Introduction to “Invisible Man”
”Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison is a novel of African American literature, written in 1952. It describes the problems of identity and race as well as the question of individuality in the mid-twentieth-century America. The novel has been narrated through the perspective of African American protagonist, who expresses his experience of invisibility, both literal and metaphorical, and challenges the society that denies to acknowledge his humanity.
Through the journey of major character, Ellison dips into psychological and social effort of black Americans in a predominantly white community. The novel is full of symbols and themes that force the readers to think about the race, identity and the nature of individual person.
Themes in “Invisible Man”
Theme#1
Invisibility and Identity
The concept of invisibility is an important theme in the novel. It explores the effort of the protagonist for identity.
The protagonist realize invisibility because the society denies to look him as a real person with his own thoughts, feelings and ambitions. Instead, people see him only through stereotypes and expectations. The theme of invisibility is introduced in the prologue:
“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me, they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.”
The passage emphasizes the protagonist’s feelings of invisibility and the inability of people to understand him. The “mirrors of hard, distorting glass” refer to biasness and prejudices of the society that hinder the true identity of the hero from being seen.
In the novel the major concern is the attempt of the protagonist to define his own identity, despite the surrounding environment trying to push onto him a limited number of roles – the passive student, the worker bee, a laborer or all-black token chief.
The theme of invisibility points to the impossibility of attaining a true sense of self in the society that negates a person’s humanity.
Theme#2
The Search for Identity
This theme is related to the theme of invisibility, which is one of the main characters’ motives. This notion came up severally in the novel where the main character tries to figure out who he is and where he fits in.
This search is complicated by the different roles and identities which other people force upon him. One significant moment that encapsulates this theme is when the protagonist is given a briefcase at the Battle Royal, a disturbing event where young black men are forced to fight each other for the entertainment of a white audience:
“Inside I found a scholarship to the state college for Negroes. My eyes filled with tears and I ran awkwardly across the floor, my mouth bursting with words I could not utter.”
The briefcase symbolizes the outside world, the part and the role that the society expects an individual to play. The scholarship looks like a good opportunity, but at the same time it dominates over him, and turns him into a ‘Negro’ student who has to obey the rules of the society.
In the novel, the protagonist discovers that a person should not accept the tags assigned by others as the means of identification. The theme of the search is also a major one since it shows the attempts of the protagonist to rectify his own desire in relation to the social roles that the society tries to impose on him.
Theme#3
Racism and Oppression
Racism and oppression are the main themes of the novel, which show the oppression of the African Americans. In the novel, there are many types of racism depicted, and the functions they perform in dominating and transforming the main character, and those close to him.
One stark example of this theme is the Battle Royal, where the protagonist and other young black men are forced to fight each other for the amusement of a white audience:
“It was as though I had suddenly found myself in a dark room filled with poisonous cottonmouths. I could neither leave nor see, but felt the darkness closing in upon me, crushing me, suffocating me.”
This scene can be discussed as illustration how racism affects people and transforms them into violent beings. The young men are used for that purpose only: to be watched over and laughed at.
In the prologue of Invisible Man, the scene depicting the lynching of a black man known as ‘the Battle Royal’ lets the reader know about the nasty racism and oppression for the male protagonist. This tragic event underlines the fact that racism can reduce black people’s lives and their identity to rubble.
In the novel, the narrator succumbs to deceit and misuse by people and institutions that regard him as subhuman and unimportant simply because of the colour of his skin.
These are the painful experiences Ellison utilizes to give a thorough African American Studies analysis of the rampant racism that was deeply embedded within the American society to systematically dehumanize and disenfranchise the black man.
The novel does not spare the reader the details of how this rooted racism deprived people of a chance and respect at every level possible.
Theme#4
Power and Exploitation
The theme of power and exploitation is closely linked with racism in “Invisible Man. ” The protagonist of the novel deals with people and organizations that wish to dominate him and utilize him to their ends.
These are the very cases where one can describe the process of influence, and how the power over the protagonist is applied, and how he/she is rendered useful to the power holders.
One key example of this theme is the protagonist’s involvement with the Brotherhood, a political organization that claims to work for social justice but ultimately uses him as a tool for their own agenda:
“They wanted me to lead, to be the face of the movement, but they didn’t care about me as a person. I was just another pawn in their game.”
Initially, becoming the member of the Brotherhood gives purpose to the narrator’s life and offers him the feeling of inclusion. But in a short time he understands that the Brotherhood wants to use him only as a tool to achieve political goals and does not really care about him as a person.
It simply demonstrates the general trends of exploitation in the society: the subordinate individuals are used for some purposes by the power holders and then simply thrown away.
The protagonist’s disillusionment is a significant point because he begins to understand the dishonesty and his exploitation. Ellison molds this theme to bring out the idea that power relations rob individuals of their humanity and nurture corruption within the voices they dominate.
The hero has to rely on himself to retain his and others’ individuality and defend against predators in a society where the oppressed can be used and deprived of their rights at the whim of those in power.
Theme#5
Individuality vs. Conformity
One more important theme in the book “Invisible Man” is the problem of individuality versus conformity. In the novel, the protagonist experience societal oppression and he is constantly forced to adhere to the standards set down by the society and the powerful individuals in it.
There is always this pressure of wanting to fit into a certain mold in a society, which is contrary to the man’s aim of coming out and living as the real identity. One example of this theme is the protagonist’s time at the college, where he is taught to conform to a particular image of respectability and submission:
“I was expected to be the perfect student, to never question authority, and to always remember my place. But I wanted more than that—I wanted to be myself.”
This passage portrays the struggle of the hero between the self and the non-self, or the self and the society that tries to enclose it. As it has been established, the college reflects the society in which the norms of conformity are encouraged, while deviation is punished.
The main conflict in the novel can be defined with the loss of personal identity and freedom under the pressure of conformity. It’s the struggle of being an individual in a world that wants you to be one thing, when you are another, especially when you are one of the outcasts.
See also: Themes in “A Dream Within A Dream”
Theme#6
The Illusion of the American Dream
“The Invisible Man” also explores the theme of the illusion of the American Dream, particularly for African Americans. The protagonist initially believes in the promise of the American Dream—that hard work and determination will lead to success and equality.
However, as he navigates the various challenges and betrayals he faces, he comes to realize that the American Dream is an illusion, especially for black individuals:
“I believed that if I worked hard enough, I could achieve anything. But the more I tried, the more I realized that the deck was stacked against me.”
This is the moment of the protagonist’s enlightenment, as he starts to understand that the American Dream is a mere illusion that has been created to ensure that people like him will keep on working hard for something that is, in fact, unattainable.
The theme of the illusion of the American Dream is the notion that the American society is a meritocracy where everyone has an equal chance of success irrespective of their race or origin.
It shows the institutional racism and the racism that keeps black people from having the same chances as white people. This theme is one of the most important for the novel as it is connected with race, identity, and American experience.
Theme#7
Blindness and Sight
Blindness and sight are recurring motifs in “Invisible Man” and serve as metaphors for understanding and awareness. Throughout the novel, characters who are “blind” are those who fail to see the reality of their own situations or the humanity of others.
This theme is introduced early in the novel when the protagonist describes himself as being “invisible” because people refuse to see him:
“They see only what they want to see, and I am invisible to them. Their blindness is their own choice.”
This passage exposes the notion of blindness as voluntary unawareness, a denial to acknowledge the reality. The theme of openly seeing and being blind is continued through the interaction of the protagonist with other characters who fail to see the world.
For example, the white saviors at the college cannot see how their assistance entrenches the oppression they want to eradicate. The main character is also going through a process of gaining what may be defined as ‘sight’ – the protagonist learns the truth about the world he lives in.
The theme of blindness and sight is one of the novel’s major ways of working with the concepts of perception, comprehension, and search for the truth.
Theme#8
Alienation and Loneliness
Alienation and loneliness are important themes in the novel. It shows the sense of loneliness of the protagonist from the society and his own recognition.
Throughout the novel, the protagonist faces a intense sense of alienation, as he feels detachment from the world around him and from his own sense of self. This alienation is closely connected to his invisibility, as he is continuously ignored and misunderstood by the others:
“I wandered through the streets, feeling more alone than ever. No matter where I went, I was invisible—unseen and unheard.”
This passage depicts the main character as a lonely and isolated individual who is rejected by the society that surrounds him. The protagonist of the novel is not only living in the literal isolation, but also the emotional and psychological one, as he is in search of the place where he fits in and who he is in the world that tries to put labels on him.
The theme of isolation and loneliness depicts how the society’s rejection affects the individual and how it is almost impossible to find one’s identity in such circumstances.
See also: Themes in Acquainted With The Night
Theme#9
Betrayal and Disillusionment
Betrayal and disillusionment are repeating themes in the novel. The author through utilizing the themes reflects the experience of the protagonist with the people and the institutions that betray his trust and concepts.
In the novel, the protagonist has been continuously mislead by those he initially believes to be his supports. This leads to a deep sense of disappointment with the world around him.
One important example of betrayal happens with Dr. Bledsoe, the head of the college the protagonist goes. The main character at first looks Dr. Bledsoe as a dominent figure who can help him get success and achieve his ambitions.
However, Dr. Bledsoe deceive the protagonist by ousting him from the college and sending him away with illusive letters of recommendation, effectively disrupting his future:
“He had betrayed me, used me for his own purposes, and now he was casting me aside. The letters were nothing but a trick, a way to get rid of me.”
Here, the betrayal is an important moment in the journey of the protagonist, as it discards his illusions about the support he considered he had within the African American society and explores the self-serving nature of those in positions of power.
The theme of betrayal is further expresses through the experiences of the protagonist with the Brotherhood, which at first presents itself as a developing organization struggling for social justice but ultimately evinces itself to be more worried with its own power and impact than with the welfare of the individuals it claims to represent.
Theme#10
The Complexity of Race and Identity
In the novel, the main character struggles for his identity, as a black man in a society that inflicts inflexible and humiliating stereotypes on him. He is continuously confronted with the methods in which his race affects how others consider and treat him, and he grapples to define himself outside of these forced identities.
The theme has been illustrated in the scene where the main character meets with the resolute figure of a black man, known as the “Sambo doll”, which is being exploited by a white man:
“The doll was a caricature, a mocking representation of what they saw in me. It was a symbol of all the stereotypes and prejudices that I was fighting against.”
The scene expounds the humiliating effects of ethnic stereotypes and the hardship of declaring one’s identity in the face of such prevalent and undignified images. The “Sambo doll” reflects how society attempts to turn the main character into a simple lampoon taking away his uniqueness and humanity.
The racial and identity politics are further compounded through the protagonist’s relations with various communities and organizations that define the black man in specific ways and expect him to conform to such standards.
This theme focuses on the struggles of the people who are forced to live in a society where race is the primary and frequently the only criterion that defines the people and their worth.
See also: Themes in Crime and Punishment
