Invisible Man

Lesson 3
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ELA

Unit 1

12th Grade

Lesson 3 of 36

Objective


Explain how the author develops the motifs of invisibility and blindness in Chapter 1.

Explain the connection between the novel and the article.

Readings and Materials


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Target Task


Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the overall relationship between the “Hero’s Journey” article and the novel?

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The narrator’s description of his grandfather in line 4 of p. 16 (“it was he who caused the trouble”) most nearly implies that

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Writing Prompt

Is the narrator’s grandfather “blind” (metaphorically speaking)? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

Key Questions


  • What is the setting of chapter 1? How does it relate to the prologue?
  • What does the grandfather's message mean? What is he critiquing about his own life? What is he asking his family to do instead? Why? (p. 17)
  • How does the narrator respond to his grandfather's words? At that moment? At other points in the chapter?
  • In the prologue, the narrator talks about people who can't "see him." This motif of blindness returns in chapter 1 with both literal and figurative blindness. Who is literally blinded (the boys with blindfolds)? Who is more metaphorically blind? (the white men cheering - they refuse to see the boys as human beings)
  • In what ways are the boys also metaphorically blind? (they don't initially see the racist motives of the white men - cheering for them to kill each other as entertainment) The narrator? (he still thinks that he can impress the white men and make them respect him if he delivers a good speech, etc. He does not yet see that these racist white men are dictating to him how he must live his life)
  • Would you consider the grandfather to also be metaphorically blind? Why or why not? What evidence supports your position?
  • What is the connection between the article and the story? In which stage would you place the protagonist in the prologue? Chapter 1? Why?

Notes


  • Students should read the article "The Hero's Journey" prior to this class.
  • Posting the stages of the Hero's Journey in the classroom will aid in tracking the narrator's progress through this archetypal journey.
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Lesson 2

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Lesson 4

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