The novel Invisible Man is rightfully perceived as one of the pillars of American classical literature. Its main themes include identity, racial oppression and prejudice, civil rights, radicalism, and the contradiction between an internal and an external vision of oneself. The identity turmoil specifically acts as a central conflict of the novel, that does not get fully resolved until the very end. The narrator, a nameless man referred to as I Am, delivers a first-person perspective on a world that refuses to respect him and acts as if he was truly invisible.
Despite the title, however, the novel does not contain any mythical elements, instead basing itself on the casual cruelty of American XXth century history. A Narrator is a Black man, who moves to New York to begin an education in a prestigious Black college. The latter is only possible due to a scholarship that was presented to him by a group of rich white men in a humiliating and dehumanizing manner. Thus, when moving from his homeland in the South to a large city, I Am is already traumatized by the clear display of violence the world has to offer towards him. Young and, by extension, psychologically flexible, he internalizes these experiences and begins to think of them as a part of himself.
However, as the novel unfolds, the dynamic between the image of I Am in the eyes of other people and his changes a few times. He is viewed as unworthy of interacting with white women and yet essential when it is necessary to drive around campus as a college administration member (Manzoor, 153). The elusive nature of these relationships is one of the key characteristics of the conflict. Everything in the Narrator’s public life is affected by the duplicity and uneven standards Americans of different races are faced with. I Am’s the perception of his own identity and value is not independent, but instead linked to what he believes his value to be. This attitude is referenced in his quote: “soon Ethiopia shall stretch forth her noble wings! Then place your money on the black!” (Ellison, 27). The Narrator perceives himself as, at best, a part of the larger global collective, where his individual needs are respected only as long as they align with the majority.
The nullified sense of self, however, returns to the Narrator through his encounters with Tod Clifton. Both he and the Narrator at some point align themselves with a racially separatist group the Brotherhood, whose leader exhibits charisma but does not care for anyone involved. Clifton and the Narrator befriend each other, resulting in the Narrator allowing himself to be internally perceived as a separate person (Stéphane, 20). The general majority in his opposition, interestingly, involves both the racially oppressive society and the Brotherhood itself. The organization’s hypocrisy is revealed throughout the book and highlighted when it turns its back on Clifton’s funeral due to him abandoning the ranks several months prior.
Both Clifton as a person in I Am’s life and the impact of his funeral are incredibly substantial. Plot-wise, the falling out with the gang caused by Clifton’s death and the activists’ disregard for it, highlights the way the Narrator’s identity strongly attaches itself to other people. Clifton is particularly special since he might be labeled Narrator’s first and only friend and is naturally fundamental to the way I Am sees himself. In conclusion, these events compel the Narrator to prioritize the personal over the public and lead to the conflict with the Cerai islands.
Works Cited
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995.
Manzoor, Fehmida. Semiotic Portrayal of Marginalized Identity in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Putaj Humanities & Social Sciences., 24(2), 2017, pp. 147-157. Web.
Stéphane, Beugre Zouankouan. “The Prologue and Ralph Ellison’s Existentialist Philosophical Concept About Black People Invisibility in Invisible Man.” International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture 7.3, 2020, pp. 1-22.