In chapters six through nine in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man the scene moves from Atlanta to New York City. Upon arriving in the City the narrator discovers the concept of gambling. Although gambling may be a fun pastime, the narrator chose to quit his job as a cigar maker and focus primarily on winning at the "crap tables."
So far in this novel, the narrator has convinced the reader that he definitely does not know what he wants in life, and at times, appears to be childish, weak, and extremely naive when making decisions.
However, it may be possible that these poor decisions being made by the narrator are essential for him to discover who he truly is. Without the poor decisions the narrator has made in New York City, perhaps he would have never discovered "rag-time music." This new discovery of music has encouraged the narrator to play music more, where he has "...developed into a remarkable player of rag-time; indeed, I had the name at that time of being the best rag-time player in New York (p.115)." In turn, the music "club" of which the narrator frequents, has allowed him to meet a variety of people.
Although there is a lot going on throughout the novel, it is bewildering as to why the narrator never refers to anyone by their names. Instead, the narrator simply labels them as "companion", "widow," "jockey" and many more. These specific labels the narrator has placed on the other characters throughout the novel makes the reader question if it has anything to do with his own personal struggle to label himself as white or black. It also brings into question why the narrator himself does not possess a name. One can only hope that these questions will be answered later on in the novel.
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4 comments:
i agree with you at this point in the novel the narrator seems very lost and impressionable while this seems true right now i really hope his character evolves because it seems like he has great untapped potential
Very insightful. I would never have thought the sort of labeling of the characters has to do with the narrators own search to label himself. The labels certainly do seem important to him, it’s like he has to have some description for just about everyone.
I agree with that the no name thing bothers me too. He will explain the characters in detail and keep talking about them but never give them a name. I think that maybe that him not knowing what he wants to label himself is why he doesnt label everyone else.
Obviously I agree, this was a main focus of what was discussed in class today. I feel, however, that you made a very important point. Halfway through you stated that his poor decisions are essential for him to discover who he truly is. I completely agree! We learn from our bad decisions and mistakes. We learn to make better decisions based on who we are as people and I feel you are correct when stating that yes, he may not know who he is but he will soon discover this through choices he makes.
I think you made very good points throughout your whole blog. You also pressed on the naming issue which we discussed in class as well. I like how you question his motives behind that. I didn't think of it as his "personal struggle to label himself". Very good point!
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