The Human Experience Project

An AP Literature Endeavor

This project is designed to aid students in understanding how novels portray the human experience and

how humanity needs literature, specifically novels, to survive, progress, and grow.

The project is divided into 4 parts, listed below.

Part 1 – (Based on Invisible Man) Create a 3-minute video depicting one element of humanity within

the novel (e.g., the nature of ostracism of a person or a group). Determine its nature, source, effect, and

solution (if possible).

Assess the cathartic nature of the novel’s depiction of that element.

Part II – (based on Strange Pilgrims) Create a 12-piece something that illustrates the 12 stories

contained in Strange Pilgrims. For each ‘something’ include the aspect of humanity Marquez is

addressing and describe his tone in addressing that aspect.

Justify the book’s publication.

Part III – (based on Jazz) Identify a jazz piece that best exemplifies the novel’s representation of

humanity. In any format (see Multiple Intelligences below for guidance), relate the jazz piece to the

novel while formulating its (the novel’s) sense of expurgation.

Part IV – (the culmination of all the works) Synthesize all of the information, knowledge, and

understanding you have gathered through Parts I – III in a 5-minute* presentation to the class.

* 5 minutes, +/- 10 seconds (i.e., a range of 4:50 – 5:10)

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ultiple Intelligences, a theory developed by Dr. Howard Gardner, explains that people learn

and demonstrate their learning in at least 8 different ways (explained below). Most people

learn in many of these ways, but prefer one over the others.

Interpersonal – people smart” – understands the feelings, needs and purposes of others; likes to

organize and assemble groups; likes to create games in which participants are actively engaged with one

another

Linguistic – “word smart” – uses verbal skills and language to present ideas; able to speak in public; likes

to act or demonstrate; does well with giving lectures, telling stories, or presenting orally

Logical-Mathematical – “logic smart” – uses reasoning and logical thinking; likes handling math

problems and numbers; understands connections among patterns and figures; likes charts and graphs

that display information

Visual – “picture smart” – creates and interprets visual images; thinks in three-dimensions; likes

diagrams and maps; understands spatial reasoning; likes generating pictures or visuals to display

information

Bodily-Kinesthetic – “body smart” – feels and expresses things physically; does hands-on work; likes

movement and games; likes to utilize tactile and kinesthetic aspects when teaching; likes to reenact

events or stories in order to instruct

Musical – “music smart” – creates and feels a rhythm to express a mood; detects and analyzes musical

themes; likes chants, songs, beats, and patterns; likes to use music to teach

Intrapersonal – “self smart” – understands own interior thoughts and feelings clearly; likes silence and

times to think and ponder; enjoys listening to others and observing; likes to engage in topics individually

Naturalist – “nature smart” – understands nature, seeing patterns in the way it works; likes classifying

and codifying things; likes to utilize nature in analogies, metaphors, and similes; likes to connect learning

to the natural world

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Invisible Man Syllabus

Objectives:

To understand the plot, characters, themes and motifs of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

To analyze motifs in a novel and determine their effectiveness in addressing thematic elements

To evaluate the novel’s treatment of the human experience

Tasks:

Respond to all of the questions within this syllabus (pages 4-5) and complete the motif chart

(page 6)

The Human Experience, Part 1 (see page 1)

Due dates:

Work Checks – these are weekly checks to determine effort, understanding, and diligence.

Date What will be checked

Tuesday, October 29 Terms defined (using LINCS tables)

Friday, November 1 Amount of reading completed; understanding of novel (plot, characters, themes, motifs);

Thursday, November 7 Amount of reading completed since last check; understanding of novel; completion of motif chart; responses to questions

Wednesday, November 20 Completion of reading; understanding of novel; completion of motif chart; responses to questions

FINAL Friday, November 22 All work due

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Study Guide for Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Terms 1. imagery 8. reliability 15. trickster 22. propaganda novel 2. symbolism 9. naïve narrator 16. picaresque 23. slave narrative 3. prologue 10. point of view 17. gothic novel 24. naturalism 4. epilogue 11. taboo 18. kunstlerroman 25. realism 5. irony 12. rite of passage 19. bildungsroman 26. surrealism 6. satire 13. stereotype 20. epic novel 27. Freudianism 7. idiom 14. allegorical 21. quest novel 28. existentialism Imagery and Symbolism 1. How does the vision imagery relate to the theme of invisibility? Consider darkness and light, blindness

and insight, visibility and invisibility. 2. Discuss the significant dreams in Invisible Man. 3. How does the collection of items in the Invisible Man's briefcase parallel his own development? 4. What is the symbolic importance of the Sambo doll? 5. Investigate any Christ symbols in the novel. 6. Discuss the symbolic function of names in Invisible Man. 7. How does Ellison use the running man metaphor? 8. Ellison does not use color imagery, but depends solely upon black and white. What do these colors

mean in his novel and how does he demonstrate his meanings? 9. How does Ellison use food symbolically? 10. Discuss the function of music. 11. What do the Zoot suiters symbolize for the Invisible Man? 12. Explain how paper objects signal important turning points for the narrator. 13. How are animal and machine imagery used? Significant Scenes 1. How does his grandfather's “curse” and death scene affect the Invisible Man throughout the book? 2. In what ways is the Battle Royal an initiation rite? 3. Explore the possible meanings of Trueblood's narrative — as an inversion of sexual Taboos, “puttin’

on the massa” slave tale, racial purity symbolism, pure sexual titillation, etc. 4. Explain why Invisible Man’s confrontation with Dr. Bledsoe is so devastating for him. 5. What is really happening in the scene between young Emerson and the Invisible Man? 6. Why must the Invisible Man fight Brockway? 7. In what ways does the Invisible Man's hospital experience resemble death and rebirth? 8. Why does Ellison develop in such detail the scene between the Invisible Man and Sybil? 9. How does Tod’s death affect the Invisible Man? 10. What insight does the Invisible Man gain by disguising himself as Rinehart? Characterization 1. Is the Invisible Man a hero or an anti-hero? 2. Compare and contrast the characters of the young men who figure significantly in the novel – Tod

Clifton, Ras the Exhorter/Destroyer, and Rinehart. 3. Compare and contrast the characters of the older men who figure significantly in the book – Dr.

Bledsoe, Lucius Brockway, and Brother Jack. 4. Compare and contrast the characters of the women who figure significantly in the novel – Mary

Rambo, Sybil, and Emma.

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Structure 1. The book is organized around four adventures which are essentially the same adventure again and

again, moving from the particular to the universal in scope. What adventure? 2. The book moves from a state of illusion to a state of perception using the controlling metaphors of

vision to express these states, and the metaphor of death and rebirth to mark the passage from one condition to the other. Explain.

3. The novel is a succession of episodes which finally strip the hero of his illusions and his innocence. Explain.

4. There is an odyssey taking place on four levels – geographic, social, historical, and philosophical. Explain.

5. The book is a quest novel with two searches – the quest for a father or a mother and the quest for brotherhood. Explain.

6. The book is one long ironic joke wherein the trickster tricks even himself. Explain. 7. The book is a dramatized version of black history, especially noting the movement from the South to

the North, from the country to the city, from the field to the factory, from slavery to emancipation. Explain.

8. The book is an elaborate striptease, wherein masks are removed and stereotypes are discarded until we are left finally with the inner soul of one man facing himself. Explain.

9. Ellison has said that the novel is divided into three parts, each of which has its own artistic style, moving from realism to expressionism to surrealism, as the narrator moves from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Explain.

10. Ellison uses language to musical effect in several notable scenes -- the description of the college campus, Trueblood’s confession, the chapel scene and Tod Clifton’s funeral. The “music” of these sections -- their rhythm, assonance, and alliteration—both heightens their meaning and plays against it. Explain.

Philosophy 1. Define “Rinehartism.” 2. In general, what view of history does the Invisible Man embrace? 3. Is this an existential novel? 4. Is this novel comic or tragic? 5. What is Dr. Bledsoe's personal philosophy? 6. What is the ideology of the Brotherhood? Type of Novel 1. In what ways does this novel draw upon the traditions of the following kinds of novels – gothic novel, epic novel, picaresque novel, quest novel, bildungsroman, kunstlerroman, and propaganda novel? 2. Does this novel satisfy Stepto's definition of a slave narrative which combines both ascent and immersion forms? Motif Strands Using the motif chart form provided or your own chart, trace the ten main motifs throughout the novel –

• dreams • sex • violence • paper • vision • symbolic objects • oratory • music • family • power

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