Sex and Power in Chapters 5 and 6


Chapter Five:

Sex is hard to find in Chapter Five, though it does exist. In the quotation on page 116 "Gradually she increased its volume, until at times the voice seemed to become a disembodied force that sought to enter her, to violate her, shaking her, rocking her rhythmically" Ralph Ellison uses allusions to sex to more accurately describe the vitality and intensity of the singer.

Though I have been told that Power is not in this Chapter, I would point to the Narrator's fear of expulsion by Dr. Bledsoe as indicative of the power that Bledsoe holds over the Narrator. This fear can be seen in quotations like "with such words fresh in his mind, I was sure Dr. Bledsoe would be far less sympathetic to my plea." on page 135.

Chapter Six:

Power is highly evident in this chapter, as it concerns the meeting between two people, one of whom has the power to decide the other's fate. Specifically, Dr. Bledsoe gives a very enlightening monologue where he explains how he has the true power in the college, because of his influence over the white folk, and their inability to see him as human. This is most evident in this quote "I's big and black and I say 'yes, suh' as loudly as any burrhead when it's convenient, but I'm still the king down here" on page 142.

I've searched long and hard for the Sex motif in Chapter Six, and the closest I've come is the quote on the first page of the chapter, page 136, which says "Lights began to appear in the girls' dormitories, like the bursting of luminous seeds flung broadside by an invisible hand". This quote implies Sex with the imagery of the seed, an organism that ensures recreation.