Emma

Emma

Emma is Jack’s mistress. Emma is first introduced in the Chthonian Hotel. She is very intelligent and sophisticated that is sexually attracted to the narrator. She realizes that although she is sexually attracted to the narrator, if she gets involved with him she could lose her position as an important person. Emma then has a side conversation with Jack to discuss whether he is black enough to represent their community.  Emma asks the narrator to dance with her. The narrator accepts and he contemplates whether he is doing the right thing and they dance for five minutes. Although the narrator was uncomfortable, Emma didn’t seem to care about what other people thought since it was wrong to see a black man dance with a white man.  Emma represents the women in society that have gotten into their positions or the place where she is by any means necessary. She’s gotten into her position by sleeping her way through power with Brother Jack. Emma also represents a minority. Since she is a female, she represents a minority whether she is black or white. Emma is scared to lose her power and so then, she obeys whatever Brother Jack says to her. Because it was difficult for women to have a say or have any type of power then, it was hard to obtain an important position she has to obey to what things he say and whatever he wants her to do. Since Emma is a very attractive women, it shows that beauty was very important back then and was key to obtaining power.

Invisible Man: Obedience

Prompt: 
The Brotherhood wants to tell the people in Harlem what to think, rather than allow them to draw their own conclusions. The military is also an organization where people are expected to simply obey orders and are not supposed to think for themselves unless they are of an upper rank. School officials expect students to obey rules and do not usually anticipate that a student will think about a rule before complying. 

Brainstorm additional situations in which unquestioning obedience is expected. When is it okay to simply expect obedience? When should people be encouraged to think for themselves? How can a person tell when being told not to "think" is an attempt to put down or limit opportunities and actions of a particular group?




Ever since the day we are born, we are forced to accept the rules that our parents, legal guardians have put upon us. It is okay to obey them but after a while we have to make our own rules and take care of ourselves. Once we turn into adults, our values and beliefs adapt to how we live and what we do. Our society has laws in which we have to obey by as well. We all have to follow these laws for the safety of others and ourselves. When we have a job, we are expected to follow the rules of the company or person we are working for. I believe that everywhere we go, we have a set of rules to follow by, whether it be written in the books or rules made by our society. I believe that it's okay to disobey these rules when it is harming you or other people. If it doesn't seem fair and you don't follow by it then you shouldn't. It's okay to follow the rules but it is not okay to be stripped from your freedom.

Anticipating Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

1. In the photograph “After ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison, We see what seems to be an African American male in a small room surrounded by lots of light bulbs and his belongings. In the description of the picture, it talks about the place being a basement and that the man was surrounded by 1,369 light bulbs powered by stolen electricity. This reminds me of the story of Anne Frank that was written during the holocaust. Like Anne Frank, the African American male is isolated from the rest of the world in his crowded basement. The electricity is stolen so it can be implied that he does not have a job or he cannot afford to pay for having light in his basement. Everything is in one room. The room is messy, however, it is like that from the lack of space. The light bulbs on the ceiling are very decorative. Although most of the light bulbs look like they are not working, the room is still luminous. The man looks sad. He is just sitting in a chair looking down.

2. The tone of the song is very pensive and gloomy. The jazz music in the background reminds me of something you could hear in a cartoon, however, when the singer begins singing the song begins to become gloomy. The lyric to the song reflects the image of the song because the male in the picture looks very pensive and stressed. He is all alone surrounded by his belongings. If you play the song while looking at the picture, you can connect the two together. As I was taught in United States history, people of color were restrained from having the same equal opportunities as a white person was given.   The song was written in the late 1920’s while the image was created in the 1950’s meaning that discrimination and racism was still a big issue. As stated in the lyrics, it says, “My only sin…is in my skin What did I do…to be so black and blue.” the message it was trying to portray is that they (African Americans) are being discriminated based on the color of the skin. Of course, they will most likely be upset because they cannot choose what the color of their skin will be.

 3. I believe that there is no useless person in this world. Everyone has a purpose in life, some people just know how to better express their self better than others. I am convinced that I do exist in the real world and that I am a part of the sound and anguish, however, the time hasn’t come yet for me to show myself. For me personally, I am a very quiet and not talkative. I’m more of an observer. When I have a strong opinion about something I do express it. I do believe that if you strongly oppose something that you should stand up for it no matter how many people are for or against your opinion. If people do feel like they are being hidden they shouldn't stay quite. They should voice out their opinion.