tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2700181359641243886.post8644236515676846299..comments2015-05-30T12:58:44.741-07:00Comments on 4th Time Around: Humility in Chapter 1 of "Invisible Man" Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11160735803297672220noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2700181359641243886.post-52556470070118996212014-09-21T13:49:25.218-07:002014-09-21T13:49:25.218-07:00Humility is a virtue in the sense that we view exc...Humility is a virtue in the sense that we view excessive pride as a vice--humility means not putting yourself above others, or looking down on others. But this becomes a perverse form of virtue when we're talking about a social context of oppression, where the oppressed is being asked to act with "humility"--it overlaps with more crass imperatives like "stay in your place" or "don't be uppity." Any expression of pride or self-possession, in such a context, comes off as a challenge to the status quo, and we need to read "humility" in this context. The narrator isn't being *humble* in chapter 1; pride isn't even part of the picture. Humility in this context veers closer to *humiliation*--to accepting and even internalizing the power structure that would put and keep him down.<br /><br />So the grandfather's advice seems to suggest creating an *illusion* of humility for strategic purposes: act how they want you to act, but don't believe in their image of you.Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745167749128309461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2700181359641243886.post-69322494644845324302014-09-18T18:56:04.640-07:002014-09-18T18:56:04.640-07:00To us, it may seem no different, and certainly the...To us, it may seem no different, and certainly the narrator has not learned to master the "illusion" version of humility. But writing from the future here -- Bledsoe shows that this illusion can be used as a weapon. I don't believe that Bledsoe's tactics are as effective as he thinks they are (see my earlier blog post about this), but he and the grandfather certainly have a point. Within their limitations, they've done very well. The only problem is that, when they operate within their confinements, they cannot fight them.<br /><br />The narrator seems to be learning -- he has become the anti-Bledsoe, and is new job is the epitome of the activism that Bledsoe would never attempt. And yet, isn't he still the same boy that accepted the scholarship happily and ran off to college, forgetting his worries? His envelope with his Brotherhood name inside is comparable to his scholarship briefcase. The narrator thinks that he has learned insidious humility, but he's still being kept running. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01857671443372995924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2700181359641243886.post-43767370212432008232014-09-05T19:30:12.638-07:002014-09-05T19:30:12.638-07:00That's a good question. One could even argue t...That's a good question. One could even argue that if you're not going to change you behavior in any way, it would almost be better to genuinely believe that your world is just somehow and operate honestly than to stew in bitterness. <br />I certainly don't think that pretending to be humble a very effective form of defiance. It's not going to change anything. Perhaps it is an effective way of getting through a word where the odds are stacked heavily against you (although, if this is the case, so is genuinely having humility), but it's not starting any revolutions. <br />His grandfather recognized what was wrong but failed to do anything about it. I think the narrator took his grandfather's philosophy one step further- he actually decided to withdraw from the society that refused to see who he really was- but this is still a very passive, individual protest that isn't going to change anything for any one else (although he is writing the book, which is a more public protest). Then again, what will change anything? An individual can't change a society single-handedly. <br />Well, this comment ended up depressing and unproductive. But maybe that's the point. These characters (in Native Son too) can't be productive. They're completely stuck.Natalie Hummelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08656444492138513251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2700181359641243886.post-89316506685017790122014-09-03T21:21:20.835-07:002014-09-03T21:21:20.835-07:00When discussing the grandfather scene, I remember ...When discussing the grandfather scene, I remember encountering this contextual question: If you behave meekly, does it matter if you actually feel inferior or if you are just acting? To quote your blog post, “He (the grandfather) was in full, conscious control of his humility”, which I guess in other words, describes the latter. But by definition, humility would describe the former, and not the narrator’s grandfather, who, at his dying breath, finally confesses to an lifelong legacy of deceit. Are these the same? It is interesting to note the sense of pride that comes with this admission, as if he believes that his covert crusade of docility has been an effective act of defiance even though no one could ever tell the difference. "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Athenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02658256653877088930noreply@blogger.com