Invisible Man- Prologue

Invisible Man begins with the narrator introducing us to the concept of "invisibility".  He characterizes this invisibility as not one of physical nature, but metaphorical, as he seems almost like a "phantom" to those around him.  This "invisibility" represents the narrator's feeling of transparency and insignificance as he is unable to make a a visible or tangible impact in the world.  

The only actual event that occurs in the prologue is the narrator's conflict with the blonde man in the middle of the night.  The narrator beats the man to near his death before he realizes that the man is blind.  Like the invisibility mentioned at the start of the prologue, this blindness is also not physical, but rather metaphorical. The blonde man, like all of society, is "blind" in the sense that they are unable to see the narrator or any other blacks for anything besides their skin color.  This blindness is then not a physical disability, but a social predisposition that causes the isolation the narrator feels with the rest of society.

To the narrator, his invisibility and the blindness of others can be seen as almost an advantage.  He is able to do things and avoid repercussions as he is often overlooked.  He thinks it is his invisiblity that allowed him to avoid being punished for his assault of the blonde man or for stealing electricity.  It is almost as if his invisibility and society's blindness removes him from society and puts him on another level of existence, whether that level is above or below the rest of the world remains unknown.  Nevertheless, his isolation from society is clearly represented in the prologue as he introduces his living quarters.  He lives physically isolated and below a building full of whites.  In a physical sense, he is below society; however, his lack of blindness and ability to see the true reality of the world puts him above society in the plane of knowledge.

The basement that the narrator lives in may be the most important part of the prologue.  The idea of an abandoned basement resembles an isolated and antiquated world, forgotten in time.  When he is in his basement, he is separate from the rest of the world.  His obsession with light is incredibly revealing of how the narrator views himself.  Light connotes vision, knowledge.  The huge number of lights in his basement represents his propensity for knowledge as he is on a higher plane of reality.  However, it could also represent his struggle to define himself in a world that is unable to see him.  In this sense, his invisibility is actually a restraint that prevents the narrator from existing in the real world.  He is invisible, in that case, not only to society, but also to himself.

Hamlet: Is vs Seems

A theme in the first act of Hamlet is the contrast between seeming and being.  Shakespeare uses the two states of existence to describe the duplicity of the characters of the play.  We are introduced to Denmark following the funeral of the late King Hamlet and the wedding of Gertrude and King Claudius.  Following these events, Denmark is put in a peculiar state as the importance of appearance becomes a central point in the story.

The contrast between seeming and being can be seen most prominently in the state of Denmark itself. We are introduced to the country at first by the speech Claudius gives in scene ii.  In scene ii, Denmark seems to be in perfect order as the royal family is strong and all business is taken care of.  Under this appearance, however, the country is in disarray.  Following King Hamlet's death, Prince Hamlet, the rightful heir to the throne, does not become King.  In the Elizabethan period, an interruption in the line of succession would be considered sinful as Kings are seen as divine protectors of the country, with their lineage blessed by god to rule.  The fact that Claudius is instead king hints at the country's instability, although it may seem Denmark has a strong king.  Secondly, the royal family seems to be perfectly fine as the King and Queen are happily married and are respected by the people.  In the Elizabethan period, however, Gertrude's marriage to Claudius, her late husband's brother, is considered incestuous and also sinful.  This contrasts with the appearance of stability in their relationship and further shows the contrast between Denmark's seemingly stable government and the chaotic reality of the play.

 The next and most easily spotted occurrence of the contrast between appearance and reality is with Shakespeare's first long speech in front of the court in scene ii.  Gertrude, after seeing Hamlet still dressed in full black, tells him to stop seeming so depressed.  This provoke's Hamlet's first speech.  In the speech, Hamlet contrasts seeming and being and states the he does not only appear to be in grieve, but is.  Unlike the rest of Denmark, Hamlet remains in grieve of his father's death and fully expresses his grieve through his clothes and actions.  This is the where Shakespeare introduces the idea of appearance and reality in the play. Hamlet's speech emphasizes the contrast between him and the rest of Denmark, specifically Gertrude and Claudius.  We begin to question Gertrude's true motives as to whether she only appears to love Claudius in order to protect Denmark and Hamlet, or she actually does love Claudius and is in fact, an "incestuous beast".

This dichotomy between appearance and reality raised in Act 1 causes us to question almost every aspect of the play.  This universal possibility of a facade that characters put on forces us to analyze the play from multiple different possibilities, making multiple different interpretations possible. 

"The Forge, by Seamus Heaney"

"The Forge"
by Seamus Heaney

All I know is a door into the dark,

Outside, old axles and iron hoops rusting;

Inside, the hammered anvil's short-pitched ring,

The unpredictable fantail of sparks

Or hiss when a new shoe toughens in water.

The anvil must be somewhere in the centre,

Horned as a unicorn, at one end square,

Set there immoveable: an altar

Where he expends himself in shape and music.

Sometimes, leather aproned, hairs in his nose,

He leans out on the jamb, recalls a clatter

Of hoofs where traffic is flashing in rows;

Then grunts and goes in, with a slam and a flick

To beat real iron out, to work the bellows

In the poem "The Forge", Seamus Heaney vividly depicts the work of a blacksmith to reveal the unpredictability of art through visual and auditory imagery.  

Heaney begins the poem with uncertainty and mysteriousness.  The "dark" (Heaney 1) that is mentioned in the opening line implies that the "door" leads to the unknown.  Heaney then contrasts the outside world and the forge.  In the outside world, "old axles and iron hoops" rust.  This rust shows that time has rendered these objects obsolete.  They are but useless artifacts of the past.  Inside the forge, however, the "hammered" (3) anvil still "rings" (3).  The word "hammered" suggests that the anvil has been used often and is also a relic of the past; however, the "short-pitched ring" that emits from the anvil suggests that the anvil is still used.  This contrast between the outside world and the forge as well as the mysteriousness of the forge shows that although an artist's creations might diminish overtime, the source of his artistry remains.

Heaney then continues to add onto the mysteriousness of the forge.  The poem rarely mentions the blacksmith or the operator of the forge, but focuses on the anvil as the source of creation.  The anvil is the "centre" (5) of the forge and acts as "an altar" where the blacksmith "expends himself" to create.  It is almost as though the anvil uses the blacksmith as a medium through which it expresses itself in the form of "shape and music" while chipping away at the blacksmith little by little.  As the blacksmith creates, "unpredictable fantail of sparks" (4) fly about with each swing of his hammer.  Heaney uses the unpredictability and ephemeral nature of sparks to illustrate the lack of control the blacksmith has over his creations.  

The poem's final lines introduces the blacksmith.  The blacksmith's recollection combines images of two differing time periods, the "clatter/ Of hoofs" and "traffic flashing in rows".  This anachronistic comparison shows the changing times that the blacksmith has seen.  The contrast of the changing world with the lack of change inside the forge further adds to the lack of control the blacksmith has on his creation.  Even though the outside world is rapidly changing, the blacksmith is tethered to the forge and continues to work the anvil even though the "old axles" and "iron hoops" he creates are useless in the world.  

The lack of control the blacksmith has and the changing time adds to the power of the forge.  Like an "altar", the anvil keeps the blacksmith working religiously.  The blacksmith has no control over what he creates.  Even though the blacksmith is aware of the changing world outside of the forge, he continues to create useless artifacts and working the forge.