When he meets Emerson, the narrator is already uncomfortable and angry before Bledsoe's letter is revealed to him. Instead of taking Emerson as a helpful, well-meaning man, the narrator feels insulted, targeted, and like he's being played. The reveal of the letter only increases these emotions. This interaction was almost Bigger-esque when he was talking with Jan. Both characters just wanted to do their job, and these men were stepping out of their roles in a way that made the protagonists feel like they were the butt of a joke or trap.
By the time the narrator encounters Brockway, he's almost on his way to becoming the narrator of the prologue. This impressive old black man who has made his way in the world, and clearly at least to some extent is in a position of power in the factory, who has learned everything he knows through only experience, is immediately looked down upon by the narrator. Brockway also seems to have the same ideology as the narrator did previously where working for a respectable white man is an honor (he deeply hates the "ungrateful" union workers) and takes pride in the fact that the white factory owner needs him. Brockway seems to be a very upfront, if paranoid character, but the narrator has already been set off into a state of perpetual anger which only accelerates his development. This is his last interaction with a figure of knowledge and/or authority that results in his "rebirth" from the factory hospital.
One insight I draw from this list is that the narrator is not becoming especially good at distinguishing among figures of authority. He remains enamored of Bledsoe much longer than he should (once Bledsoe has "taken off the mask"), and yet he's suspicious of Emerson, who seems to more genuinely have the narrator's interests at heart. He's paranoid and hostile toward Brockway, who's basically harmless, if a little self-aggrandizing.
ReplyDeleteNow we need to attend closely to how he deals with his "new boss," Brother Jack. He's suspicious of his at the start, although Jack doesn't appear to pick up on that vibe, but he's also willing to be indoctrinated into the "scientific" approach of the Brotherhood.
It's interesting to see now as we get further into the chapters with the Brotherhood how the narrators views on Authority seems to cycle back. After the realization of Bledsoe's ulterior motives, it seems that the narrator will never again trust authority. However, his acceptance of the Brotherhood is nearly instantaneous, and seems to following very closely to his previous relationship with Bledsoe, and I am very curious to see if it will work out the same way or if it will take an entirely different twist.
ReplyDeleteOne trend I noticed was the correlation between how much the narrator liked each boss and the amount of "freedom" that the narrator got out of each them. Bledsoe was a figure who gave the narrator the illusion that he could do whatever he wanted in life, and provided that he put in the hard work, could achieve it. Naturally he liked Bledsoe the most, even after he was dismissed from the college. Brockway acted as a glass ceiling for the narrator, making it very clear to him that he would never climb far up the ladder while he was still around, and the narrator hated him for it. Brother Jack seems to offer the narrator a chance to do what he's passionate about, though certainly with some restricted freedoms. The narrator despised Jack at first, but he's grown to like him, and I'm very curious as to whether the narrator will keep enjoying Jack as a figure of authority for the remainder of the book.
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