The Invisble Man: a New Idea of Black Invisibility in America to the Political World
After being arrested, African Americans are 33% more likely than whites to be detained while facing a felony trial in New York. Racism is the idea of a hierarchy of races, as in one race is greater than another. The term is not limited to this one definition. Ralph Ellison illustrates the theme of racism in the story Invisible Man. Ellison uses diverse events to show the Invisible Man's delicacy to the conflict of black men trying to find their sense of identity and self and also the unattractive reality of the racial circumstance in America.
The main character is a nameless black man in the 1930s in Invisible Man. Ellison uses Tod Clifton, Ras the Exhorter, Brother Jack, and Rinehart as aspects of the reason why he feels as if he is “invisible”. Ellison connects to the invisible man because he is, in reality, a black man living in the 1930s dealing with racism and dealing with oppression. The story is about the invisible man living and feeling as if he is invisible because no matter what he did the others only saw his outer shell and judged him based on that.
Forever and always a sufferer, the invisible man begins and concludes his battle in a hole. In the start of the story, the invisible man resides in a concealed hole where no one knows he exists. “Perhaps you’ll think it strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it is exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form”. Light is a necessity in order to confirm he is a real person and no one else can say otherwise. It is ironic that he is in a hole and concealed from the outside world because gradually he is receiving power and self-confidence without anyone even paying attention.
Following this, the Invisible man is duped once again and forced into a circumstance he has not said so in. Once their blindfolds we taken off after the fight, the white men call for them to a gold draped rug and gave them chance to grab all they wanted. This is thought of as an act of kindness for them, but unfortunately, the rug is electrifying. “I lunged for a yellow coin on the blue design of the carpet, touching it and sending a surprised shriek to join those rising around me”. The word surprised is an example that proves the invisible man is still unseeing to the wrongdoing of the whites and thought they could do something commendable for once. “The invisible man’s naive makes him ignore the truth”. He still chooses to see the better in them and is delusional to see their wrongdoings and how effortlessly they can trick him.
The Invisible Man also does not see that the empowered people he trusts can also effortlessly betray him. Mr. Norton and Bledsoe are too strong and can easily hurt the Invisible Man. He believes Mr. Norton and thinks he has to care for him. “Invisible Man does not embody authentic blackness; he embodies Mr. Norton’s “dream’ of blackness described alternately as a walking zombie and automaton as well as mechanical man, the Invisible man becomes a puppet or doll manipulated by those around him”. The invisible man feels after he returns Mr. Norton back to Bledsoe after he passed out. Bledsoe throws him out from the school and the invisible man repeatedly alone again. Bledsoe has overridden Mr. Norton’s word and tricked the invisible man for the little mishap even though he didn’t deserve it.
In the Invisible Man, Ellison uses the invisible man and his interactions with the other characters to show the delicacy of the black man during this time period. The book is important because it is putting a new idea of black invisibility in America to the political world. Ellison portrays numerous ideas in the novel that match up with the ideas of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and communism.
Work Cited
- Brennan, Timothy. 'Ellison and Ellison: The Solipsism of 'Invisible Man'.' CLA Journal 25.2 (Dec. 1981): 162-181. Rpt. inContemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. Vol. 54. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
- Lee, Julia Sun-Joo. 'Knucklebones and knocking-bones: the accidental trickster in Ellison's Invisible Man.' African American Review 40.3 (2006): 461+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
- Sheokand, Anu. 'Survival of blacks a study of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.'Language In India Nov. 2012: 149+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
- Thomas, J.D. 'Ellison's Invisible Man.' The Explicator 65.1 (2006): 42+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
- Quigley, Bill. “Fourteen Examples of Racism in Criminal Justice System” Huffington Post, KamMay 25, 2011
