The Invisible Strings Controlling the Dancing Doll

The Sambo doll being sold by Clifton in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man can be seen as an analogy to the narrator’s situation within the Brotherhood. The Narrator is mesmerized by this doll that he thinks can dance on its own. The Narrator sees the Sambo doll on the street, dancing before a “spieler” (German for player). The doll is being played with but the Narrator has no idea it is not moving under its own power. Like the narrator, the doll is actually being controlled by a strict set of rules that is determined by its master, Clifton.

                  After seeing the Sambo doll, the Narrator is appalled by its racist image and immediately spits on the doll. He cannot stand to see a black figure being embarrassed in front of a primarily white audience. A doll you pay to dance. In reality isn’t the narrator just a dancing orating entertainer for the Brotherhood? Is the Narrator not just a face that they are using, because they need a black spokesman in Harlem?

                  The Narrator believes he is operating under his own power as the leader of his district, Harlem, like when he sees the Sambo doll dancing on the street. When the Narrator removes the Sambo doll from his pocket at his office he does not understand why it will not dance for him. In vain he pulls on the flaps until he discovers thin black strings connected to the doll’s appendages. Although it appeared to the Narrator that the doll was moving of its own accord, in reality it was being operated by Clifton.

                  As the reader we can easily see how the doll and the Narrator are related. After the rally staged by the Narrator in honor of Clifton’s death he is confronted by Brother Jack and other leaders of the Brotherhood. In this argument the Narrator is explicitly told that he has overstepped his boundaries. The Narrator was not hired by the Brotherhood to think. He was hired to give speeches and appeal to the black community as a black man.

                  The Narrator is taken aback to discovering he is but a dancing and singing show for the brotherhood, the same as he is taken aback by seeing the Sambo doll. The Sambo doll like him is a black grinning entertainer. By the Brotherhood needing a black speaker are they not going against their own values just to reach a certain audience? The Narrator who believed he was making his own decisions as the leader of the Harlem District, in reality must have the approval of a committee to do anything. In chapter 22, Brother Jack shows the narrator the strings that have been constraining him this whole time. He is able to operate with all freedom within the very strict confines of the Brotherhood’s committee.

                  Ellison gives the reader a hint that the Narrator is a performing marionette during his first party. One of the female members of the Brotherhood is overheard by the Narrator asking Brother Jack if the Narrator is black enough. Here, we are clued into the fact that the Narrator is not needed for his ability to think. The Brotherhood, although they don’t like thinking in terms of race, needs a black man to be their spokesperson in Harlem. This black man is the Narrator. The Narrator finally understands this and is devastated in Chapters 22-23 because he loved and felt apart of the Brotherhood. Brother Jack and the rest of the Brotherhood were just wearing masks that the Narrator finally unveiled. Just like the Sambo doll, the Narrator has been played like a game again.

Death by Basketball

Frank X. Walker

Before and after school

he stood

on a milk crate

eyeballed the mirror

and only saw wayne turner

at tournament time

a third grader

just off the bus

barely four feet

off the ground

he dropped his books

sank a j’

from the top of the key

and heard the crowd roar

beat his man off the dribble

with a break yaneck

crossover

and slammed himself

on the cover of a box

of wheaties

he was out there

every night

under a street light

fighting through double picks

talking trash

to imaginary body checks

‘you can’t hold me fool’

fake right

‘this is my planet’

drive left

‘is the camera on’

reverse lay-up

‘that’s butter baby’

finshing with a trey

from downtown, swish!

I’m inna zone t’night

whogotnext?

more than a little

light in the ass

hands so small

the ball almost dribbled him

he formed his own lay-up line

in the bluegrass

wildcat jersey

hanging like a summer dress

on a court made bald

from daily use

and instead of writing

his spelling words

he signed a contract

he could barely read

inked a commitment

in big block letters

to the NBA

and NIKE

and SPRITE

scribbled superstar in cursive

with a fat red pencil

and practiced his

million dollar smile

not his multiplication table

thinking of how many

chocolate milks

he could buy

with his signing bonus

or his all-star game

appearance fee

after recess

another shooting

another tragic death

another little genius

who will never test out

of a dream

that kills legitimate futures

every night

under street lights

wherever these products

are sold. . .

Death by Basketball was published in 2000, by Frank X. Walker. The poem is apart of the book Affrilachia. Basketball has been an integral part of my life since of my life since I was born. My father knew my sister and I would be basketball players before we were even born. I started playing competitive basketball when I was six. I started traveling out of the state to play when I was in fifth grade. Through travel basketball I have learned about the dynamic of playing sports to get out of bad situations in scary neighborhoods.

                  This poem tells the story of thousands of African American boys across the nation. Death by Basketball especially rings true for for a large city like Chicago. In class we discussed how African American kids can escape “the hood” three ways: sports, music, and education. Sport figures in the USA are treated like gods. Most children dream of someday being a professional athlete. For kids like the third grader in the poem above, the need to be a pro athlete becomes everything. Nobody was there to tell this child that a quality education is more likely to make him successful than basketball. “Instead of writing/ his spelling words/ he signed a contract/ he could barely read.” Walker is stressing that these children are losing sight of their education to pursue a sport like basketball.

 In reality only 32,000 athletes play basketball in college, this includes: D1, D2, D3, NAIA, NAIA 2, USCAA, NJCAA, and CCAA, out of 542,000 high school basketball players. This means 8,000 basketball athletes for each class freshman-senior. Most of those 8,000 athletes do not receive a scholarship. 48 college kids are drafted, many are not American, but only 8 may play in the NBA. Every kid who dreams of being a star in the NBA believes they are in the top .0015% of high school athletes. Society today only tells us success stories of athletes who started from the bottom like Lebron James.

Each division of college basketball requires a certain GPA and ACT score to be eligible for play the first year of college. What many high school athletes forget is that their grades are a huge part of getting a scholarship. Coaches want to see that you can stay eligible in college and that you will stay out of trouble. Many kids are good enough to play in college but they’re dreams are squandered when they realize a 2.5 is not a good enough GPA to impress coaches. Walker understands this and draws our attention to the fact that children stop practicing multiplication and spelling to pursue their dreams.

The court in Walker’s poem is, “made bald/ from daily use.” This suggests that the dream has been pursued by many more than just this particular third grader. Walker suggests the dreams and practice of young black boys in this situation are in vain, because the chances of getting out of “the hood” are slim. There is also an implication that the kids who do go to college do not value their degree, but think of contracts.

The last part of this poem struck me by surprise. Walker abruptly informs the reader that the child is shot. This brought up memories of a player from Chicago named Ben Wilson. The premier player from Chicago Simeon was shot twice on November 20, 1984. Everybody knew Benji Wilson was special. He had a very bright future, until it all ended with two bangs from a gun. The poem rings in my ears hours after reading it aloud “another tragic death…/every night/ under street lights.” The bleakness of the future for the people of this neighborhood seems so real as the reader finally grasps that, somebody just shot a third grader.

Blog One

Native Son

In the book Native Son by Richard Wright, characters from the Communist Party of America often try to sympathize with Bigger Thomas and even point out that they are in the same situation as Bigger. The Communists try to form a type of brotherhood with Bigger through having the same societal rejection. The Communists however are wrong; Wright’s naturalistic ideology leads him to point out that Bigger is a product of his environment. Bigger’s hate and anguish has been embedded into his brain by a society that hates him for being born with a certain skin tone, black.

 The crucial difference between Bigger and those who are apart of the Communist Party of America is the choice of free will. The communists in the story may be ridiculed for their beliefs and want of a new government system but, many of them are white and could change to being capitalist and mainstream white at any time. In Native Son, the communists try to relate the ridicule they face to the mistreatment of black people but, as the reader we remain unconvinced. The mistreatment of African Americans is a struggle that began before America was even a country. Communists may receive backlash from society but, they’re environment has not created a literal fear to talk to a whole race.

This brotherhood through struggle and the white communists attempt to talk and relate to Bigger actually alienates the main character of Native Son. This alienation quickly turns to resentment against Jan and Mary over the course of a short evening together. Although they believe in equality, Jan and Mary still talk to Bigger as if he is some sort of animal at a zoo. They talk of wanting to go into Black apartments to see how they live. The word “they” gives the reader a sense that Jan and Mary still believe that African Americans are “other.” These people who have colored skin and live in the slums are not quite human. Jan and Mary constantly try to befriend Bigger but, in reality he is pushed away because he feels so uneasy around white people and would rather not be around them at all. Jan and Mary view Bigger’s opportunity to be around them as a privilege that he should honor and take advantage of. They don’t understand the social fear and anxiety that Bigger feels around white people. Even as people who believe they are communists, they are unable to overcome the ingrained belief of black inferiority.

The brotherhood communists want to feel is invalid because, the history behind each discrimination is so different. White communists may try to help African American people but, like Mary they have an undertone of superiority. Communists may be blamed for many upper class white struggles but, the fear and feeling of superiority pointed at black people from whites is apparent throughout the story and in many cases continues to this day.