Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man follows the journey of a young African American man, as he struggles to define his identity and societal role. His journey is long. Arduous. But he is strong. His drive to overcome adversity and exceed all other's expectations, allows him to excel; however, his personal expectations are not self-defined. The narrator is heavily influenced by white society and their expectations. Not his own.
At first it seems the narrator, more than anything, seeks to please the white men. Even when they degrade him, make him subhuman. Even when they strip him half naked, blindfold him and force him to fight other terrified young men. Even when they electrocute him. He wants to prove that he is better. That he is strong enough to be a member of white society. That he can be equal. But they won't acknowledge this, and he won't realize it. The Battle Royale scene is the first glimpse, as seen by the reader, of the brutality the narrator must face. He wants these powerful white men to like him, to recognize his value. But he can only handle their disrespect for so long. They think he's a joke. And when he gives a speech about the African American duty to be humble, submissive members of society, they harass him. He is no more than another angry black boy to them. They turn his speech into a mockery. And his mask slips, but only for a moment. He preaches, "social equality" instead of "social responsibility." Which catches the white men's attention, but only for a moment. Without hesitation, he corrects his indiscretion. And rewires himself back to his obedient, passive, invisible self. He believes that in order to succeed--in order to better his race--he must give the white men exactly what they want. So if they want a fighter, he'll be a fighter. If they want a poor boy scrambling for money, he'll grapple for every last penny. If they want him to go to school, he'll go to school. And with this constant pressure to be what someone else wants him to be, he loses his individuality. He becomes the stereotypical black boy trying to work his way up the ladder, and perhaps that's what he wants to be. Successful, just like the white men.
He creates this image of himself and mentally cannot move past it; it seems that, subconsciously, he wants to escape his race. His entire motivation, up to this point, is to create a life as a white man. He doesn't say this directly, but he's hypercritical of black society and disregards the injustices to African Americans and makes them seem somewhat justified. Like when he visits Trueblood's cabin. He, and society, shun Trueblood because he is an incestuous rapist, but the color of his skin makes his name unspeakable in "civilized"--white--society. And this simply encourages the narrator's detestation for the low-class, uneducated black community. Even after he's expelled, he attempts to remain socially "above" African American culture.But in the back of his mind, he knows that this facade does not suit him. He goes to college, but gets expelled and (unwillingly) moves to New York. And here marks the end of his past identity. He attempts to maintain his studious, hard-working masquerade, but his aspirations are crushed by sabotage. Dr. Bledsoe sends him to New York for work, instructing him to deliver letters to several of his business connections. Little does the narrator know, Bledsoe damns him in these letters. Here ends his magnificent, mystical perspective of Bledsoe and "upper-class" black society. His aspiration to work under Bledsoe at the school: over. His future: over. He attempts to work, but ends up in electro-shock therapy. He failed.
He is invisible.
He has become part of the unnamed masses of African Americans that suffer below white society and he first realizes it--truly realizes it-- while in Liberty Paint's employee hospital and electricity courses through his body with excruciating precision. This is a turn. He claims, "I [want] freedom, not destruction. It was exhausting, for no matter what the scheme I conceived, there was one constant flaw--myself" (Ellison 243). He finally realizes that he cannot achieve his idealized goals if he continues living in this charade he has created. He cannot continue trying to live a white man's life; he cannot continue rejecting his heritage. And when Mary takes him in and nurses him back to health and allows him to live with her, he realizes the absurdity of his past perspective. He previously judged black folk like Mary, but now he sees that his judgments are equally as inaccurate as those produced by white men. He learns to relate to common man, or in this case woman. She took him in and nursed him back to health without even knowing him, and out of common decency she allows him to live with her. Even when he can't pay his rent. And this transforms the narrator. He, for the first time, truly connects with another person on a deeper level. He realizes Mary's sacrifices and wants to alleviate others of similar burdens. The narrator asks himself, "What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do? ...What of those things which you actually didn't like, not because you were not supposed to like them, not because to dislike them was considered a mark of refinement and education--but because you actually found them distasteful? ...I had accepted the accepted attitudes and it had made life seem simple" (266). And as he watches an elderly African American couple lose their home, their possessions strewn on the sidewalk, he makes a stand. He feels the speech within him, building. And he stands before the crowd and persuades them into action, perhaps unintentionally. He is strong and powerful and his speeches almost overcome his very being. And his words move the crowd. They feel his emotion. More than feel, even. They become his emotion. And the Brotherhood takes notice.
Brother Jack is the catalyst which causes the narrator to truly become invisible. He cajoles the narrator into joining their cause. So he abandons Mary and basically destroys all trace of his previous self. But little does the narrator know, the Brotherhood merely wants to manipulate his speech-making skills in order to gain followers. The narrator makes speeches because they are what he feels. Because there are real problems and injustices in the world and people need to understand their consequences. But the Brotherhood sees him as too unpredictable. Too wild. Undisciplined. Free. They force him to learn how to make speeches in a proper way. Their way. And when Brother Clifton is shot down, he regains his passion, his purpose. They march after Clifton's death and the narrator speaks before the crowd, preaching, "Just look around you. Look at what he made, look inside you and feel his awful power.... When he was alive he was our hope, but why worry over a hope that's dead? ...His name was Tod Clifton, he believed in Brotherhood, he aroused our hopes and he died" (457). But the Brotherhood did not approve of his actions or his speech because they believe Clifton to be a traitor. This marks the beginning of the end of the narrator's association with the Brotherhood. When he visits Brother Hambro and discovers their intention to pursue wider "political" goals and forfeit their power in Harlem, the narrator begins to conspire against the Brotherhood. He stoops to despicable measures. He pretends to be Rhinehart, plans to use Emma, then Sybill to discover the Brotherhood's true intentions. He is not himself. He is sneaky. Slimey. Invisible. Always wearing a facade of deception. But eventually, when he discovers the Brotherhood's association with Ras, and their plot to allow Harlem to fall into chaos, he realizes that turning against one another does not solve anything. He tries to gain the attention of the rioters and tell them to unite, but Ras encourages their frenzy, negating the narrator's attempt for peace. He runs. And realizes that through all his struggle and toil, he is better off underground. Invisible. He claims, "After existing some twenty years, I did not become alive until I discovered my invisibility" ( 7).
He is invisible.
He has become part of the unnamed masses of African Americans that suffer below white society and he first realizes it--truly realizes it-- while in Liberty Paint's employee hospital and electricity courses through his body with excruciating precision. This is a turn. He claims, "I [want] freedom, not destruction. It was exhausting, for no matter what the scheme I conceived, there was one constant flaw--myself" (Ellison 243). He finally realizes that he cannot achieve his idealized goals if he continues living in this charade he has created. He cannot continue trying to live a white man's life; he cannot continue rejecting his heritage. And when Mary takes him in and nurses him back to health and allows him to live with her, he realizes the absurdity of his past perspective. He previously judged black folk like Mary, but now he sees that his judgments are equally as inaccurate as those produced by white men. He learns to relate to common man, or in this case woman. She took him in and nursed him back to health without even knowing him, and out of common decency she allows him to live with her. Even when he can't pay his rent. And this transforms the narrator. He, for the first time, truly connects with another person on a deeper level. He realizes Mary's sacrifices and wants to alleviate others of similar burdens. The narrator asks himself, "What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do? ...What of those things which you actually didn't like, not because you were not supposed to like them, not because to dislike them was considered a mark of refinement and education--but because you actually found them distasteful? ...I had accepted the accepted attitudes and it had made life seem simple" (266). And as he watches an elderly African American couple lose their home, their possessions strewn on the sidewalk, he makes a stand. He feels the speech within him, building. And he stands before the crowd and persuades them into action, perhaps unintentionally. He is strong and powerful and his speeches almost overcome his very being. And his words move the crowd. They feel his emotion. More than feel, even. They become his emotion. And the Brotherhood takes notice.
Brother Jack is the catalyst which causes the narrator to truly become invisible. He cajoles the narrator into joining their cause. So he abandons Mary and basically destroys all trace of his previous self. But little does the narrator know, the Brotherhood merely wants to manipulate his speech-making skills in order to gain followers. The narrator makes speeches because they are what he feels. Because there are real problems and injustices in the world and people need to understand their consequences. But the Brotherhood sees him as too unpredictable. Too wild. Undisciplined. Free. They force him to learn how to make speeches in a proper way. Their way. And when Brother Clifton is shot down, he regains his passion, his purpose. They march after Clifton's death and the narrator speaks before the crowd, preaching, "Just look around you. Look at what he made, look inside you and feel his awful power.... When he was alive he was our hope, but why worry over a hope that's dead? ...His name was Tod Clifton, he believed in Brotherhood, he aroused our hopes and he died" (457). But the Brotherhood did not approve of his actions or his speech because they believe Clifton to be a traitor. This marks the beginning of the end of the narrator's association with the Brotherhood. When he visits Brother Hambro and discovers their intention to pursue wider "political" goals and forfeit their power in Harlem, the narrator begins to conspire against the Brotherhood. He stoops to despicable measures. He pretends to be Rhinehart, plans to use Emma, then Sybill to discover the Brotherhood's true intentions. He is not himself. He is sneaky. Slimey. Invisible. Always wearing a facade of deception. But eventually, when he discovers the Brotherhood's association with Ras, and their plot to allow Harlem to fall into chaos, he realizes that turning against one another does not solve anything. He tries to gain the attention of the rioters and tell them to unite, but Ras encourages their frenzy, negating the narrator's attempt for peace. He runs. And realizes that through all his struggle and toil, he is better off underground. Invisible. He claims, "After existing some twenty years, I did not become alive until I discovered my invisibility" ( 7).
