I Yam What I Yam!

Specifically looking at the yam seller scene in Invisible Man I think Ellison develops the Narrator’s character significantly. Immediately before running into the yam seller the Narrator walks down the street seeing references to religion intermixed with racist advertisements. His reaction to such advertisements make extremely angry, he is looking for ways to ignore this feeling when he sees the yam man by his wagon. When the Narrator smells the yams he feels this nostalgia to his home in the South. This is strange for the Narrator, because his typical recollections of home are connected to a sense of shame or forgotten memories. Here we see him embracing his nostalgia.

At the corner the old man, wrapped in an army overcoat, his feet covered with gunny sacks, his head in a knitted cap, was puttering with a stack of paper bags. I saw a crude sign on the side of the wagon proclaiming YAMS...

This quote goes into detail about the yam seller himself. Though it may seem small, this description is very important. From the quote we can tell the yam seller is a poor man, wearing an old coat, burlap sacks as shoes. The Narrator we know has typically accustomed himself to stray away from the black people like “this” because of he is ashamed of being grouped together with them. In addition, the cart says in big letters “YAMS” allowing whoever is around him to know exactly what he is purchasing. Looking back at the scene in the restaurant, the Narrator doesn’t want anyone to link him to his southern roots. But by going up to the yam man, anyone around would know what he was buying, subsequently admitting his roots.

            “Never mind the bag, I’m going to eat it.  Here....”

            Typically, when eating a food you would associate with shame you would take it to go, save it for the privacy of your home. By eating the yam in the street the narrator is outwardly accepting any shame that may come his way for embracing his southern background. The seller even admits to the seller than many of his customers take home their yams, and use “their own butter”. Which I think is a reference to this idea they are “too good” to be buying from the poor seller and ashamed to embrace their connection with both the seller and his product.

            The narrator describes how the yam makes him feel free. Previously we have seen him withhold his appetite to fit the “ideal look” he believes he needs to fulfill. But here we see the narrator is accepting himself in one of the most natural ways. The narrator describes the humiliation that can be felt only by indulging the things you love. I think that almost everyone can relate to this in some way, often times I’ve been at a family gathering and I feel too ashamed to dance with my parents. But I think on a deeper level, culture can play a big role in these feelings of shame. For me, I know that I have to censor myself when talking about the things I love. For the longest time I wouldn’t eat watermelon. I was able to convince myself and others that I didn’t like it. But what I really didn’t like was the stereotypes this simple fruit carried upon it.  Admitting how much I really do enjoy Popeye’s chicken always make me a feel a little hesitant. I am afraid that once I admit this I am opening myself up to teasing from others, making me not want to eat something I enjoy. I can imagine this experience is similar for Asian students, there are various types of Asian cuisine from various countries, and there are various ways to make them. Instead of embracing this extraordinary aspect of Asian culture, I’ve seen white people make jokes and mock others for the types of food they eat. Though it may seem like a small problem, for me I have, and I continue to struggle to accept and indulge in the things I truly love without feeling instantly humiliated.

            In the end of the yam scene the Narrator is no longer humiliated, “They’re my birthmark,” I said. “I yam what I yam”. The Narrator embraces all the roots and all that comes along with himself, a yam eater in this case. The connotations that come along with this identity no longer bother him. Instead he is so overcome by this freedom he tries to ignore the fullness of his stomach to extend this free feeling. I think this short scene in Invisible Man characterizes a lot of ideas about how a small thing, like eating a food you like, can be so meaningful in terms of the sense of freedom you may feel as an individual.