THE GALEANO PROJECT: INVISIBLE MAN
WHISKY (WARNING MAY CAUSE WIFE TO LEAVE)
As John takes a big gulp from the Jack Daniel’s bottle hidden under his kitchen sink, his crappy day slowly fades away. The electrical bill needs to be payed, his wife is about to leave him, and his dead end job is slowly making him go insane, but yet, with the bottle of whisky in his hands, life is good. As he takes another big gulp, he starts to dance to his own music. He feels as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. As he takes a few more sips, he starts to feel invincible, that no one can bring him down from his giddy state. He keeps chugging until the bottle his a drop left. It falls to the ground and breaks into a thousand pieces Suddenly, he drops to the rusty wooden floor in the middle of the kitchen and goes into a deep sleep. The next morning he wakes up covered in scrapes from the broken glass with the electrical bill on his stomach and a note from his wife saying that she left him and took the kids. Maybe he should stop drinking.
BY MELISSA CARP
Clouds When We Looked to the Sky
I was the evening’s entertainment; my skin color was really a show, I assume. I guess my tint made a unique impression compared to their sugarcane pigment, so they decided that I would be show-cased that night. Putting me in the ring, I was accompanied by my fellow brothers; a little rough housing with each other was not suggested but required; that was the entertainment for the clouds when we looked to the sky: entertainment for the white people. The show went on and as it did, my body turned from black to red, with a couple hints of black mixed with blue. Stepping out of the ring, we were rewarded for putting on such a show with gold coins. Reaching for a few like requested, a vibration of heat struck through me, just like the sound of the ringing of the ring: we really must have been liked for being such a good act of entertainment.
-Meg Gegler
SIGHT
I was blind. Sightless. Helpless. Devoid of hope. I was lost. The vengeful God had sent me defective eyes. What could I have done wrong? Infection had ravaged my eyes, taking away the sense that matters most in the world. Sight. I cannot live without the aid of the Seeing. I stumbled through life, grabbing unknown hands for support, leaning on bodies whose faces I would never see. It was torture, you know, having had the pleasure of sight and then have it torn away from you. Trapped inside my own head, I think I went a little crazy. But I started hearing voices. Voices that gave me hope, voices that told me to rise up and spread my pain and oppression. But also to give hope to those who have none. Because I had realized that the blindness is not the end, it was far from it. True sight can only be obtained by those who don’t have it. Only the blind can truly see.
-Amanda Saker
DRINK THE WORLD AWAY
You hold the clear bottle in your hand, looking into it in a deep thought. You have been working all day in that goddamn office with those goddamn people with all their goddamn problems. You had sat in your 6 by 6, lifeless cubicle, wondering, how did your life get oh so gray? You wanted more out of life. Paris. China. A wife and 3 kids. Maybe a dog. You sigh into the glass, your breath creating a thin fog on the surface. You put the bottle to your lips. The fiery liquid slides down your throat and you are immersed in whiskey. Is this the third time this week you have sat here and drank and drank until you could stand no more? Or the fourth? Maybe the fifth? You have lost track, and you don’t care. The heat spreads throughout your body almost instantaneously and creates a temporary escape from the numbness you always seem to feel. Here on the rickety back porch surrounded by whiskey and the smell of man, you don’t feel so alone anymore. Somehow, the drink can make it all okay, all so painless. You drink and drink until you start laughing, laughing at nothing at all. Soon that laughing turns to crying, crying turns to sobbing, sobbing at everything wrong in the world. And time passes, of course. 8:00 turns to 9:00, which turns to 10:00. Soon it is 4:00 in the morning and the drunken high is fading. You know the pain will come back full force quite soon. And, as usual, you will have to face it alone.
-Emily Levesque
MY “BLINDNESS”
People always judge me for what I am, blind. It is true that I cannot literally see the world with my big brown eyes, but my other senses have been able to replace my eyes. I have seen the world before. I was not born blind. When I was younger, I was able to see the cruel world with my eyes, able to see the colors and the emptiness. I was seeing the world, but I was not living in it. Now that I am blind, my experiences are different. People always hate being blind, but I love it. Being blind is not a disability for me, in fact, my blindness guides me through finding myself based on what I feel its right, rather then what the world presents to me.
Now that I am twenty years old and blind, I realize that the world has so much more to give to you and that it is better being blind and being able to feel rather than having vision and not being able to feel. I believe that blindness is more than just loosing your vision. Others classify me as blind, but blindness is not being able to accept or see the truth. Although others make excuses and protest about being blind, I, on the other hand, appreciate everyday that God has given me the opportunity to see through people and to see through myself. With my disability, others treat me indifferently, but those that are not blind, that are true to me, they love me for me.
- Ivanna Mejia, 11
SHACKLES
My future has been rigged, taken from me by a bunch of tricksters whose only job is to interfere with the series of ropes and pulleys that is my life. They took my future so quickly from me, in the time it takes an eye to open and close in between blinks. And my shackles see me the same way, rubbing against the raw skin on the inside of my wrists, ripping off my skin cell by cell. I wonder if my blood flowed freely, like cargo escaped from a Ship’s gyves, that they might see that I am not the skin I’m in. That I have red and pink and even white to contrast the black I feel in my stomach and the black they reflect in their eyes. All I can do is hug this wall that holds me so close, cradle the shackles that cradle me, and wait for the day that they do see my blood, and I see no more.
--Brielle Butler
BOY
As I entered the social club I herd a speech was going to get made by a black man. I don’t offend go to this social club but tonight I was alone and had nothing to do. Many of my friends from middle school go almost every weekend but I am no longer in contact with them and barely talk to them when I see them there. Most nights it is just men talking about their work and how their day went but tonight there was going to be a right between a few black men. I started to see the black men nervously waiting in a back of the social club. Some were crying and some stood there quietly ready to kill. All the white men gathered around the area the black men were going to fight. I started hearing one word a lot, “Boy” is what the white men were yelling. All the white men hitting the ground with their foot, Bang Bang Bang. Cheering for the black men but in a different way then you would usually see at a football game or at a soccer game. I looked around and realized the men were acting like the Romans did watching a Gladiator fight. The black men started to fight each other knowing the only way to get out was to be the last one standing. Again and again the white men were yelling “Go get them Boy”, “Come on Boy”. But not only to one black man but they were referring to all the black men as “Boys”. It was like they were not really humans. Did not matter if they looked different or acted different they were still classified as “Boy”. As the Boys fought and the racist names were being called out I saw almost no reaction from the black men of what they were being called. When the fight ended the white men started throwing coins into the ring and the Black men threw their bodies on the ground. These men were brutally beat up, bleeding everywhere, Limping all around the ring but when they herd the coins hit the ground, Tic, Tic, Tic, Tack. All their pains went away. Again I heard the white men say “Come on Boy grab those coins” laughing as they were being shocked from the electricity in the rug. I left the Social club at that moment still hearing the word “BOY” until I left the social club. As I walked in the street I heard another white man calling a black man “Boy” but the black man just kept walking minding his own business.
--Valerian Planche
Racism
For many years racism was endured by my people
I am a black man who even till this day experiences racism
Racism started to discriminate towards those who are different
Unlike the all powerful whites
I say thankyou christopher columbus for finding america and colonizing
but your a douche for taking over land that was already preoccupied
But racism started earlier than we can even comprehend
No not men or humans but among all life
Do you think all dinosaurs got along and everything was peachy
Thats like saying if i walked into an all white country club in the 1950s and saying i wouldnt stand out
Its the nature of life for us to be racist and to discriminate
Do you think that with dinosaurs the herbivores like the carnivores, no because the carnivores are a threat and thats how life works
If your a threat to something they arent going to like you and they will most likely try to get rid of you.
Racism a never ending cycle
Because we can never change our true animalistic instincs and nature
Racism will never end
And WE MUST LIVE WITH THAT
--Anthony Richardson
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
As I was walking on this dark night of Friday, I heard a sound that came from a night club. It was not just any ordinary sound either, it was the sound of a trumpet and it sounded like Heaven on Earth.
So I stepped in to the club and I was shocked. A black man playing the instrument that lifted up the sound of positiveness. His name was Louis Armstrong.
Everybody loved listening to this man at a night club. I was so close to this man that I could feel the saliva when he hits a high note on the trumpet. Everybody would applause for him when he hits the note and I acted like I was his number one fan.
Then the last note made the whole room go havoc because that specific note was the best note he has ever played that whole night. After, he left the place and the night was over. That was Louis Armstrong.
Sean Daly
THE TWO BOYS OF TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
A Black University in Tuskegee, Alabama founded on July 4, 1881, started with a class of thirty adults taught by Booker T. Washington. A 19 year old boy attended in 1933 to study music and left to New York in 1936. Later another boy would follow in his footsteps, he would attend full of excitement and hope on a scholarship that he would endure excruciating pain for; he thought it was worth it. A bright black boy given the task to drive around a old white man, Mr. Norton, who was a great supporter of the school. An important yet simple task would end his time at the school of his dreams. One wrong street, one crazy cabin, one man who raped his daughter, one long search for whiskey led to one boy who lost his chance at his dream of education. A black man with power similar to a white man, punished him for his unintentional mistake, he sent him to New York.
A tale within a tale, a man’s years at Tuskegee University would lead to another boys written tale at Tuskegee University. They’re path continued as they both went on to New York. A student that attended Tuskegee University, would later write a book about a boy who he would send to the same school.
-Ani Keshishian
Power
It was September 13, 2009 Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The VMA’s honor the best music video’s from the previous years. Russel Brand hosted this event for the second year in a row and nine million people were viewing this award show. Artist like Green Day, Beyonce, Lady GaGa, and Jay-Z, lit up the stage with live performances. Michael Jackson died a few months earlier and the VMA’s honored him with a speech and a live performance by his sister Janet Jackson. It was overall a great and very exciting night.
One award that was presented that night was, best female video. The candidates were Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Pink, Katty Perry, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift. Beyonce was the favorite to win most awards with her smash hit song and video, “Single Ladies”. Taylor Lautner announced the award and Ms. Swift was victorious. She shocked the music world. She walked on stage to receive her award but was rudely interrupted by Kanye West. Kanye West took the microphone from her and announced to the crowd beyonce should have won. Taylor Swift was embarrassed and very upset.
Kanye West has been known to be cocky. At that point he had have four big selling albums and large engrossing tours. He was a household name and one of the most popular artist and rappers of our time. All of this has got to his head. He has many quotes that prove his cockiness; he once referred to himself of the artist of our generation. He says he is not cocky but confident. He believes he has much power due to the fact that he is one of the most popular artists of the 2000’s. He believed he was so powerful that he can just say what ever he wants. In September 2009, he felt the power and nerve to get on stage and rip the microphone away for Ms. Swift. He was highly criticized for the follow months. He apologized many times to the media and made many appearances on late night shows. All three of his last singles have been about the incident. One is singles is called “Monster”; he is referring to how he is a monster for what he did. Another single is called “Power” and he quotes in that song, “no one man should have all that power”. His last song is called “Run Away”, which was performed live at the 2010 VMA’s. The song was an apology to Taylor for what he did.
MATTHEW MCCLURE
Awsome job especially anthony you were awesome
ReplyDeleteAll of these have to do with the book because everyone wrote about a theme. Everyone of those words were related to the book directly or indirectly. They are either the place in the book or a issue. Some of these are scenes from a different view of a different character and some are not scenes but about real events.
ReplyDeleteThis piece represents the novel because of all of the words that are being described take place in the novel. They are all telling their own story which sometimes happens in the novel and sometimes doesn't. They don't represent the novel because some of them are stories of their own and they don't take place in the novel which others do.
ReplyDeleteThis piece represents the the essence of the novel. It adds a lot of side stories that could be from the Invisible Man. It talks about many of the themes and ideas. It does not represent the novel because it has many ideas that are explored that were not presented in the book.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED IT ALL. EVERY PIECE WAS FABULOUS. Everyone went into detail and it really illustrated the story for me. I enjoyed this project very much. I did not know our class are such good writers. ;) <3
ReplyDeleteVery good Job you can really relate all these pieces to the Invisible Man
ReplyDeleteThis piece is representative of the novel because it points out certain topics that are represented in the novel. For example, it represents some type of invisibility throughout these topics and how there is some sense of belonging and not belonging. It is like the Invisible Man because these stories are similar to what happen in the book, of him being confused and not necessarily having everything go his way. Also, this is not representative of the novel because there are some stories that do not relate to the plot or themes of the novel at all.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhy I think all of the pieces are really cool is because first of all, every single one is different in its own way. A lot of them had to do with seeing and picturing yourself in society and your placement in that. Others as well, had to do with everyone's different views of the world and their perspective of it; some people could not experience the world because they are being tied down for shackles, invisibility, blindness, etc. Some can break through what is holding them back, others look on the bright side of it.
ReplyDeletei like the flow of it.....every one of these paragraphs relate in some way....they all talk about certain themes in the book
ReplyDeleteAll these stories are representative of the novel because they all are mentioned and a part of the novel. They don't represent the novel in some ways because they are different situations and are interpreted differently then in the novel.
ReplyDeleteThis was cool because it was fun to make our stories about things that were a part of the novel.
This piece represents 'Invisible Man' in the way that many of the poems talk about struggles with racism and unfair judgements. The invisible man deals a lot with racism and violence because the main character is black and he lived in the 50's, which was a period of a lot of racism.
ReplyDeleteBut the piece is also not like the novel because some of this stuff is from this current day and not from the 50's.
This was really cool, especially when read outloud, because the stories all meshed together even though they are all so different. If reminded me of a Kurt Vonnegut novel-- all out of order and completely irrelevant but so smooth. I really liked this assignment and people wrote really beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI personally loved "Drink the World Away" and "My Invisibility" by Emily Levesque and Ivana Mejia. Both were extremely insightful and painted a clearly picture of imagery. I loved how Emily made the scenery in her piece so clear and surreal. In "My Invisibility", I love how Ivana compared and contrasted how the world may view her and how she views the world. This was specifically interesting to me because it was both from an introspective point of view and a bird's eye view perspective. Her outlook on life was very objective and not biased! Great work, ladies!
ReplyDeleteAni,
ReplyDeleteYou cleverly allude to Ellison's own biography and how it influences his art. Understanding that Ellison attended Tuskegee for some time, only to leave for New York, adds poignancy to chapters 6 & 7. You are smart enough to trust your reader and not state this connection directly. You, like Ellison and Galeano, are making the invisible visible...but in a subtle, stylish manner. Your repetition of "one" is also a strong stylistic device.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your story it was funny and had good adjectives and verbs. I think you the tone of the story matched really well with the actual context.
Jay Rodman
Valerian,
ReplyDeleteYou used wonderful descriptive language that made me see every detail. The imagery was like it was a movie in front of me and I also felt how you were feeling, a shocked outsider. The word "Boy" stood out to the man talking but did not affect the black men fighting. Great piece!
Emily, I really love how you describe your character's description depression and habitual drinking. I also enjoyed how you made time progress until it was the morning. Good job, Emily!
ReplyDeleteAmanda -
ReplyDeleteYour post was really excellent. I loved your word choice and your descriptive language. It showed that you really understood the book and really illustrates the motif of blindness. I thought that what you wrote was powerful and full of meaning, which is similar to the writing in Invisible Man itself. Great job!
First off, I'm digging "Louis Armstrong" by Mr. Sean Daly. It really captures the essence of being in a city, probably on a summer night, and hearing music coming from a club. I also really liked Brielle's piece. The descriptive language came off very prominently and in a totally brutal way. Very metal.
ReplyDeleteToast
I like the Melissa's story, "Whiskey" because it speaks openly, even bluntly, about how a man's one escape from life is in reality the trap he lead himself into. I also liked Ani's story, "The two boys of Tuskegee Institute" because it explains the relationship between the founder, one of the first students, the author of the novel, and the narrator in the story.
ReplyDelete@Emily L.: Totally digged your piece since it really spoke to me. It was in second person, using the word "you" instead of "I". There are so many people who need to use substance abuse in order to get through the day and how invisible it is since they seems to be so normal throughout the day. Really good.
ReplyDelete@Amanda: I was just commenting w/ Courtenay that I automatically like reading my friend's writing even if I don't know who wrote it! Anyways, I liked the fact that you described your blindness in both the literal and figurative sense. It shows how as people, we're blind to things that are so obvious to the world around us and we seem to drift along live. Super awesome writing.
Matt
ReplyDeleteMatt good jobs on yours I feel that you are completely correct when you say that he is a cocky person. Me being a cocky person has read this and it made me change my out look on how I approach situations from now on.
Ant
Well unlike what you stated in the Land before time Movies all of the dinosaurs get along except the grown ups. So i feel racism is learned as a child and it matured as one matures.
Melissa, I really enjoyed your piece. I was immersed in the story and wanted to read more. Absolutely eye catching to the reader! I especially liked the title. Really creative! :)
ReplyDeleteEmily, your descriptive language was mesmerizing! I was reading your piece thoroughly and I can't find the right words to describe how much I enjoyed it.
Well done girls! Great job to everybody! I liked reading these! :)
I loved "Drink the World Away" and "SIGHT," by Amanda and Emily. In "Drink the World Away," Emily sculpted her piece with incredible use of language and description. Through reading that, I really thought of drunkenness of another form of blindness. Amanda had a beautiful line that I loved, "True sight can only be obtained by those who don’t have it," something I think is very true and something that is also very hard to resonate with unless you have truly experienced that concept. Both of you did a really impressive job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Power by Matt and Whiskey by Mellisa. Both of these stories kept me hooked and they were both really interesting. Melissa, your story was very good and I liked the way you incorporated the smaller details, such as the electric bill. Matt, your story was very good and helped me understand the situation with Kanye West better, but also went more into the meaning behind his songs.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I loved your piece. It was amazing and I feel like I was in the mind of the man or I was right there in the kitchen watching everything happen. It was amazing. Emily L. I loved your piece also. Your similies and words about the full force that is going to soon arrive really spoke to me. Both pieces were truly amazing, great work ladies!
ReplyDeleteMelissa-First of all, I love the title of your piece. It really drew me in. Your writing is very direct, but very compelling. The ending was a great twist-very darkly funny.
ReplyDeleteBrielle- You had such great descriptive language. It's very brutal, but it is very beautiful as well. I love the fact that is it talking about Invisible Man without spelling it out.
Amanda-
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job describing "defective eyes". It was poetic, beautiful, and gruesome at the same time. I also enjoyed how you named it Sight. Titles usually give you a preview of what your going to be reading but yours tricks the reader and although you talk about sight, it is the loss of it and how one lives without it.
Melissa-
Yours is interesting. Describing how drunk he is and that he feels giddy, and that he dances to his own music, that makes it sounds like John is happy in his own world. But at the turn of a dime you are explaining that he isn't, because if he is getting drunk to escape then he must really not be happy. Excellent job portraying a picture of his errors and and what he gets for doing so.
Ani, I though youre piece was great. I agree with Mr.Neal, the space you give to the reader allowing them to realize the comparison between the narrator and Ellison himself is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your piece! Great work. :)
I really enjoyed Ani's piece, "The Two Black Boys of Tuskegee University". I liked how you used the repetition of the word "one" because it amped up the power of the piece.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Melissa's piece, it was quirky and very humorous. At the same time, it also sent out a very serious message. You played around with language and were able to make a heavy topic and add satirical humor.
Melissa
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you had John know that they are in trouble and then drink the whisky with the mood just completely changing while still knowing that in the morning it will all come crashing down.
Emily
It is really interesting how you gave the thoughts really letting you get inside the head of the person. The time passing so quickly and losing count of the days. Also how in the end it sets up to start the cycle again.
Brielle: your piece shows the struggles of slavery in Invisible Man. The description you gave about the shackles was very clear and I felt pain on my wrists when reading it. The imagery of a ship gave us another glimpse at slavery and the slave trade.
ReplyDeleteAnt:Your piece is very interesting and clever. I like how you related it to the color of your skin and talk about emotions that can be very personal. In Invisible Man we see how he discriminates himself because the color of his skin.