is colorful and filled with different objects from around the world.  

5. Why does Emerson keep referring to Huck Finn?

→  Emerson continues to refer to Huck Finn because it is a story of a black man and a white kid that try to travel u North but get deeper into the South. This is like that the narrator is experiencing. He traveled to the North in hopes to better himself.

6. Walt Whitman wrote a series of homoerotic poems called the Calamus poems. Can you make any inferences about young Emerson from his reference to the Calamus Club?

→ Emerson is homosexual.

7. Why might young Emerson identify with the narrator and Blacks in general?

→ During this time, people that were anything but heterosexual were disrespected and so he could not say his beliefs freely or openly in fear of not being a respectable man.