Chapter ten of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man follows the narrator’s first, surreal day working at the Liberty Paints factory. The prize product, Optic White paint, is supposedly so white that the government relies on it to paint their national monuments. And yet the process the narrator sees is messy, frantic, and fragile enough that a few drops of the wrong black liquid can ruin an entire batch of paint. This imagery of the perfect white paint, but with a conflicted and volatile history, has important implications in Ellison’s critique of American society.
Lucius Blockway tells the narrator the paint is“so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledgehammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through,” and Kimbro remarks upon how the batch is “white as George Washington’s Sunday-go-to-meetin’ wig and as sound as the all-mighty dollar.” The narrator mentions how the buildings of the college are kept brightly painted, to keep them looking respectable and maintain the facade of the college. But the Golden Day and Trueblood’s cabin, which show the reality of life for many people, are left to peel in the sun. Optic White, a thin layer of paint with which Liberty Paints strives to “Keep America Pure,” represents the similarly thin facade that separates what people see from the reality.
The contradictions of the paint itself and the method used to make it are significant. The paint itself isn’t as pure white as it wants to be: small drops of black liquid are required, and they are a vital part of the process even as they are quickly drowned out by the white. And inside the factory, even as it revolves around making uniformly white paint, there is class conflict on a small scale between unions, workers and supervisors. The factory churns out massive amounts of paint every day, but the system ultimately depends on one man and can be ruined by just a small amount of the wrong additive.
The paint factory and Optic White can be read as an allegory for American society. Optic White strives to cover up anything that doesn’t look right, and is so good at doing so that it can even cover up the blackness of coal. The oppressive system in America at the time made similar efforts to conform to the white narrative. And yet even when the paint seems to be successful, there is still conflict, and the entire system is much more fragile than it might seem.
This is a really good post. I think that the part about not using too much of the black liquid also can relate to the fact that the society as a whole doesn't really interact with black people or at least they try to teach black people to think like/act like white people to be part of American society (or at least mainstream white society), and then the black people become basically invisible in society.
ReplyDeleteSide note: I like the pun/word play of the title
Awesome post, Elizabeth! I definitely agree with you. I like your observations about the differences in the government buildings and monuments vs the peeling paint of the Golden Day and Trueblood's cabin. The college is prettier in appearance than the latter two buildings, the ideas and values it teaches are superficial. Although the Golden Day and Trueblood's cabin both have this aspect of craziness, they seem less menacing than institutions like the paint factory or the college because at least in the former locations, there is a level of truth that is not covered up.
ReplyDeleteThis post does a really good job explaining the implications that Ellison was making when writing this scene. I especially liked your observation on how the recipe to make pure-white paint requires drops of black liquid, which just eventually get drowned out into a bright white paint. This can be an allegory to American society, because even though white racists like to believe that they are a "pure" or "supreme" race, Ellison is alluding to the fact that beneath the surface, everyone is more similar than they may want to think.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, I also think that throughout Chapter Ten Ellison hints at the connection between American society and Liberty Paints by the structure and hierarchy of the complex. We see Brockway as the fundamental piece of the factory who is hidden deep underground and makes the key ingredient that makes the paint stick. Similar to how the U.S., and particularly the South was built upon the back of slaves who went unrecognized but were a vital (and sad) part of American history.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting and well written post. In addition to being an allegory for American society, the paint factory also seems to resemble the college. You mentioned that the narrator connects the college with the white paint, and this in addition to the figure of Brockway and his resemblance to Bledsoe (as a character that doesn't always appear important but really holds all the power) help solidify the connection. We also see in both places that the narrator somehow ruins the carefully set up facade. Is Ellison trying to foreshadow a role the narrator will play in society? Or am I reading too much into this?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I think you did a very good job vocalizing the idea itching at the back of all of our minds, that this white is a symbol of the white race. I especially thought the idea that one wrong black drop can mess up the bunch, just as IM messes up the whole flow of things at the factory. I think that this idea that something that we're told is so small, black, and meaningless can have such a profound effect is quite uplifting.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm sure Ellison isn't without his deeper meaning, the entire point of industrialization and assembly line manufacturing is that each individual holds an easier to accomplish, simple, and repetitive job. The result is that an end product was worked on by thousands of men in all tiny different aspects, but each one's work was essential to the creation of a good end product. It gives the common man power over a system way above his head, making it extremely important that each job is done correctly. In addition, symbolism of such a perfect white paint is incredibly powerful to satirically showcase the racial and social issues in a pre-Civil Rights United States.
ReplyDeleteI think you make good points about the different levels of meaning in this chapter. You did a great job to summarize the points Ellison is making about the paint factory. Of the points, my favorite is the one with respect to "Keep America Pure", and the comments you make about this slogan are insightful. You hint a little on the topic of class conflict between the unions and the rest of the factory, but I think that there could be more about that. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteThe the peeling paint of the Golden Day inn and Trueblood's cabin foreshadow the paint symbolism in the chapter which takes place in the Liberty Paint factory. If the paint is a symbol white power that covers up the truth, then the places where the paint is peeling is where the truth shines through. The truth symbolized by Trueblood's cabin is the persistence of the problems that originate during slavery times, and the Golden Day inn is where the narrator first encounters the Vet, who slices and serves the truth as if it were a cake.
ReplyDeleteThe the peeling paint of the Golden Day inn and Trueblood's cabin foreshadow the paint symbolism in the chapter which takes place in the Liberty Paint factory. If the paint is a symbol white power that covers up the truth, then the places where the paint is peeling is where the truth shines through. The truth symbolized by Trueblood's cabin is the persistence of the problems that originate during slavery times, and the Golden Day inn is where the narrator first encounters the Vet, who slices and serves the truth as if it were a cake.
ReplyDeleteI think that the paragraph where you talk about the contradiction between what the paint is used for and how it is made is particularly interesting. The fragility of the paint's composition is almost parallel to the fragility of Bledsoe and Brockway's power. They are both part of some greater system, and I think there are several examples throughout the book that reveal the weakness in individual parts of the system. I think that this "thin facade" you talk about in this post certainly fits into the broader system.
ReplyDeleteThis post wins for best title. Ellison would have relished the pun, I'm sure. Have you noticed his penchant for punning yet?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Mr. Mitchell that this post has the best title. I really like how you bring up the concept that the optic white mixing with the wrong dope shows the fragility of the white system and white paint. I like how you point out the parallel between the paint and what Norton sees as the narrator drives him around.
ReplyDelete