People will always go to great lengths to avoid seeing the truth. People view the world in a prejudiced manner that allows them to see what they want to see rather than what they should see. Invisibility is a major theme in Ellison’s book “Invisible Man.” In the book, the narrator illustrates his invisibility in a bid to find his own identity as a black person in an era where racial segregation was rife in America.
The narrator decided that the world lacks people of credibility and is only filled with blind men who cannot judge him for who he is but have their own pre-conceptions of him. For that reason, the narrator decides to refer himself as the invisible man. Set in the backdrop of 20th century America where racial discrimination was rife, it is easy to see why the narrator decides to eclipse himself in an aura of invisibility. It was both as a means of escapism from his tribulations owing to his color as well as an opportunity for contemplation on the plight of not only his race but also the society at large. Invisibility as a theme is covered in both the literal and the figurative senses.
In the prologue, the narrator addresses the audience from a hole. It was his underground hideout in which he fell into after when confronted with some white people while running away from the Brotherhood led by Ras the destroyer. Once inside, he makes up his mind to retract from the rest of the world to reflect on his agonies as a person of color. As such, the hole literally made him invisible from the rest of the society.
Ras the destroyer and his other radicalized black men accuse the narrator of betraying the black community by involving himself with whites. In a bid to run away from them, he disguises himself by putting on a hat and a pair of dark glasses. It is another instance that the narrator illustrates his literal invisibility.
However, apart from the losing the meaning of invisibility, the book is also laden with metaphorical meanings of the invisibility motif. The invisibility is portrayed in the form of human frailties. It is while he is in the hole that he gets to reflect on these frailties, which are manifested through the perpetration of racial segregation by the whites against blacks. It is his black color that makes him invisible to the rest of the world while at the same time living in a contradiction that allows people to glorify the oppressor - the whites. Being in the hole makes him see the “darkness that lightness” brings. It is perhaps an indication that the whites who are so glorified are after all as wicked as everyone else.
Having come from the South where violence and riots were the norm rather than the exception, it is quite remarkable that the narrator is a gifted orator. Due to his exemplary gift, he is invited to give a speech to a bunch of white men in the town. To his surprise, he is first humiliated and mocked by being made to fight other black men while blindfolded. He is finally handed a scholarship in a briefcase as a reward.
The fight portrays the racial divisions in the American society and reinforces the notion of whites being the superior race over other people of color. The event served as an illustration that to the whites, the actions of a black person, however noble, never counted as they were merely seen as a source of labor and entertainment. It is yet another reason that the narrator describes himself as being invisible. The efforts of the black people did not matter, regardless of what they did or what they achieved. That incident unfolded deep-seated racial prejudice on the basis of one’s skin color. The abilities of an individual did not matter, simply because they did not come from the right race.
In his attempts to find employment, he moves to Harlem. He, however, comes to the realization that despite the numerous recommendations that he has received from whites in the
South, they amount to nothing as they were actually aimed at disgracing the narrator. His invisibility is further illustrated when he goes on to find a job at a paint factory. The motto of the supposedly white paint they manufacture is “optic white.” In itself, it smacks of class struggle as well as the irony and contradiction of the political economy and race relations in America in the 20th century. The paint is produced as white, yet the input of producing is almost entirely done by blacks with the narrator included. In the end, all the profit and recognition goes to the white owners of the firm. It is metaphorical of the attempts by the whites to cover up the achievements of blacks in a bid to suppress their identity.
Tired of all the racial segregation, the narrator joins the Brotherhood. It is an organization formed primarily by blacks in an attempt to ensure equality in the treatment of all races in America. Once a member of the organization, he thinks that finally his efforts towards fighting for an end to racial segregation would be recognized, which would make him visible to the entire society.
Consequently, these human frailties (more so the racial prejudice) causes other people to see what they prefer seeing rather than visualizing things as they are. The limitations create a boundary even for the narrator so much so that he cannot pursue any meaningful action in regard to racial discrimination. It is reflections of these multiple moments and the failures of his efforts that make him realize how invisible he must be to the society - including the other black people.
He differentiates himself from others like him who have not yet accepted their invisibility and have instead chosen to fight hence remaining visible. He later realizes while in his hole that the mere act of contemplation is too passive and would not help the course of fighting for racial equality for people of color. By mere contemplation, he would not be able to fight his invisibility.
He comes to the realization that part of the invisibility is brought about by stereotyping not only by whites against blacks but also the stereotypes blacks harbor against whites. Blacks see whites as superior to them. It is illustrated by the narrator’s college professor that advocating for aping the mannerisms of the whites and their speech. For that reason, the narrator is of the view that defining their identity merely by race is limiting in itself and further acts to increase the invisibility that blacks face not only from the whites but also from within themselves.
Some of the means proposed by radical organizations such as the Brotherhood only serve to entrench these perceptions. He is caught in these perceptions too by joining in riots and torching of property though he later realizes the futility of all the radicalization and violence and hence retracts to his cocoon of invisibility. That was an important step in realizing the vanity of using violence as a means to fight equality. Violence was just a mere reaction to the problem but not one of the means to achieving the intended goals.
In conclusion, Ellison’s portrayal of the protagonist as invisible enables him to illustrate the exploitation that people of color are subjected to by social and political institutions in America. Of importance, it also illustrates the exploitation that they face in the hands of their own as shown by the selfish agenda of the Brotherhood, which despite claiming to fight for black superiority only served to further their exploitation. Ellison is of the view that the black radical organizations such as the Brotherhood, while advocating for violence against whites, served to ensure that violence is also meted against black by the authorities hence their initiatives were counterproductive.
Bibliography
Ellison, Ralph. 1952. Invisible Man. Newyork, Random House
