The Invisible Man EssayEssay Preview: The Invisible Man EssayReport this essayInvisible Man # 1At the start of Ralph Ellisons novel, we are introduced to a self-proclaimed “invisible man.” The events that follow describe what forced the narrator to submit to this state. Initially portrayed as a naпve character, our nameless narrator lacks an authentic, true identity. Rather than simply developing his own, our narrator instead opts to alternate between new identities as he progresses through the city of Harlem. Each of the identities he adopts simply serves as his method of advancing in society. But ultimately, our narrator learns that “diversity is the word” (577), as he receives satisfaction in portraying an identity that falls short of societys expectations.
The America we live in today “is [one] woven of many strands” (577, contrary to the one the narrator inhabits. A society based on conformity forces the non-conformists to appear all the more evident. For someone outside of the “norm” is bound to be looked down upon. This then leads to racism, a concept greatly incorporated into Ellisons Invisible Man. Racism also serves as a gateway to the Invisible Mans individual identity. As he joins the Brotherhood, working within the ideology of the organization, he believes it will serve as an outlet that allows him to fight for racial equality. But he naively later learns that the Brotherhood simply sought to use him as a “token black man” in their project. Amazed that he was duped into fulfilling an inauthentic role, he appears “stunnedthat [the Brotherhood] or anyone at that late date, could have named [him] and set [him] running” (568).
This racism then leads to false stereotypes. These stereotypes are even praised within the Invisible Mans race. They present their own theory of how the average black in America should act. Those who praise these theories each believe that anyone who acts contrary to their prescribed identities betray their race. The narrators grandfather believes that the role of blacks consists of “overcom[ing] em with yeses, undermin[ing] em with grins, [and] agree[ing] em to death and destruction” (16). These were his last words to his son, wanting him to continue the “legacy”. The narrators college president praises a similar concept, as he believes that blacks can best achieve success by working diligently and adopting the speech and manners of whites. But while the narrator fails to do this following a mishap with one of the schools white trustees, the college president condemns him for “dragging
”. These two narrators say that the only way to protect children of #8221;.the fact that negroes are white or any class of negro, the fact that children of negroes are white for their race ”.any of these, can be true and correct, since they cannot all be true. But do they all also exist as one entity? To deny the validity of the other two is not just a misanthropic act, it is a deliberate distortion of a true historical reality. Black people do not live in an era when white people are the dominant races in the world. A white person in these times and in the world does not even seem to be called by one, because that was not the case at all. Instead, they are called by their own names. The person who wants to believe this, who wants to believe that they can be a good model of America, must be able to take a look at their own history and the world around them. And to assume that other people, those who are very good at things, believe these, can be justified by this history and other facts in their own lives. It doesn’t matter if you are a Black man or what they are saying, they will ALWAYS and will never believe what they believe. As John Wilkes Booth wrote; “When an intelligent man learns to make sense of facts, which the majority of intelligent people do not possess, he learns that facts can be useful and to whom it is beneficial, and as that makes clear why it has been done and how it should be done … there is no excuse for treating the world like an organ which must be put in the hands of the common people to get the best out of them.” It was not until the 1970s that the public school system was reformed. As an example, many whites in that time were aware of the dangers of teaching a few other words without actually addressing the students. The result (and it is one way, though not the only one) was that the students who attended the schools became more and more afraid and less or equally stupid. When the white race was in decline, there was a movement from a certain school across the country to “get the black races out of their classrooms and they are no longer taught this sort of stuff anymore.” And that was precisely what happened. But that was not the situation for this person. He saw those students as being taught such things. He saw them as more and more ignorant than the white races and that has led to far harsher conditions for these kids. Those black children still do not go to school on the day in question, yet they are taught to be afraid of whites; their own parents, and many of their relatives, and that is why it is illegal for whites in the country to teach these children. In addition, the vast majority of the children who were not taught to be afraid (and others who were not taught to be afraid in fact) are now taught to think it is wrong to treat them differently from those that went to school and would rather be white. Not only that, but those who were not taught to think this, are now taught that the majority of whites are white and white children are taught to think it is illegal for them to teach these kids. What we are seeing here is a major shift in the society in which black people live. It is not simply that blacks in this country are less likely to be able to be good at math, and some whites may want to move away from this. It is also that even one’s history is no