Invisible Man, The Invisible Man

I took a risk this past week for my essay.  After reading H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man I got to thinking about the similarities between that text and Ellison's Invisible Man.  300 words is a tight squeeze to discuss the parallels, but I had fun writing this essay.  Based on the feedback, this risk didn't hurt me, but it also didn't pay off.  I still hold that there are some very interesting parallels between these two books, beyond the tendency for people to confuse their titles.  I am also not quite sure how to respond to feedback that my writing is "too sophisticated."

Invisible Man, The Invisible Man
Visibility is the result of layered social equations, and often our actions become the framework through which our whole being is encapsulated, regardless of the conditions forcing our behavior.  H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man is artificially invisible, and Ellison's Invisible Man is culturally invisible, but both are judged by perceptions of their actions.  Both invisible men are guilty of various infractions and misdemeanors, often the result as much of circumstance as to personal flaws, but similarly both men desire survival and acceptance.

These men are "visible" largely only when their actions upset balance. Ellison's Invisible Man has visibility as part of a spectacle, such as in the battle royale, or visibility as a liability, such as to the university.  Wells' The Invisible Man was largely unnoticeable before his transformation except when creating a disturbance, when the noise of the cat resulted in investigation and accusation of vivisection in his apartments.  After his transformation he exists as a disruptive force, drawing attention to himself repeatedly even when his attempts are only base survival, and drawing extreme notice and censure as his ambitions grow.  Petty theft is one thing, assault and battery, not to mention a campaign of murder, are something else all together.

Ellison's Invisible Man survives; he takes his invisibility and ultimately uses it as a shield from the societal exclusion he experiences.  His actions are his visibility, be it as a public voice for an organization, or the narrator sharing his story from a forgotten apartment.  Wells' The Invisible Man uses his invisibility as an excuse to escape moral and societal strictures.  His actions are his visibility, as are the wounds resulting from his actions.  What we do no see we ignore, it lives literally beneath our notice.  It is when the invisible breaks out of bounds into the visible that we take notice and object.
Works cited:
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Random House, Inc., 1952.
Wells, H. G.  The Invisible Man. C. A. Pearson, 1897.



PEER FEEDBACK

FORM (2)
peer 1 → I must say that your language is a bit sophisticated and may pose a problem to someone who speaks English as a second language. Also, I don't quite understand your first sentence at all.
peer 2 → It would have been nice to see a defined thesis statement in the beginning of this essay. Instead, it seems like you jumped right into the heart of it, without warning. That makes this essay a little jarring, and a bit hard to follow. Otherwise, the sentence structure and grammar are well used, I only saw one error; "Visibility of is the..."
peer 5 → Interesting and insightful points have been made.

CONTENT (2)
peer 1 → The content of your essay is also confusing. You are kind of comparing two different works and I only read one, which we were asked to read. I am sorry, but I don't find your essay insightful.
peer 2 → I'm not sure why you chose to compare Wells' Invisible Man to Ellison's, but it makes for a nice scope. The ideas are original and intriguing, I just wish that it had a better flow. Overall, great idea! I'd like to read more about this.
OTHER COMMENTS
peer 2 → Have an outsider read/edit your essay. Its nice to have a fresh pair of eyes, and from someone who isn't attached to the assignment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[Book Review] Battle of the Linguist Mages

Image
Battle of the Linguist Mages   / Scotto Moore The description of this book caught my attention immediately , and a cover blurb from one of my favorite authors?  Sign me up! The book isn't quite what is promised, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that it has so much potential.  It's like how Ready Player One  reads a lot different in a post Gamer Gate environment.  (Also, to be fair, the description I first read when looking through review copies is different than what is up  now.) Now, don't get me wrong, the premise is phenomenal.  I love a good SF that takes seeds of the here and now and goes "what if?"  It looks at where VR gaming is now, where streaming and MMOs are now, the balance between real life skills and game controls, and launches into a believable continuation.  Then we get a little seasoning of magic and more.  It made me laugh and has some neat ideas that it develops. But writing and tone wise, it feels a lot like Ready Playe
Read more

[Book Review] When Sorrows Come

Image
When Sorrows Come (October Daye #15)  / Seanan McGuire Previously reviewed: Rosemary and Rue Once Broken Faith The Brightest Fell Night and Silence The Unkindest Tide A Killing Frost After... we'll kindly say many books of dodging the inevitable, Toby's finally getting married.  In her defense, at the start of the book even she did not know the date chosen for the event.  There's a little too much significance in this marriage to allow for a simple document signing in front of the local Justice of the Peace.  A marriage between a member of the Divided Courts and a King of Cats, and of course Toby has been anything but "just" a changeling for some time now.  A hero of the realm, daughter of a First Born, king-breaker, kingdom maker, finder of lost things, and, most importantly, one of the few members of Fairie that understands crime scene investigation and procedure. This is  October Daye, of course something is going to go Horribly Wrong, likely involving blood, w
Read more

[Book Review] You Sexy Thing

Image
You Sexy Thing  / Cat Rambo The teaser hooked me with "Great British Bake Off meets Farscape" The story took a little bit longer, meandering in it's comfortable little setting. Then, as things are wont to do, everything went utterly wrong.  And that  my friends is when things started getting really interesting.  Rambo lulls you into complacency even as our intrepid heroes gear up for the biggest challenge of their culinary careers, and then pulls the rug out from under everything and sends the plot careening sideways into adventure and strife from most unexpected corners.  Amidst all of this, the characters unfold, giving the reader emotional stakes in the outcome. A delightful journey, all and all. Advance Reader Copy courtesy of  Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review; changes may exist between galley and the final edition.
Read more