Invisible Man Essay Destiny Mora

Invisibility plays a big part in the novel and affects the protagonist in many ways throughout the novel. From the way the author presents the protagonist, he seems to feel invisible in society, but what does this invisibility mean? This invisibility can be characterized by identity and status. On the surface it may seem like society refuses to see him, but the underlying problem that the narrator has s distorted and shapeless self-image caused by racism and oppression.

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. (p. 3) In this statement, the narrator bluntly explains why he considers himself invisible. On the surface, he describes how others in society refuse to see him. Throughout the novel, the protagonist seems to be masked by a label in society; he sees himself as merely a black man with no voice or contribution to society. Over time, society created such a racist mentality that people subconsciously overlook black people, including the narrator. Next, the narrator refers to himself as a “bodiless head”. Since the narrator depicts himself as bodiless, he sees himself as someone with no true form or shape; he sees himself as someone without an identity. The narrator also links his analogy to a sideshow at a circus, associating the way others see him to a joke. The protagonist also described himself as being surrounded by mirrors of hard distorting glass which reflects his confused and fragmented self-image. This beginning already presents the protagonist as someone with a powerless, shapeless, and shattered identity, hardly an identity at all.

“You my brother, mahn. Brothers are the same color how the hell you call these white men brother? Shit, mahn. That’s shit! Brothers the same color. We sons of Mama Africa, you done forgot? You black, BLACK! You-Godahn, mahn!” he said, swinging the knife for emphasis. “You got bahn hair! You got thick lips! They say you stink! They hate you, mahn. You African. AFRICAN! Why you with them? Leave that shit, mahn. They sell you out. That shit is old- fashioned. They enslave us- you forget that? How can they mean a black mahn any good? How they going to be your brother?” (p. 370,371; Clifton) Even though these are harsh words, the protagonist is only been beaten down with reality.

Up until now, he tried to fit it with society, believing he had a purpose when really, he was simply being manipulated into acting more like a puppet rather than an individual. In this case, he was being exposed, but his true self was still invisible. Clifton brutally attacks the protagonist with the fact that the protagonist will never fit in with white people, especially because he is black. In the novel, the protagonist has been constantly degraded in society, and Clifton makes the protagonist realize that he is in fact invisible in the eyes of society. He is invisible in the lines that he cannot bring anything meaningful and purposeful to the table; he has been so oppressed in society that his words and opinions mean nothing to others.

Old Bad Air is still around with his music and his dancing and his diversity, and I’ll be up and around with mine. And, as I said before, a decision had been made. I’m shaking off the old skin and leaving it here in the hole. I’m coming out, no less invisible without it, but coming out nevertheless. (p.581) In the end of the novel, the protagonist comes to realize the fact that he is degraded in society and he learns to accept it. The narrator finds the Old Bad Air as diverse, free, and exciting, so he refused to deny that part of himself. In fact, he decided to dance and embrace his own Old Bad Air when he decides to make it a part of his newfound identity. Ironically, the Old

Bad Air that created his invisibility also created his identity in the end. When the narrator shakes off his old skin and leaves it in the hole, he is starting a new life where his skin [color] does not matter, and he faced the world with his invisibility instead of hiding. The narrator still acknowledges his invisibility; the difference now is that he now embraces it and has an identity.

As the protagonist claims to nonetheless come out just as invisible as before, he shows confidence in himself and careless of what how society would judge him. Overall, this statement demonstrates maturity and shows how the protagonist grew throughout the novel to create his own identity. In the end it seems like on the surface his invisibility was the problem, but the underlying conflict was the fact that the protagonist had no identity. In the end, the narrator still claimed to be just as invisible as before, but the protagonist eventually learned how to embrace it and create his own identity to not feel completely lost in his invisibility.

Overall, these three quotes attack different aspects of the protagonist’s invisibility. At first, the protagonist’s invisibility may be perceived as a shapeless and fragmented identity; a self-conflict. When Clifton rants to the narrator about trying to fit in with white people, he also rages about staying within the limits and low expectations white people set for black people.

Clifton mocks the protagonist for following white people instead of creating his own identity.

This is when the narrator realizes that he is still invisible because he has been so degraded and oppressed that he cannot find meaning or purpose in society; a self-versus-society conflict. This leads us to the last quote where the narrator turns around and starts to embrace his invisibility, his Old Bad Air. By the end of the novel, the narrator stepped out of society’s oppression cycle and created his own identity with his invisibility. In the end, the narrator’s invisibility was his missing identity; his self-image was fragmented so he could not find a voice or purpose in society. He thought he was not seen by others, but that was not the problem. The problem was that had did not see himself, but after accepting himself the narrator was able to mature and construct his own identity