"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." This sentence sets up this notion of the "Invisible " and "the blind" that seems to bear a thematic relevance throughout the prologue and the first chapter. The narrator is invisible because of his physical color. He describes a defined barrier that contradicts by simultaneously not being there and yet, in reality, existing. The "blind" see all that is in proximity and in a sense only what they choose to see. Blind seems to correspond with the dreamers and sleepwalkers that are later referenced.

An essential element of this piece is the voice of the narrator. The voice is conversational, direct, and intellectual. The syntax is inviting and unique. It's not a light, easy read. The candid voice welcomes consideration, and as a reader I found myself stopping to reread sections in an attempt to take it all in.

The value of the plot does not rely only on action; it is about insight and reflection. The mugging couldn't achieve the same depth without being heightened by reflection. "You ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world, that you're a part of all the sound and anguish, and you strike out with your fists, you curse and swear and make them recognize you." This phrase hurts as well as working to heighten the plot. It would be easier to view the narrator as a "mugger", another bad guy. But, as a reader I'm forced into his pain and my own irrational rationalization. Is every human mind so quick to satisfy justification? It seems that I want to understand it all, and Ralph Ellison is going to challenge that. How valuable.

1,369 bulbs make a lot of light. I love the strangeness of this. It seems relevant and powerful that in his hole he has created a haven where he can exist in pure unrestrained light. The narrator compares himself to Edison and Franklin in his ingenuity. Of it he says, "Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form." That statement suggests a physical pleasure of actually being illuminated, but also suggests a greater meaning of power. Perhaps, being able to accomplish something like that, of having the electric company notice him, even as only numbers, lost watts, is satisfying.

Robert Hayden was born into the poor neighborhoods of Detroit. His parents divorced early on and his mother left him in foster care. Of his upbringing he said, "I lived in the midst of so much turmoil all the time I didn't know if I loved or hated." This conflicting statement seems to bear more depth than words could explain. I think it may be more effective to just feel its meaning. This accomplished man became an English professor, distinguished writer, and the first African American to be poetry consultant to the Library of Congress.
Middle Passage by Robert Hayden retells the horror of the slave ships traveling from Africa with specific focus on The Amistad. Without reading a word, the physical appearance is fragmented with broken structure and altered margins. There is movement in appearance even without the words. The opening brings us into the four slave ships that are labeled and directly to vivid description of "sails flashing like weapons, sharks following moans, fever, horror, and dying." The language is brash, precise, and concise. Images are explored through a small number of carefully compiled words.
Historical details are inserted with specific dates, names, and events. I found so much relevance in this poem not just in the writing that was lush, but in the incorporation of facts. There's depth in the content of this poem not just in the views of the author but in the historical relevance. The sections seem to be separated by different voices leaning into each other with a hymn constantly echoing in the background. The hymn declares the words of the Christian, "Jesus Savior pilot me over life's tempestuous sea." The hymn continues, woven into the suffering and crews despondence and evil. It seems to clarify the hypocrisy of the "heathen" view that did exist.
Small amounts of repetition are inserted like, "Voyage through death, voyage whose chartings are unlove." This poem is pure horror. I also notice portions where more subtle alliteration of consonants is used. "They threw overboard the butchered bodies." Downward movement is achieved as words included in the opening of the poem bring closure that lingers with the reader. "Voyage through death to life upon these shores." I view Hayden as a master of language. I'm astonished at the concise writing that contains so much fact, story, detail, emotion, and imagery.

Help. I'm weighing the prompts and wavering back and forth until I'm a little dizzy, nauseous actually. I'm extremely intrigued by T.S Elliot's Tradition and the Individual Talent. But, I'm not worthy of corduroy and I'm not ready to be paired with the words "literary scholar" even if I am pretending. The other options invite me to become Ezra Pound or to dictate the content of a text book. Wow. Mostly, I'm just a girl who loves to read.

In Tradition and the Individual Talent Elliot states the "criticism is as inevitable as breathing." Is that a warning, complaint, or an invitation to examine his essay and think? For some reason, it invites me into his compilation of thoughts. I'd like to see the intellectual author with a more defined thread of coherency. I notice the first essay holds a strong thematic element of timelessness among writers and the distinct influence of writing from all eras upon itself. .

The idea of "tradition" is approached in depth. While the initial definition of "a generation before us in blind and timid adherence to his successes" is regarded as something to stay away from. Elliot's own ideas of tradition lean towards hard work and perception that is not "handed down." Elliot touches on the cultural influence of country which is an extremely interesting angle to explore of a man in his circumstance.

It's also time to reason with the poet versus the poetry. What and how do they connect? One should know why "The mind of the poet is the shred of platinum." Elliot weighs the aged author, and the influence of emotions. He concludes the essay with a contrast of living and dead, a common theme of his work.


I'd love the experience of reviewing his essay from a bit less formal syntax than a text book would require. That might reveal quickly why I shouldn't write a text book; I tell stories. How about a response letter to the publishing magazine of the piece or a literary review from an Innocent bystander? Can I examine the content with a valiant effort of dissecting the words? I want to make some sense of Elliot. And who knows, with this insight maybe the next time I read The Waste Land, I'd grasp a line or two with more clarity.