Analysis of a Contemporary Poem by Li-Young Lee: A Story

A Story 

Sad is the man who is asked for a story
and can’t come up with one.

His five-year-old son waits in his lap.
Not the same story, Baba. A new one.
The man rubs his chin, scratches his ear.

In a room full of books in a world
of stories, he can recall
not one, and soon, he thinks, the boy
will give up on his father.

Already the man lives far ahead, he sees
the day this boy will go. Don’t go!
Hear the alligator story! The angel story once more!
You love the spider story. You laugh at the spider.
Let me tell it!

But the boy is packing his shirts,
he is looking for his keys. Are you a god,
the man screams, that I sit mute before you?
Am I a god that I should never disappoint?

But the boy is here. Please, Baba, a story?
It is an emotional rather than logical equation,
an earthly rather than heavenly one,
which posits that a boy’s supplications
and a father’s love add up to silence.

The poem,  A story, by Li-Young Lee, conveys a complex relationship between the father and a son through their dispute between the old and the new, more so, holding on to the past rather than moving on to the future. Seen in stanza one,  is the characterization of the father, or the man- that fact that he "can't come up" with a new story shows two main things: firstly, he may not have been accomplished to share a new story and perhaps that is his only story as a role model to tell and secondly, perhaps he doesn't want to tell a new story as he is "stuck in the past." Stanza two not only captures the characterization of the boy but also a further understanding of the father, or the man. In line 4, the boy wants "a new one." This need for something new lends its hand to believe that child wants to explore new things, hear new stories in order to learn about the world. But, is the father ready for this dispersement into the world of knowledge? Does he believe that the boy is ready for a new story, perhaps a new journey? No- this is seen in line 5 when "the man rubs his chin, scratches his ear." Such actions are all common signs of curiosity and fear. The man as he is stuck in the past, fears his sons leaving and wants to replay the same actions in order to stop the young man from growing. The growing is not taken in a negative way by the man, he is just simply fearful. It is interesting to note that in stanza 3, the speakers states that out of all the stories in the world, he only told one. Why? Perhaps if the man tells about the world rather than a story concentrated with the knowledge that he wants the boy to know and learn from, he may go astray. Although, this lack of progression and the stagnation in the past hinders his relationship with his son- in line 8 to 9, the speaker even states that "The boy/ will give up on his father." Stanza 4 shows the nagging by the father to hold on to his son, and not let him grow from a boy who is dependent on his father's stories to a man that can make his own stories by exploration. Note that in stanza 5, the boy  has no shame towards the fact that he is leaving his father. The symbolism of the keys is the opening to the door' the boy is now ready to learn something new, therefore, he is unlocking the door into the new world (away from his father's confinement).  It is ironic that the father views himself as a god like figure,  but doesn't live up to this name as he hold his son from discovering- usually god is a figure of evolution, one that helps man discover. But is the father truly helping? The last stanza ends in relief and sigh as the father states their partition builds silence...but that is true love. The boy will remember the stories without asking (hence an emotional attachment). 

Yea, He is a fool, but Jonah and the Whale?

he Invisible Man, the narrator of the novel, is similar to Jonah from the Old Testament. In order to relate the Invisible Man to Jonah, it is important to understand the basis of the story. Jonah is asked by God to to visit Nineveh and stop the evil or bad behavior; although, Jonah rebelled against this as he wanted man to get punished for their sins and fled to sea. Along the ship ride, a storm hit and Jonah was blamed for such situation- in fact, they questioned his motives, his belief of god, and also asked him for advice to stop the storm. They threw Jonah off the boat, into the storm as it got worse, and the storm ceased. Such incident led the men to believe that God listened to Jonah. Taking this story into consideration, one can say that the Invisible Man represent Jonah due to his entry into a new city that takes him for a ride. When the invisible man first enters town, he felt a sense of uneasiness. He states that “the train seemed to plunge downhill now, only tolunge to a stop that shot me out upon a platform feeling like something regurgitated from the belly of a frantic whale” (158). This is stated when he is departing the subway- to him such action most likely imitates that feel of isolation and segregation from the local community as he is new to New York. Deviating from the fact that he is different from the local townspeople (parallel to the sailors on the boat), he is most similar to Jonah when he is questioned by Bledsoe about taking Mr.Norton on the drive. Just like the sailors question Jonah about how he doesn’t pray to stop the horrible storm and thinks it is his fault for the occurrence of the storm, Bledsoe blames the narrator (the Invisible Man) and states that he has “dragged the entire race into the slime!” (141). Bledsoe explains that he gave him an “opportunity to serve one of our best white friends, a man who could make him a fortune.” This shows a direct parallel between Jonah and the Invisible Man as they both represent hated being of society as well as a rebellious figure in which the normal can’t see past their action nor can they extract a meaning. The meaning of the drive for the Invisible Man was nothing but an impulse without control from the conscious- he was left with no choice; similarly, Jonah was left with no choice but to go against god’s will in order for men to be sinned- they both lived up to their desires ( to help).   

Prepping for Seminar- The Fool Archetype...it's everywhere

In the late 13th century, the fool had many duties; for example, as a form of entertainment, the fools we get paid depending on the amount of satisfaction, laughter, and joy they provided to a crowd. Such definitions fits the start of the Invisible man during “Battle Royale,” when black men are chosen to be put into the ring and fight. At the end, the invisible man wins and wins a scholarship prize. Although it almost seems wrong to take the money, he does so anyways, after all he faced stupidity. The word stupidity is the connotation of the fool. Often times, the fool is interpreted as a “wise,” “cunning,” yet stupid as they were never part of the group (always in isolation away from the norms). Once again, this definitions provides a basis for the invisible man. Note the the invisible man was considered part of the “negro” group through which he was isolate and away from the society in the south. Although, when he reaches the north (Harlem City, New York), he twists his thinking (showing the fictional reality) in order for him to fit, persay. The major fool, who is a hidden character in the novel, is the Invisible man’s grandfather. In fact, the Grandfather serves as the basis of the novel, providing the Invisible man with the drive to move forward. He is not explicitly called  a fool, although, in order for him to proclaim the shameless and disobedient acts he created, he have had this inner non-sane personality within (just as the fool would have). It is interesting to note that the fool never often revealed by a name nor an identity- similar to that of the invisible. They are always hidden from society. Perhaps this need for hiding is driven by the act that they don’t want their stupidity and unrealistic behavior to be attached with a name. Instead they are called by what their duty is. For example, in “Battle Royale,” the man’s duty was to be a slave to the public and live out the white man’s urge or sexual drive, hence he was called and viewed a player or slave. He was a black man, subordinate, more so inferior to that of the town, hence called a negro man. All names that he were called, were nothing but adjectives. The fool is also known to preface the surface, rather than extract a true meaning. They also lack the ability to come out of their “costume” and experience life as they would normally. Sometimes it is beneficial to be a fool in order to succeed, but not to the point of naiveness and where such can hinder the ability to explore the world for new opportunities. Advice is given to the invisible man page 153, “Learn to look neath the surface”. One must “come out of the fog, young man, and remember you don’t have to be a complete fool in order to succeed” He even states that one must “play the game, but don’t believe in it” (153). 

IM Deep analysis!

"She seemd like a fair bird-girl girdled in veils calling to me from the angry surface of some gray and threatening ea. I was transported. Then I became aware of the clarinet playing and the big shots yelign at us....He tried to hid himself with boxing gloves"

When reading the prologue of this book, the one thought that sparked my mind was emphasis of "blind."  The invisible man, thus far, nameless, seems to suffer from this disease of blindness- being a black man. The invisible man is not blind to his environment, rather vise-versa. It is sad to hear that during this time period, full of Armstrong Jazz and blues, was the racist side- undermining the African Americans and framing them as "bad." The one incident the invisible man faced when the white man accused of "muggling" annoyed me. Perhaps it was because of the ignorance the man faced, more so society at that time period. It's weird how this "invisible man" does everything secretly and unknowingly- hence the title, the invisible man....first of all, he lives under, in a basement and steals power from a company. Now this is a bit ironic. Why? Well first of all, these white tenants refuse to go anywhere close to the basement, showing how egoistic and status-obsessed they are. Nonetheless, they are technically blind to all that is going around, especially with people unlike their kind. Another interesting aspect that I noted was the importance of time and illusion- he mentions that whenever he is high, under the influence of marijuana he loses a sense of time, but I feel it was more than just this. With such intoxication, one no longer is part of this egoistic, self-centered world, he is part of his own world- one that is invisible to everyone. It is ironic how to society he is invisible, yet he impacts their life to a certain extent. Take for example the tapping of power- the whole town is searching for the man behind such crime, yet they can't find him. He is almost like a ghost- a spirit who does actions, without anyone finding out.

-Now moving on to chapter 1, which i find rather disturbing and cruel.  I question the beginning of the chapter- why is a white girl (who is suppose to have a higher rank than a black man) exposed in the center of these men? What is the significance of this? Another point to consider is, why do they me young experience this horrendous defeat for money...that is fake? It seems that through this chapter, and including the prologue, a motif of power is seen. Firstly, power is what he steals from the white men, yet when in the rink, he is hurt from this electrical power that is running through the coins that the young men fight for. Another symbol that is noticed is the illusion of dreams. In the prologue, the narrator states that he uses drugs to feel a sense of relief and when he is dreaming in chapter 1, he dreams of his grandfather giving him something to laugh about. These illusions are what keeps him going, keeps him calm, and perhaps sane.