Invisible Man
Charater List:
The Narrator- He calls himself the “invisible man” because no one really sees him for himself. He is locked under stereotypes of average black men. He lives in the south during the late 1920s or early1930s. Even though he is a talented young speaker and very intelligent, these qualities soon fade away from him with time away from the college. “I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids-and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible; understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” Page 3
Mr. Bledsoe- He is the president of the college. He is very selfish and pretends to care about others but blatantly said he would have every black man hanged in the country to save his rank. He was the one responsible for the letters that spoke false about the narrator in New York.
Tod Clifton- A black male part of the Brotherhood. He lived in Harlem and was intelligent and handsome. Not sure if there was a fall out or not but he parts ways with the Brotherhood.
Exhorter- Represents the black nationalists movement which has to do with white supremacy.
Brother Jack- Leader of the Brotherhood, his glass eye and his red hair symbolize his blindness and his communism, respectively.
Mr. Norton- White trustee of the narrators college, he tells the narrator that he is the mans destiny.
Jim Trueblood- A black male who impregnated his daughter and wife and is viewed as a disgrace to the black community.
Emerson- gives the narrator a job at a paint factory, he is the son of a trustee.
Mary-A black woman who allows the narrator to stay with her in Harlem.
Sybil- A white woman who tries to use the narrator as her fantasy of being raped by a black “savage”man.
Conflicts:
Identity- “Identity in Invisible Man is a conflict between self-perception and the projection of others, as seen through one mans story: the nameless narrator. His true identity, he realizes, is in fact invisible to those around him. Only by intentionally isolating himself from society can he grapple with and come to understand himself.” –internet source While they are right the narrator never really made himself know because he couldnt, he was always surrounded by racist, critical people who were too selfish to look deeper in a person.
Race- Race played a