Convocation 2018 - Giselle Furlonge

Classics teacher Giselle Furlonge '03 was the convocation speaker for the 2018-2019 school year. She tells us about her deep appreciation for Ralph Ellison's book "Invisible Man." Giselle has read this book every summer for the past 15 years. She analyzes parts of this complex text much like a VI former does in their senior exhibition. Giselle explains that each year she discovers something new about Ellison's book and "why this book has persisted in my life for so long." "Three reasons: One, I have yet to read another book that forces me to wrestle with my relationship to myself and how I relate to those around me. Two, this story is epic; it’s literally an epic. Ellison echoes Homer’s Odyssey, James Joyce’s Ulysses, and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick intentionally to cement the mythical and colossal journey of his titular character. Three, Ellison is a tinkerer of words. His language is unparalleled in its depth and its brutality."