tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post8349811896267378011..comments2024-03-26T22:47:45.276-07:00Comments on Intro to Critical Reading: Tricksters in the 20thAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-15735040312613377062011-04-16T15:50:27.364-07:002011-04-16T15:50:27.364-07:00I feel a little lost reading this. You have so ma...I feel a little lost reading this. You have so many different quotes and voices presented here, but I don't see *your* own ideas as much as I would hope to. Yes your quotes support your argument for the most part, but I feel like your own voice is lost in everyone else. <br /><br />If I am correct in picking out this to be your overall thesis, "The invisible man takes on many personas and many alliances only find his true calling is in the art of mischief and transcending the norm," then I am not sure how the Marcuse quote relates to this. How do the science described in Marcuse and the scientific plan from Invisible Man relate to the tricksters? <br /><br />The Hynes' six tenants of a trickster seems really interesting. You could definitely apply those to the characters in Invisible Man to further support your argument.Erin Garriganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11052967790492783021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-91955402740110685082011-04-16T13:44:00.034-07:002011-04-16T13:44:00.034-07:00Here's how I intend to help, and you can let m...Here's how I intend to help, and you can let me know if it's actually helpful.<br /><br />The invisible man is a trickster. Maybe that's because he gets tricked so much - going from the tricked to the trickster is a complex but natural transition for him. Yet, he is an intellectual who also analyzes what it means to be a trickster (I'm thinking especially of his experience as Rinehart, which then provides a kind of education preceding his move into the basement).<br /><br />Saying that he's a trickster, though, is a little on the easy side. Understanding him in terms of the archetypal characteristics of tricksters in general, while certainly interesting, is also a little basic. Using Raglan to understand Ellison should be the start, not the stop, of an essay; you're in a comparable situation.<br /><br />So here's the lynchpin: why does it matter that he's a trickster? Clearly, you want it to relate to instrumentalization.<br /><br />The answer, I think, is obvious: tricksterism matters in this context because it is a answer (maybe *the* answer) to instrumentalization; Ellison, incidentally, is following in Melville's footsteps here (I'm thinking of his great novel *The Confidence Man*).<br /><br />So, using Marcuse as one component, can you make an essay out of the concept that instrumentalization is answerable primarily or even only through tricksterism <i>work</i>? I suspect that you can. How, I don't know - but here's my one thought, which might appeal to you. It might be that Marcuse's full pessimism comes from his lack of appreciation for people's ability to trick, elude, and betray the system.<br /><br />Does that help?Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com