Invisible Man

Tony Cheng

GSI Tara Phillips (Fri. 9-10)

Comparative Literature 60AC

18 November 2016

Invisible Man

In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison addressed many issues that African-Americans faced in the early twentieth century such as individuality and identity. The narrator begins telling his story claiming that he is an “invisible man” in the sense that people refuse to see him for himself and instead people only see his skin color. He is not his own person, but is instead only a black man in society’s eyes. Throughout the novel the narrator finds himself exploited countless times because of his complexion and his frustration with society’s image of him is what fuels his desire to find his place in society, something that is seen across other modernist texts.

The theme of identity pervades much of the novel, most notably with Rineheart, a mysterious character the narrator is mistaken for when in disguise. The narrator finds that Rineheart leads many lives, each depending on who he is interacting with. Rineheart is a bookie to some, a preacher to others, and has many other identities. The narrator finds that Rineheart is a window into his thoughts in the sense that unlike himself who struggles to find his identity, Rineheart has many. His fluid character is a freedom in a sense, but his fluidity also results in a loss of individuality. The flexibility of Rineheart’s identity is reminiscent of Clare’s double life in Nella Larsen’s Passing. Clare’s passing lets her live life as a white woman, while secreting frequenting Harlem to visit her black heritage. Her identity changes from person to person like Rineheart as she morphs from a seemingly racist white woman to one who spends her free time with the black community.

The narrator also continually finds himself exploited by society for his skin color from the battle royal where he was pit to fight against other black students for entertainment, to the Brotherhood, who used him as the face of their movement because of his black skin. The narrator is only seen by society as another black man, regardless of how capable or unique he is. This is also seen in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God where Mrs. Turner “didn’t cling to Janie Woods the woman. She paid homage to Janie’s Caucasian characteristics as such” (Hurston 145). Both Janie and the narrator are treated as stereotypes, unable to climb the social ladder or make a name for themselves.

            Ellison, in part, utilized W. E. B. Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness where one’s identity is “divided into several parts, making it difficult … to have one unified identity” (Understanding). In the racial context used by Du Bois and Ellison, double consciousness meant that black Americans cannot have “one unified identity” and must instead view themselves as they might be by the “white” world and from their own perspectives. The black experience was shaped from having to account for society’s anti-black sentiments. Invisible Man shows the journey of a naive man learning that he must also account for society’s view of him, that he is burdened with a responsibility unique to the black community.

Discussion Question:

Is it possible to remain true to both one's communal self and one's individual self?

Works Cited

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print

Gotfrd, Bernard. Ellison. Digital image. Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: First Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.

“Understanding W.E.B. Du Boi’s Concept of Double Consciousness.” Kristin Does Theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016