Feldman's Faves: August 9, 2021

Good morning BL5 – I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. It’s hard to believe that the “2020 Olympics” are finally over. Canada just killed it! – Women’s soccer team, Andre De Grasse, Penny Oleksiak, Damian Warner – what a phenomenal effort (and it could almost make you forget that our beloved Kyle Lowry is taking his talents to South Beach).

The Invisible Man By: Ralph Ellison – This book has been on my reading list for years but I was intimidated by it and (for some reason) thought it would be too difficult to work through. I can tell you that this concern was misguided on my part. The Invisible Man is Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece and one of the best books I have ever read. The story is about the journey of an unnamed narrator who starts off as a young and impressionable college student in the South who is kicked out of school, tries to make it in New York to earn his way back into school. Along the way he faces many hardships and betrayals and during this journey of self discovery comes to some very harsh realizations. People he believed were on his side proved to be otherwise – he comes to realize how he has “become invisible” to those around him. I won’t spoil the story but there are many good plot summaries available online if you are interested but don’t want to read the book itself (here’s one - https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/invisibleman/summary/ ) It is very difficult for me to describe the meaning of this book in one paragraph so I will plagiarize someone else’s words – “Invisible Man is Ellison's only published novel. He lived in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, learning much about black culture and folklore. That part of his life was interrupted by military service during WWII but soon after he started work on Invisible Man. In his interpretation of the Black experience, Ellison touches on familiar important topics such as slavery, reconstruction, Jazz, Harlem and civil rights in both serious and realistic ways as well as more humorous and ironic ways. Throughout the theme is that of man seeking his identity on many levels from personally, to community, to a national identity. There is also a theme of disillusionment as each time a cultural, communal or national identity is within reach, it is seen to be false. Ultimately, Ellison comes to terms with the idea that one must find identity within self and not within others. (E. Stover) Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man explores many critical themes, including the role of racism in the South in the 1920's and 1930's, the nature of folklore and the importance of remembering history, blindness as an act of personal failure, obedience to others, the value of individuality, etc. Perhaps the most critical of these themes, however, is that of the quest for identity, as the novel describes the literal disappearance of a man who is rendered invisible--an event which seems to negate his identity and very existence. The invisible man must, thus, learn to become (in a sense) "visible" again through the act of self-recognition, conquering the racial and existential crises that are a part of this dilemma only by embracing invisibility itself.(V. England)”. Let me know if you agree…

Revisionist History - I Love You Waymo – For those of you who are Malcolm Gladwell fans, Season Six of Revisionist History is up and running. This first episode uses self-driving cars, Neville Chamberlain and Lance Armstrong to describe problems of deterrence, moral hazard and basic human nature. I will leave it at that for those who are interested in listening – Here is a short note from Gladwell himself –“Revisionist History travels to Phoenix, Arizona to learn about the future of the automobile. It’s not what you think. It’s much better’: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/revisionist-history/id1119389968#episodeGuid=667271b4-9182-11eb-9e55-1702c462e341

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon