Invisible Man

ANALYSIS:

In the prologue of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the narrator proclaims he has exactly 1,369 lights in his "hole." His "battle" with Monopolated Light and Power is symbolic of his battle with society to gain identity. The fact that the electric company has the word "Monpolized..." in its name (although spelled incorrectly) is revealing of this symbolism. Like the company controls light, society controls and denies the narrator of an identity. Light symbolizes knowledge, while dark represents blindness. Prior to his revelation of his invisibility, society kept him "running" towards a promised identity, towards invisible equality and greatness. Just as he secretly steals light from the company, the invisible man asserts his existence in secret. Although others are unaware and ignorant of his invisibility, he recognizes the corruption of society and surrounds himself in the truth that he had once been blind to. By surrounding himself with light, he is "confirming (his) reality, giving birth to [his] form"(6). The narrator states that "Without light I am not only invisible, but formless as well; and to be unaware of one's form is to live a death. I myself, after existing some twenty years, did not become alive until I discovered my invisibility"(7). This statement is somewhat of a paradox. It was not until he fully discovered his invisibility in society that he felt truly alive. The narrator surrounds himself in light to assign definitiveness to existence, he may be invisible, but he knows it, recognizes it, saving himself from the darkness of ignorance and futility of ambitions.

QUOTES:

"I sensed vaguely and with a flash of panic that the moment I walked out upon the platform and opened my mouth I'd be someone else. Not just nobody with a manufactured name which might have belonged to anyone, or to no one. But another personality. Few people know me now, but after tonight...how was it? Perhaps simply to be known, to be looked upon by so many people, to be the focal point of so many concentrating eyes, perhaps this was enough to make one different; enough to transform someone into something else; just as by becoming an increasingly larger boy one became one day a man; a man with a deep voice-although my voice had been deep since I was twelve..."(336)

This passage is a commentary on the narrator's search for identity. Prior to discovering his perceived invisibility, the narrator assigns himself a purpose in the Brotherhood. He believes that he will gain an identity by being something to others by connecting to his audience and representing hope to others. He is frightened initially by the prospect of gaining a new identity but later embraces discarding of his past. The narrator compares this change to a boy becoming a man when his voice changes. I think this analogy demonstrates the flaw in the narrator's attempt to gain identity through the brotherhood. I may be wrong, but a voice change doesn't transform a person into an entirely new person. The narrator hopes that in becoming an esteemed figure, he will finally have a purpose and have accomplished something. He hopes that by representing the Brotherhood he will be able to abandon his past and avenge Bledsoe's betrayal.

Reaction:

This book is perhaps the most complex and symbolic work I've ever read. It is incredibly powerful due to its disturbing depiction of the plight of African Americans seeking equality and the heinous treatment during such scenes as the Battle Royal. Ellison's repetitive use of motifs such as blindness and the opposition of black and white is extremely effective in emphasizing the struggle which the narrator faces and the state of society during this time of racial turmoil. Overall I liked the book a lot, but I’m definitely going to have to read it again in a year or so to appreciate the full impact of the novel. I found the book a tad overwhelming and therefore missed a great amount of symbolism just because the novel is so dense, and there’s symbolism in each paragraph.