A False Perception

Racism has been a very big deal over the history of our modern society. The idea that skin color was somehow related with racial inferiority was a pretty dominant concept throughout the most recent part of our history. What is rather ironic is that this idea is based on no real scientific proof. As far as research goes, skin color is only skin deep, in a matter of speaking. There is no significant genetic variation between people from different races. Skin color is merely a gene, similar to any other, like the gene for hair color or eye color.

To divide an entire society based on skin color was as silly and superficial as it can get. However, it is still a wonder how this shallow perception of humanity was able to endure for so long. The answer lies primarily in the need to control society. In a world where newly born ideas like freedom were starting to appear, there was a need to establish some sort of control over society. How could an agricultural society, such as the new American South, survive without a stable work force? The solution was the use of slaves. However, justifying the lack of rights to some people in a country were ideas of freedom were proliferating would be a challenge. To solve this, a perception of racial inferiority was introduced. Consequently, the practice of slavery and discrimination was able to set its roots in the so called "free land" of America.

It’s frustrating to think that the hierarchy of a civilization would be defined on such trivial aspects as skin color. The idea that "white is right" was just a strategy to get on the top of the pyramid and become the controllers of power. Some people became so convinced on the white man's superiority that they even began to view themselves as the saviors of humanity, and defined it as "the white man's burden". To understand how shallow that perception is, is only half of the job. What's even more outrageous is that is utterly and scientifically wrong. There is no gene related with the white skin color that indicates any type of superiority, and at the same time, there is no gene related with any other skin color that would indicate any inferiority. In fact, there isn't even a subspecies of humans. Every single modern human on earth is a homo sapiens, nothing more, nothing less.

From Here To Eternity

The quest for immortality is one to which many humans dedicate their lives to. From the very beginnings of history, with celebrated characters such as Gilgamesh and Achilles, the desire to achieve immortality has been greatly discussed.
Afterward, a group of people during the early 1800's began a movement denominated Romanticism. The views and ways of this movement would be a strong pillar unto which our modern society would base its interpretation of our existence. Their primary goal would be to find the meaning of life through their soul and their feelings, as opposed to the dominant points of view during their time which defined life through religion or science.
As one would expect, this new perception of life became a great scandal across Europe, as defiant characters such as Percy Byshee Shelley published "blasphemous" articles and celebrities such as Lord Byron made the headlines with their scandalous lives. Other Romantics would resort to opium to produce the most mystical lines of poetry, selling their body for the sake of their spirit. It's precisely what the Romantic Movement was attempting to obtain. They wanted to achieve that perception of the world through their feelings and express the deepest desires of their soul in order to find that enigmatic meaning of life.
A particular member of the Romantics, John Keats, would stand out to pursue one of the greatest quests known to humanity. He set out to achieve immortality. Finding himself ill very early in his life, and refusing to accept the Church's dictations of life after death, he was standing alone in an abyss of nothingness awaiting his last breath. Desperate, he sought a way towards immortality, and finding it finally in the prevalence of art, he died regretting not achieving a masterpiece that would earn him a place in eternity. Fortunately, his quest had not been in vain, for his works became famous soon after his death, and his name was able to create a space for him in the realm of immortality. This great success was a victory to the cause of Romanticism. With Keats's name, as well as many other poets who were able to transcend through time, Romanticism gained a position of veracity as a medium of understanding the world that surrounds us. Additionally, it was able to set forth a new beginning in which originality and self determination are greatly valued, and the individuality of each person can determine his or her own eternity.

Brain Surgery

As the novel moves on into the next chapter, we find the speaker the speaker stunned badly after the accident. At first he is unsure of where he is or who he is. Confused and disoriented, he struggles to understand what's going on, but despite being surrounded by doctors and nurses, it seems as if he wasn't even there. His mind is detached from the outside, almost separate from his own body. Lying there in the hospital, he undergoes a strange procedure in which a machine is supposed to produce "the results of a prefrontal lobotomy...and the result is a complete change of personality" (236).

What is inevitable to ignore is how this procedure will change the speaker. If this operation is as effective as the doctor claims, wouldn't his mind change after it? According to the doctor “he will live as he has to live, and with absolute integrity. He'll experience no major conflict of motives, and what is even better society will suffer no traumata on his account" (236). What is he referring to by saying this? Could it be that a good citizen, a man of no burden to society is that which has no conflicts of motives? Apparently the best interest of society is to have a bunch of automatons, walking around life with no motives or opinion. A person like this is, to the burden of society, weightless, or even invisible.

After the operation, the speaker finds himself in a sort of glass container, observed vigilantly by the people outside. From his position, he is able to observe them as well, and metaphorically observes society. He is disturbed by what he sees, as he notices flaws and ugly details on his subjects, but then he thinks "we are all human" (239). This perhaps, could be a moment of understanding, as he looks at the flawed humanity, determined to accept it. It feels as if he wasn't human anymore. The doctors, indeed don't see him humanlike, only as a result from an experimental operation. This could be the beginning of the speaker's understanding of his invisibility. He can see that society in a detached way, but somehow, that society can't see him. In some way, he can't see himself either, since he isn't even able to remember his own name.

It’s still unclear if the speaker’s personality was changed, but he certainly started to view his world around him in a new way. Perhaps this is only the beginning of the speaker’s renovation, and he will eventually grow to understand that concept of invisibility.