The Invisible Man essays

The Invisible Man essays The novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is the story of a black man and his insights into his place in the world as a black man in a racist society. Throughout Invisible Man, the main character, who narrates the novel, comes to a self-realization by means of his encounters with the individuals he meets. The narrator tells the reader of his journey through life; he walks the reader through the treatment he receives while growing up. Many characters in the novel mistreat the narrator because he is black. Many of these encounters can be compared today. In countless ways racism has decreased since the printing of the book in 1952, but there is still much room for improvement. In Chapter One of the book, the narrator is sent to a hotel for a gathering of the communitys white leaders to give a speech. He and a few other boys at the gathering are given instructions to box each other, and afterwards to pick up money off of a rug they find (only too late) is electrified. Also, during his speech the narrator is ignored and laughed at. Before leaving the meeting, the narrator is given a briefcase and told that someday it will hold important papers that will shape the destiny of his people. The narrator finds later that the briefcase contains a scholarship to the college of black youth. During this experience, the narrator gets by with being blindly obedient. He believes that doing what the white men tell him to do and ignoring their comments will win him praise and respect. The narrator does not believe that protecting himself and standing up for his beliefs will do him any good. Instead of being strong and independent, he follows along with the belittling and ridiculing that the white office holders put him through. If this same event had occurred today, many things would be different. People today could not get away with the verbal mistreatment that they gave to the narrator. Regardless of what the audi...