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