Blog #1 - Invisible Man

Music is one of the most important things in life. It is the one thing that humans everywhere in the world love to hear. No matter how you are feeling that day, every type of music can simulate those emotions. Whenever I have a bad day, I listen to calming and relaxing music. If I want to get ready and pump myself up I listen to fast pace music. For me, music also helps me work faster when I am doing my homework. Like now for example. Lily Allen is playing in the background and her British accent makes me happy. She has such a chill voice that I cannot help but feel calm.For me music is an outlet. It helps me get out all of my frustrations. For others I feel that once you understand what type of music they like, you figure out another side of them that is not shown just from talking to them.

For the case of the invisible man, by listening to a sad jazz song (What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue by Louis Armstrong) this particular song shows the reader that he is feeling insecure about his identity and self. Armstrong's lyrics provide the reader with an example of what it is like for the invisible man. In hiding he feels strong emotions of loneliness, self loathing, isolation, and embarrassment. He is angry about his skin color. His feelings of inadequacy towards himself and his race in general come to the table when he is listening to a hard pounding jazz song with depressing tones. The strained voice of Louis Armstrong gives us a clue as to what our character's emotional state is.

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Music is one of the most influential things on the planet. Ever since the cavemen heard the first bird's hymn, people have been striving to create the best song for their specific audience. Although music has evolved over time, many compositions from centuries ago still exist today. Music is a timeless and important facet of our lives. No one is immune to its influence. Although I cannot think of a specific song that has touched me more than any other, I can say that several songs by Lifehouse, Daughtry, and Nickelback have made me stop and contemplate my life.



Louis Armstrong's "What Did I Do to be so Black and Blue" is an appropriate song for the invisible man to listen to because it describes his situation perfectly. Armstrong says in his song, "I'm white inside. It don't help my case/'Cause I can't hide what is on my face." The invisible man relates to this composition because he cannot hide that he is black either. He feels like he could belong but is always forsaken by everyone, let alone the white community. He is never truly understood. "(His) only sin Is (his) skin." Surely he must ask himself, "What did I do to be so Black and Blue?"

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Music has influenced me in numerous ways. I don't want to say that I am the same as everyone else, but music affects everyone though in different ways. Light, bouncy songs uplift my mood while slow, mellow songs are perfect for when I am reading or just hanging out. I listen to different types of music depending on the mood I am in. There is one song, though, that has the power to sober and humble me no matter what. It is a song called Hush, Hush, Hush by Paula Cole that is about AIDs. The song is so moving that the first time I heard it, it brought me tears. That is the one song that has really left a lasting impression on me. Music is something to fill the time, to fit the mood and to uplift the soul.

The song "What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue" was very appropriate to the invisible man's situation because the character was struggling to seem more white and fit in with the the upper class, just as the song is talking about. Invisible man's situation is almost exactly as the song describes, a black man seeking to behave like and fit into the white man's world and social status. The song expresses the the main point of the novel flawlessly, the struggle not to be judged just for the color of one's skin.

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One of the most asked questions when meeting someone new is always, “what kind of music do you like”. After that question is asked it is okay to judge people, just kidding that is wrong! Usually a person will just list a few genres and call it good, but not me. Every single time I answer the question I say, “I like everything, but screemo”. I am not satisfied with just some, I need everything. Thinking about it I realize that music, in a way, determines what mood I’m in at a specific point in time. When I listen to my country music, I show my inner hick just that much more. When I am in the mood for a jam session, it’s all about the classic rock or a jam band like Moe. More or less I look to music to calm me down, or get me out of a funk. Something about the mixture of lyrics with solid and catchy beats just takes my mind away to a better place.
This is the same thing that the INVISABLE MAN does. He uses the song “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue”, as an escape to a place where he is understood and not judged. He feels like he is sounded by people in the same situation he is so he can let his guard down. The narrator uses the song to start his story in a way, a man whose “only sin is his skin” could be a description of himself. He just wants to break away from all the stereo types and just fit in.

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Music has a way of comforting me even when I am unable to describe my own emotions to myself. I often find myself stumbling upon a few seconds worth of notes that distinctively stand out to me whether it’s discovering a personally profound understanding of lyrics or a resounding connection to a melody of bottomless meaning to me. For example, after my parents and I dropped my sister off at college for her freshman year, I listened to Coldplay the entire eight hour drive home. Though my sister always refers to it as depressing, Coldplay's reassuring music soothed my exaggerated sense of sadness and abandonment. The meaningful sounds and lyrics lead me to realize that I was ironically not alone in my loneliness. I was able to lose myself in the strengthening words and profound notes.

Similarly, the invisible man is able to gain a better understanding of himself through music. He desires to "feel" the "vibrations" of Louis Armstrong's "What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue" (Ellison 8). The song describes the emotional exhaustion that accompanies continual, unwarranted discrimination and hatred and the desire of acceptance. Though blacks are equal to whites on the inside as human beings, they faced bleak futures at the time due to society's longing for light skin. The song is particularly meaningful to our narrator because it embodies his feelings of invisibility. Though Armstrong, according to the invisible man, was unaware of his invisibility, he was able to honestly sing about the blacks' loss of humanity and hopelessness.

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My music tastes tend to be a little different. Hence my favorite genre being "Alternative." I have no interest in most of the stuff that you hear on the radio today (although I can put up with if I'm forced to listen to it). If you were to unplug my headphones you would most likely hear something like "Into the Mirror" by Minus the Bear or "Isabella of Castile" by StarF__ker. Let me guess... You've never heard either of those. This type of music usually annoys people, yet it soothes me. Well this is normally what I listen to, if I want to get pumped up to do something like wake-boarding or off-roading I might listen to something more heavy. If I'm a little tired I'll listen to lighter, slower music. My music choice is generally dictated by mood, but is almost always something uncommon that you won't find on radio stations.

"What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue" is very similar to the invisible man's story. In fact it's almost Invisible Man: Song Verison. The lyrics echo the story of the invisible man, sitting alone in his room. "No joys for me, No company, Even the mouse ran from my house." Another example is the invisible man being laughed at during the battle royal. "Cause you're black, Folks think you lack They laugh at you, And scorn you too." In the epilogue the invisible man decides he must rejoin society, and your left to wonder how it will end. "How will it end? Ain't got a friend, My only sin is my skin. What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?"

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Growing up as a child, music was a foreign thing to me. The only music I knew of were the classical pieces my piano teacher forced my brother and I to play. It wasn't until the 6th grade that I was introduced to the music we know now. Since then, I've been hooked. 6 years has passed since my introduction to music, and through those 6 years, music has become one of the biggest parts of my life. While my musical tastes has drastically changed, the feelings I get when listening to music has not. When I'm having a bad day, sometimes I will lay in the dark on my bedroom floor and listen to music for hours. Listening to music takes me away to my "happy place" where I can just relax and forget about society, my problems, school, everything. When I'm sad/happy/mad/frustrated, I can always find a song that perfectly fits my mood. When I listen to music, I feel things which cannot be explained, and this is why music will always be a part of my life.

Louis Armstrong's "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue" is about the oppression that blacks faced from the White society. This song is extremely significant to the narrator and his situation because it deals with what the narrator struggles with: his identity and racism he faces. When he listens to this song, the narrator can empathize with the lyrics, which is why he is so moved by the song. The lines "'Cause you're black, Folks think you lack. They laugh at you, And scorn you too. When you are near, they laugh and sneer. Set you aside and you're denied" shows the racism that blacks faced and the white belief that they reign supreme over the Blacks. In addition, the line "My only sin is in my skin" is more proof of the racism Blacks faced.

Blog #1 - Music / Black and Blue

As Hans Christian Anderson once said, "Where words fail, music speaks." This quote perfectly expresses my view about music. Music can express arrays of emotion, from sadness to happiness to everything in between. However, these emotions become an almost personal experience for each and every one of us. The songs that induce sadness when I listen to them could bring others joy. When I was around fourteen years old, one of my favorite movies was The Nightmare Before Christmas. There is a particular song in the movie, "Sally's Song", that is the main female's tragic realization that herself and the protagonist are never meant to be because she is 'not the one'. Although this song is completely heartbreaking, it has comforted me during moments of feeling down in the past several years. The fact is, somehow my sub-conscious has linked this almost ominous melody with a feeling of personal comfort.

In Invisible Man, the narrator places Louis Armstrong's song, "What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue," into the feel of the prologue. This jazz tune explores one man's struggles and isolation in a society of racism. Instead of Armstrong directly stating how he feels, he uses music as a medium to express the frustrations of millions. Ralph Ellison's placement of this song into the story is his own way of similarly expressing Anderson's quote, "When words fail, music speaks." Although the narrator never directly states, "How will it end? Ain't got a friend, my only sin is my skin," by placing the song in the background he is channeling his feelings of frustration into the forefront without directly saying so. He is letting the music speak for him. The protagonist of Invisible Man feels extremely isolated, a feeling which is also explored in the line, "No joys for me, No company." The melodic croon of Armstrong's voice and his deeply symbolic words perfectly exemplify the conflicts and emotions that the protagonist of Invisible Man feels throughout the duration of the novel.

- CAR

Blog #1- Black and Blue

Throughout my life, music has always been there for me. Ever since I was a child, country music specifically has always been in the background wherever I went. Now, I do not find anything as comforting or inspiring as those twangy lyrics or acoustic guitar. When I am sad, I can always find a song full of lyrics that seem to reflect my mood perfectly. Listening to music allows me to express how I feel when I fail to do so with my own words. That is why, for me, lyrics and vocals are extremely important in the music I select. While some people like the instruments of a song, typically I fall for the words. The words are where all of the meaning lies and you can apply them to your life in one way or another. I also love the way music can take me back to old, forgotten places. A song I hear now that I listened to in middle school will always take me back to those days. Holiday songs especially have this effect. I can listen to "Home for the Holidays" in the middle of the summer and it will feel like the middle of winter to me. Music is a very, very special thing that many people cling to with everything they have and I am definitely one of those people.

The song "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue" by Louis Armstrong has extreme significance to the narrator of Invisible Man, and it is quite obvious why when the lyrics are read thoroughly. Throughout the novel, the narrator of this book struggles with his identity. He believes he is invisible, not in the physical sense but in the spiritual or mental sense. His invisibility occurs because he is a black man living in a racist white society. The song discusses this in a very similar fashion. The line "'Cause you're black, folks think you lack" is very important because it says right there that because a person is black, they are automatically viewed differently. The narrator's point is that the invisibility lies there. A black man is forced to be what society wants them to be, and as a result loses his identity altogether. Other lines such as "My only sin is in my skin" also reflect how the narrator of the novel must be feeling. The significance of this song to the narrator is very easy to see as the song discusses the difficulties of being a black man during that time and the narrator of Invisible Man is alive during those times and is a black man himself.

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Music has inspired and moved me in many ways on a number of occasions. Some songs contain inspiring or melodies that bring out a certain feeling when one listens to them. For example, last year before a soccer game, one of the songs on our warm up CD was particularly inspiring, and it got me really pumped up and motivated for the game. Since most writers write songs based on personal experiences, it is not uncommon for the listeners to have had similar experiences as well. Sometimes the lyrics of a song directly describe what I am feeling, an experience I have had, or what I hope to feel, and it makes me feel like I can relate to the author or to others in general. When going through a hard time, listening to an angry song or a happy song definitely comforts me.

The song "What Did I Do to be So Black and Blue" is significant to the Invisible man and his situation in several ways. First, the narrator of the song notices that everyone he sees is with someone else while he is left by himself. The narrator in Invisible Man feels alone on many occasions and sometimes feels hopeless about his future, as the song puts it, "nothing but dark days in sight". In the chorus the narrator is complaining about his living situation, which seems similar to the invisible man living in the manhole. He is sad that he is alone and has no company, a situation that is similar to that of the invisible man. Next the narrator focuses on how he is discriminated against because of his race. The color of his skin defines him no matter what kind of person he believes he is inside. Society has influenced him to think that being white is better than being black so he claims he is white inside, almost defaming his own race. The invisible man obviously faces this conflict throughout the entire book, as people are treating him differently just because he is black and assuming things about him and others of his race, such as in the paint factory. The narrator continues to ask himself whatever did he do to be treated this way, a struggle the invisible man faces throughout the whole novel.

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The music that I gravitate towards may be considers atypical for the average teenager. I don’t know to many sixteen year olds who listen to movie scores, not soundtracks (yes there is a difference, google it), scores, the classical background music we hardly tend to recognize when we watch movies. I really enjoy listening to them when I’m either doing homework or trying to go to sleep; In fact I have designated albums for specific situations. For example, when I am trying to sleep I tend to listen to calmer melodies like those from Pride and Prejudice and Finding Nederland. When I’m doing some intense studying, I tend to go for more intense scores, like those from Frost Nixon or Atonement.

I also have designated scores for certain moods as well. For instance, when I am sad I listen to the Revolutionary Road Score or the Titanic score. Then when I miss my childhood, I listen to the Parent trap score and it takes me right back to kindergarten. This type of music is my favorite because there is always a tune that goes right along with whatever mental state I am in.

The narrator’s relationship with music would most likely be described as deeper then my relationship with it. The track “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue” had a personal affect on the narrator because the song dealt with racism just like he was. The artist Louis Armstrong sang about the oppression that African Americans faced in the “White” world that they lived in. for example the following verse shows that whites think blacks are stupid, they laugh at the black man, and various other degrading actions:

“Cause you're black, Folks think you lack
They laugh at you, And scorn you too, What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?
When you are near, they laugh and sneer, Set you aside and you're denied, What did I do to be so black and blue?”

Like The narrator, the song emphasizes the conditions of the black man in 1920’s America. They also share the feelings they have about this false identity put on them by society. The narrator clearly had a close and personal relationship with the song because he was dealing with the same issues that the song dealt with.

Invisible Man Blog #1

In Invisible Man, the invisible man is comforted/inspired/moved by Jazz and The Blues while living in his "hole" underground. He is particularly moved by Louis Armstrong's "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue." For this blog entry, discuss how music may have, at one point or another, comforted/inspired/moved you. Then, read the lyrics to "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue" below and discuss how this particular song is significant for the invisible man and his situation.

What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue
Words by Andy Razaf and Music by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks
Copyright ©1929 Santly Brothers, Inc. and renewed by Chappell & Co., Inc.
Performed by Louis Armstrong

Verse: Out in the street, shufflin' feet,
Couples passin' two by two,
While here am I, left high and dry,
Black, and 'cause I'm black I'm blue.
Browns and yellers, all have fellers,
Gentlemen prefer them light,
Wish I could fade, can't make the grade,
Nothing but dark days in sight:

Chorus: Cold, empty bed, Springs hard as lead,
Pains in my head, Feel like old Ned.
What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?
No joys for me, No company,
Even the mouse ran from my house,
All my life through, I've been so Black And Blue.

I'm white inside, It don't help my case
'Cause I can't hide, what is on my face, oh!
I'm so forlorn, Life's just a thorn,
My heart is torn, Why was I born?
What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?

'Cause you're black, Folks think you lack
They laugh at you, And scorn you too,
What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?
When you are near, they laugh and sneer,
Set you aside and you're denied,
What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?

How sad I am, each day I feel worse,
My mark of Ham seems to be a curse!
How will it end? Ain't got a friend,
My only sin is my skin.
What did I do, to be so Black And Blue?