AP Summer Reading 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Time to begin discussion of the novels.
Invisible Man is one of the greatest novels ever written. Why? Many reasons. But one that I would like to discuss is its relevance to today's society. Comment on what in the novel resonates as something that we still see in society today, and how you feel about it.

100 comments:

UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 7:00 AM
The novel relates to today's world by showing racism and a misuse of power, especially in the scene when the old couple is being kicked out of their apartment. Although it was by law, the men could have done it in a much less violent way and this relates to the many abuses of power which are being seen on the news/online sources lately. Also, the rioting in that scene is something which has been seen a lot lately.
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dianefeoleAugust 28, 2015 at 7:11 AM
What specifically about the rioting resonates as true? And what specific incident in our news relates to it?
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 8:44 AM
The part of the novel that I thought resonated the most was Clifton's death. It reminded me very much of the intense backlash against policemen (and hate crimes in general, for that matter) going on these days and the way people react to such misuse of power, namely the narrator's glowing portrayal of Clifton at his funeral.

This scene reminded me of this fiasco specifically: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2015/apr/08/us-police-fatal-shooting-south-carolina-phone-footage-viral-video, as well as the riots following the Treyvon Martin and Michael Brown shootings. Regardless of whether those two people were innocent or not, they were portrayed as heroes by the public following their respective deaths.

The Clifton scenes have an uncanny resemblance to the way such racially-based shootings occur today. Police or casual bystanders misuse whatever power they might have, whether it be a gun or a knife, and kill somebody; the public backlash then condemns the killer and portrays the victim as a hero. In this sense, the novel is very realistic and could be considered timeless, as these incidents are still occurring something like 80-90 years later.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 10:35 AM
Something in this novel that I find relevant to today’s society is the use of the media to spread news around. For example after the eviction scene of the couple from their apartment there is an article published in the newspaper with the title “Violent Protest Over Harlem Eviction” (Ellison 331). This morning paper was used as a means to spread the message to everyone and evoke feelings about racial differences due to the eviction. Similarly an editor from a magazine wants to interview the narrator because he identifies with the current controversy. The narrator eventually agrees to the interview thinking that “such a magazine would reach many timid souls living far from the sound of [their] voices” (Ellison 397). Both of these instances show how the media is used to widely spread stories about racial differences and the building up of all of these events lead to more rallies and protests.

In today’s society many things are published in newspapers or broadcasted on television through the news. One instance that I was reminded of is the shooting in Virginia of the reporter during a newscast. Bryce Williams, the African American gunman, shot reporter Alison Parker and killed her during her news broadcast along with the camera man. It is obvious that this event was planed out so that it would take place while being filmed. The point of doing it like this is for the message to be broadcasted to many people. He was trying to send a message. He said that his anger for racial discrimination had been building up and that the shooting of the African Americans at their church in Charleston by a white gunman was what really put him over the edge.

Just like the novel the media is still used in society today to play with different emotions of people who are listening. The interview by the narrator was used to get people to be on their side just as the gunman in Virginia wanted to use the media to broadcast his message. He was further motivated to go on with his actions because of something else that had been shown in the news with regards to racism. All of these instances deal with people of different races showing that racism is still a problem in society today. I think that because of the media both in the novel and in today’s society there is a lot of added violence because people feel that they need to retaliate for something or that in order to get their point across they need to use violence. The media provokes people to act in certain ways based on the stories that they post.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 11:09 AM
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 11:11 AM
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 11:11 AM
While I was reading this book, I picked up on a few things. One of them being how relatable this novel is to present day events such as the riots against police brutality and #BlackLivesMatter. The world in this day and age, unfortunately, has not reached total equality. Through Twitter rants, Tumblr posts, and Facebook pictures we continue to spread the word of the terrible injustices and educate and arouse the public just as the Narrator has through his speeches.

Another thing I picked up on when I first picked up the book was how the Narrator thought he was invisible. I have read in multiple books that if one had the super ability to become invisible, that they would be blind because the light rays that bounce off objects would have nothing to bounce back to. In a way, I believe the Narrator feels invisible, but is blind to the fact that he is actually quite important. He is able to arouse people against the injustices and get them excited in ways the suporting characters in the boil cannot. Some of the most powerful people in the world were amazing orators and with that power comes great responsibility.

(Yes, I did quote Spiderman...)

However, not everyone rises to the occasion and is fair. Unnecessary violence, especially with police brutality, has become such a common occurrence in the United States and unfortunately the book sheds some light on that topic as well during the eviction scene and Clifton's death.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 11:42 AM
The Invisible Man has the ability to connect with our society today in more ways than one. As years have passed us by and we have progressed in a variety of ways (referring to equality) today's world is still full of discrimination. As technology has advanced, people have the constant ability to be in touch with each other 24/7 - which has both advantages and disadvantages. Hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the country and world find themselves being "invisible" due to the disrespect of others. It only takes one time too many of being put down where you begin to feel like you don't matter. Whether it is racial prejudice or gay marriage/equality, the individual realizes that people are only viewing him as they want to and their limitations of what they see result limitations on his ability to act.

There will always be people who try to change the world, to rid one society at a time of things like these. However, some (like Norton) appear to want to help, but are really focused on making themselves feel better rather than changing the environment for the better. We constantly see that it is rare to find a leader who truly cares and wants to make changes for the better.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 12:11 PM
I found irony in the title "Invisible Man" when I began to connect it to today's society. Ellison referring to himself as invisible made sense as he told his story during that time period because he was not being seen as a human form, as a person. Which I agree with because even still many are not being treated as humans, plain and simple that deserve to be treated with respect. Though, today I believe that people who are targeted by racism are quite the opposite of invisible. It is as though they are very much seen and sought after by "superiors" that are looking for an issue or a disturbance. For example like Liv said above, some cops are pulling black people over just to search for a problem and it is completely unnecessary. Unfortunately there are so many problems between the different races that desperately need to be solved but society cannot seem to overcome them.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 1:23 PM
Reading "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison is like talking a walk through news stories of the past couple of decades. In my opinion, few statements are as true as "History repeats itself." because many of the events portrayed in the novel are just as relevant today as they were when the novel was published. As Dan mentioned above, Brother Tod's shooting is eerily similar to many the news likes to berate us with every day in real life. Callista and Olivia point to riots being similar to those of today. I found the riots in Harlem in the novel to be strikingly similar to the riots in Ferguson MO after a young black man had been shot.
I, however, believe my favorite portion of "Invisible Man"'s prevalence to society today is when Invisible Man is caught in the audience to the eviction of a poor old couple out of their home. This is a heart-wrenching scene which could happen to anyone and does happen to people every single day. The eviction rate in Massachusetts rose 11% just last year! I think everyone can try to imagine the unbearable trouble of losing everything because of not being able to pay the rent or mortgage. Eviction can happen to anyone and this is not a race issue in the slightest. Invisible Man was able to stick up and rally the crowd against the evictors but, in today's society there is so little a person can do to help. The elderly couple from the novel still lost their home just as so many people today often lose their homes in tough economic times. After reading that single chapter, I found myself wondering what my life would be like without my home. What else do we take for granted every single day?
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 1:32 PM
The narrator's invisibility is a result of the way other's viewed him. He is seen simply as a group, a group that is treated unjustly and inhumanly, not as an individual. As other's have expressed, this lack of acknowledgement leads others who have been acknowledged throughout their existence to feel superior and more significant. This mindset that one person or one group is higher than another leads itself to racism and abuse of certain powers. An instance in this novel in which exploitation is experienced is in the beginning when the narrator gave a speech to a group of white men. After this speech, he was forced to fight other black men in order to receive a scholarship to a well-known black college, which would evidently improve his life. The white men used their "authority" to inflict unnecessary pain and abuse on those who they viewed as weak.

Relating to what others have expressed above, this maltreatment of power resonates with the varying instances in today's society in which racism is present, such as unwarranted police brutality. As much as we don't like to admit it, racism and assumptions accumulated regarding specific groups of people, although very much improved from the time in which this novel was written, is still around in our world today.

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David AyriyanAugust 28, 2015 at 3:59 PM
When I was reading Invisible Man, it was shown that even after African Americans were officially freed, they were still regarded with a sense of discrimination and still treated as an inferior part of society. When I first heard about the Brotherhood, I felt a sense of relief that the Invisible Man would be able to voice his opinions on equal treatment for all African Americans, but then I realized that even though the main character was being treated better as opposed to outside the Brotherhood, he was still regarded as less than a human being but more as a pawn in the grand scheme of things, in Brother Jack’s mind. This treatment is similar to how Mr. Norton regarded the narrator in the beginning during the car trip saying that it was his fate and he was part of Mr. Norton’s fate. What I am trying to say is that there will always be people that will recognize and acknowledge the border between black and white, even now in the 21st century. This is reminiscent in the book, in the part when the young narrator is driving Mr. Norton around the campus. A couple times it comes up that the narrator is driving the car while paying attention to the “white line dividing the highway”. The line could represent the border between whites and blacks and the fact that it is white reinforces the fact that the whites were the ones who mistreated African Americans as a whole.
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AnonymousAugust 28, 2015 at 7:02 PM
Although the Invisible Man is not a book I would consider one of my favorite reads due to its tedious nature, there are ideas that can be related to modern times. One such section that really caught my attention was early on in the book where the narrator says “I wanted to deliver my speech more than anything else in the world, felt that only these men could judge truly my ability, and now this stupid clown was ruining my chances” (Ellison 25). This idea that a black man can think something that basically says that “these men” being the white people surrounding him are the only men who could judge the ability, and that “this clown” being a fellow black person is ruining his chances seems contradictory. These white people put him up to fight against fellow black people, and later even electrocuted them for some money should be the ones looked at with hateful eyes, but he looks at his fellow brethren like that. This idea of reverse racism is a strange one, instead of a white person dehumanizing black people; it is a black person doing the dehumanizing. Many people tend to forget that white people are not the only racists in this world. The reason for this is due to the media manipulating how people think. They specifically only show instances of white on black crimes, but when a black on white or any sort like that happen, they stay quiet about it. Why does this happen? I believe it is due to the reason that white people still have a sense of superiority, even when they say they do not and view everyone as “equals”. They look for ways in which they can victimize a minority group, and then try to help them and give them “support”. Such instance is the very popular hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. By using this hashtag, you are inexplicitly saying “I am not of this group, but I give them my support” or “I am a black person who needs the support of others”. You are creating a larger boundary between both you and them. In the same way a parent offers to give a child support or help when doing something, you are showing that you have some sort of superiority over them. But white people are not at fault for this. Black people still do things that go under their stereotypes, they knowingly victimize themselves, such instances include the Baltimore riots. After the murder of Freddie Gray many black people went to the streets and rioted. They fulfill the stereotypes white give them, such as being violent. Another instance includes the Treyvon Martin riots, or the Furgeson riots. These instances of violence strengthen the stereotypes that black people are violent and dangerous. But of course people say it is justified due to the murder of a black person by a white person. Black people find ways to victimize themselves, just as much as white people find ways to victimize black people. This in turn leads to white people having a sense of superiority, which as we know, is what racism is. The way that white people try to say they are not racist, makes them even more racist. If you tell someone this however, they will be quick to defend themselves, giving examples how they are not racist. The only way to truly be not a racist is to hate everyone equally. You must remove any labels, such as white and black, as this creates obvious boundaries that lead to racism. Instead of news articles saying “A black teenager was shot by a white man” such as with Treyvon Martin, we should only look at the facts. Throw out anything irrelevant, such as race or skin color or sexual orientation or anything like that.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 8:09 PM
While reading The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, there was one scene that seemed to haunt me more than any other. That scene was when the narrator and Mr. Norton encountered Jim Trueblood. I was not just the fact that this man impregnated both is wife Kate and his young daughter Matty Lou that disgusted me, but the fact that he was trying to justify the rapping of his young daughter that made my face turn to a snowy, pale white just as Mr. Norton’s did. He appeared to feel no shame, and even appears satisfied, when telling the story of this first unwanted moment of intimacy with his daughter, and thinks that he isn’t guilty of this act, saying “You [himself] ain’t guilty, but she [Trueblood’s wife] thinks you is” (Ellison 63). This idea that he has in his head, that it was not his fault for impregnating his daughter, is such an idea, a sickness that has been seen in many men of this age. I have seen countless reports of fathers rapping their young female children all over the world, from India to Manila to America, each father giving reasons for why they would do such a thing, thinking that they are not in the wrong. Some say they are told to do so by the instructions of false prophets, others for a cure from poverty or mental ailments. Trueblood claims that it was in the dream that he did this, that he did not know what he was doing. But in his conscious state he remained how he was, staring down at his poor confused daughter, saying that if he were to move from where he was he would be committing a great sin. But what he didn’t realize is that by saying there he was still committing such a sin. As he and his daughter tried to move apart he found himself not wanting to move even more, showing the sickness he has. It is people like Jim Trueblood that deserve to be punished, yet, even today we see men like this slipping away from the hands of authority. Not only do they manage to avoid the authorities, but they are able to continuously commit their sick acts against their innocent children.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 8:10 PM
The fact that Jim received no punishment for his horrible acts, except for the beating he took from his wife, troubles me greatly. But what troubles me more is the fact that the white people in his society protected him. The people at the All Black College that the Narrator attends wanted to run Trueblood out of the country for his acts. This is like how today and for many years African Americans have been wanting to get rid of their negative stereotypes present in society, working for years to help maintain the civil rights of the black community. However, racism remains in the country. This racism is expressed by the whites assuring Trueblood that he would stay right where he was. Trueblood then goes to say “It just goes to show yuh that no matter how biggity a nigguh gets, the white folks can always cut him down” (Ellison 53). This shows that the whites have power over the blacks and can manipulate situations in order to get the outcome they favor. This manipulation also occurs when the educated blacks want The Golden Day to be a respectable establishment. This dream, however, never comes to life, for the whites made it so the bar would remain a dirty, dark and full of drunken colored people. The whites helped Trueblood and helped this pub stay open so that blacks would continue to look like the scum of the earth, as they were considered to be during slavery. They wanted to maintain the stereotypes of the black community. Trueblood doesn’t understand how he does “…the worse thing a man could ever do in his family and instead of chasin’ me out of the country, they gimme more help than they ever give any other colored man, no matter how good a nigguh he was” (Ellison 67). The whites help the blacks like Trueblood so as to help maintain the gab in society between their two classes of people. They want the blacks to continue to be invisible in society, and don’t want to have them interfering in the affairs of white people, trying to rise up into higher social classes as Dr. Bledsoe did as well as achieve equality. They want the blacks to continue to be a minor group. People today even feel this as groups like the KKK remain spreading their negative views against Blacks.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 8:10 PM
Norton gave Trueblood one hundred dollars after hearing his disturbing incestuous tale. After he does this the narrator is angered greatly not understanding why this horrible man deserves this cash. This man did not work for this money he just obtained. He was given it out of pity for his children. Why should a man who impregnated his daughter, receive such generosity? This anger he feels, I believe, is felt greatly by certain people if the middle working class of America today and is directed at the people on welfare. These people feel they are taking away all of their money, and are receiving undeserved generosity from the government. They wants to grow and be able to create a better life for their family and future generations. However, the people receiving welfare are seen as mooching off of the hard working people of America. For it is very easy for people to abuse the welfare system. They do this by lying about their current financial state in order to get unemployment money. People can also just say that they are looking for jobs, when in reality, they are just sitting, waiting for their next welfare check. What these angry people of the working class don’t see, however, is that the upper class of America, the one percent prevents them from moving up in society, controlling almost all of the countries money. And the constant flow of money into the welfare system makes the working class even angrier. In the book, the upper class of today would be the whites, and the angry working class would be the blacks trying to move up in society, attending university, but struggle as the stereotypical people of their race are showered with kindness and aid so as to maintain this negative view of the African American Community.
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Elysha SamethAugust 28, 2015 at 8:32 PM
One of the major aspects and themes seen throughout Invisible Man is the futile battle against racism and white supremacy, a prevalent issue occurring for centuries and can unfortunately be seen today. In The Kite Runner, the main character’s father describes that the worst crime one can do is to rob, for when one commits a murder they are robbing a life and when one lies they are robbing someone of the truth. This idea can be applied to racism in which racially motivated crimes and discrimination are acts of robbing a person’s humanity and identity. Similar to Clifton’s death, most prevalent today are news reports headlining riots and protests due to police shootings of black men and women, some who were armed and others who were not. As in the Invisible Man, Brother Tobitt reveals to the narrator that he is married to a black woman, thinking it will cause the narrator to see him as someone who understands the black community. In response, the narrator sarcastically asks him whether he acquired his pseudo-Negro status "by immersion or injection". Similar to the book, supporting these black fallen citizens does not mean that you truly understand what it means to be an African American in a white supremacist America. Those of uncolored skin can sympathize for these people, and though they may support the cause with the new trend #BlackLivesMatter, the sympathy is only superficial where they do not realize that the fight against racism is not just a battle against hatred or skin color, but rather a revolution fighting to regain an identity beyond the amount of melanin or carotene present in the skin. Until one has experienced racism, they do not truly understand the meaning of racial discrimination and what it means to live in a society where your race and color of skin dictates how others view you, a subtopic of racism known as stereotyping. Within the novel, the narrator uses Sybil to gain information about the Brotherhood unbeknownst to him that she is using him to fulfill her sexual fantasy of being raped by a black man. She views the narrator simply as just another racial stereotype. Unfortunately today, with this view in mind, many people of colored skin often victimize themselves based on this fact. The campaign known as #BlackLivesMatter only further segregates races and while protests occur in order to bring about justice and the search for identity, most often these break out into riots that only augment the stereotype that blacks are violent and dangerous. Racism is most definitely a prevalent social injustice aimed towards minorities however, racial exploitation does exist where minorities take advantage of these stereotypes and racism in order to achieve a higher standing. For example, many minorities receive scholarships based on their ethnicity, giving them an advantage above other students. Therefore, while many fight against racism, they also exploit it in a hypocritical manner. While whites victimize blacks without truly understanding racism, these men and women of color are simultaneously victimizing themselves in a world where racism may never cease to exist.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 9:14 PM
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z2WWnEofqdjNUj9W0sYhxEX_4ydZuv8MDlee9cOPkns/edit?usp=sharing
Because I apparently wrote more than the maximum character limit.
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UnknownAugust 28, 2015 at 9:47 PM
The novel relates to today’s world in more ways than it should. As time goes on we should be well on our way to solving some of the problems that occur within the novel such as the struggle with individuality, the abuse of power, and racism/equality , yet we still struggle with them in our modern society. All of these issues have very recently been occurring publicly even more so than usual. For example the 2015 incident that sparked the Baltimore riots, the death of Freddie Gray. This tragedy was just one of many that covered the matters of racism/equality and the abuse of power in our society. I felt as though the death of Freddie Gray could be compared to Clifton’s death within the novel. Both were African American males who died at the hands of police who misused the power they were given. In both instances the police who killed them thought themselves to be above the man they were arresting due to stereotypical beliefs. Hence, the issues of racism, equality, and abuse of power.
As the word spread about the death of Freddie Gray the response was a series of violent riots, protests and destruction. This reaction is similar to the reaction following Clifton’s death. Also, I picked up on another similarity. In both the novel and our society, the reaction itself to these deaths was stereotypical. In trying to fight the stereotypical role some believe African Americans play, they became it. They fought their stereotype by becoming it, which proved pointless. It only reassured those people who hold racist beliefs, instead of showing them the truth, which is that they are equal with whites.
Stereotyping is another reoccurring issue within the novel and in our daily lives. Stereotyping happens with everyone, not only racial matters. In Invisible Man, the narrator fights his stereotype and strives to become better than who he is thought to be. Throughout the novel the narrator struggles with this and his individuality. He feels as though as long as he is stereotyped he can never truly be seen for who he is. This I think can apply to many others in the world today. It is common especially for young adults still within school to be stereotyped, whether it be the “jocks” or the “nerds” or the “goths”. With these labels on them it is easy to struggle with ones individuality.
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AnonymousAugust 29, 2015 at 12:13 PM
The Invisible Man is a book that has a myriad of themes that still correlates to today's society. For example, in the very beginning of the book the narrator introduces himself as invisible, not on a scientific standard, but in a way that individuals refuse to showcase feelings or acknowledge the presence of this human. This can relate to anyone in todays world, not only colored people because every individual goes through a phase where they begin to search and construct how they fit into the society they belong to. In addition to this, the battle between racism and white supremacy is present throughout the book, as it is in today’s society. In particular, the plethora of cases between white police officers and colored victims has been showcased throughout the news, reconstructing the views of racism in the public. In addition to this, stereotyping is another theme prevalent in the books that often relate to the views of the people of America. In the book, the narrator is an African American man that is often viewed as uneducated, but breaks this perception when he attends college. In addition to the narrator, Mr. Norton breaks the ideology of a stereotypical white male during this time period, by showcasing feelings toward the narrator and his education. A quote that encourages this idea is “So, you see, young man, you are involved in my life quite intimately, even though you’ve never seen me before. You are bound to a great dream and to a beautiful monument….whatever you become, and even if you fail, you are my fate. And you must write me and tell me the outcome,”( Ellison 33). These are just a few examples of the correlations between the society in the book, and the present.
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UnknownAugust 30, 2015 at 5:47 AM
The greatest aspect of "The Invisible Man" that interested me was that not once was the main character's name ever revealed to the reader, emphasizing his invisibility. However, he was not invisible at all to those within the plot line; to his following, his Brotherhood members, and to even his enemies. This mirrors life because although within ones' self, they might feel as though no one can hear them or no one will listen, yet some will. The Invisible Man thought he would be ridiculed or not taken seriously the first time he spoke on stage or speaking publicly at the eviction or even writing and memorizing his scholarship speech. Yet he did have an impact on people, enough to move them to action. The crowd was rallied at his first speech, the crowd moved to action at his eviction speech, and the once violent and racist crowd admired the young man's ability to influence listeners enough for the superintendent to give him a full scholarship to college. Some in today's world think they are invisible or ridiculed, however there are always people listening or wanting to be moved to action. As a mostly educated black man, the invisible man sometimes felt alone in his struggles, until the party at the Chtonian where he found he was widely renowned already as an influential speaker. Even the crazy Ras the Destroyer had followers at the end of the novel. This novel shows that one is never alone in their struggle against overcoming racism, though it may feel this way. Some activists are more active and violent than others but they mostly want to back the same cause.
Racial slander and discrimination are still in effect today and possibly always may be, but there are people on both sides of discrimination and never are fully alone on their side. Police brutality and media are still occurring, like said above and in the novel, and still emphasize racism. I think since the time of this novel, racism has decreased and a situation like Clifton's death isn't as likely, but it was still a symbol to the reader.
Overall I think this novel does a superb job of showing the different sides/feelings and approaches to racism through police brutality, activists, and public arousal.
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UnknownAugust 30, 2015 at 8:44 AM
From reading Invisible Man, I realized something quite extraordinary. By Ellison refusing to give a name to his narrator, he expertly creates a character that will fit into place in any setting of any time period. The invisible man is not actually invisible; we all know that to be true. But what is so interesting about Ellison choosing to narrate his book this way is he leaves the interpretation and the imagery of the narrator all up to his readers. After all, this novel is called Invisible Man not THE Invisible Man. What this could possibly mean is that there is no “the” in the title to imply this man is the one and only invisible man. Instead, Ellison’s title implies that this man’s story is just one out of countless others. Without the word “the” in the title, it allows the readers to think and to wonder about the invisible people in their own neighborhood in their own century. The invisible man is not just this one person in this one particular novel. It serves as a greater symbol to represent people of all generations who have be subjected to public abuse and mistreatment. In this particular book, the invisible man is a black man living in the 1950’s who feels alone and trapped in his society by the color of his skin and where he comes from. But today, the invisible man could be a person who chooses to love people of their same gender or a person who does not feel comfortable in the gender their born into. Even though gay marriage is legal and more and more celebrities are opening up about being transgender, or gay, or lesbian or whatever the case may be, there are some people who refuse to acknowledge them as real human beings, there are some people who would rather pretend these people are not really people at all but invisible altogether. I think people believe that if they choose to ignore something that it will just go away. Or if something is happening across the world that is does not exist and it does not affect them so honestly, why should they care? Truth is, nothing and no one in this world is invisible, and by people choosing to ignore problems our society is facing, they only serve to amplify these problems further. The invisible man walks among us, generation through generation, and it is our job to pull them out of the darkness and to shed some much needed light on them in the hopes of educating the planet and making it a better place to live in and call home.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 6:05 AM
The novel "The Invisible Man" is successful in the way that it proves that as a society, we have not evolved from the ways of the early nineteen hundreds as much as we would like to believe that we have. Racism was thought to have been left in the past but while reading the novel, we see crimes based on race from the past that parallel crimes from the present. When the nameless narrator first arrives in New York, he believes that a riot is seconds away from breaking out as Ras the Exhorter speaks of how African Americans should embrace the idea of equality and destroy the white populations control over them. This occurrence directly matches the event that happened in Ferguson, Missouri. Enraged by the abuse of power and the murder of Mike Brown, the citizens in the community banded together and began rioting. Both events had a common cause even though they took place decades apart: the people rioted in an attempt to end racism. Years have passed and Americans are still fighting over racism. I believe that this novel is exceptional in the way that it proves that problems of the past aren’t just problems of the past, that they are also problems of the present.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 6:36 AM
Though the novel, The Invisible Man, strongly focuses on the topic of racism, specifically towards blacks in American society succeeding the Civil War, it also resonates other ideas that are still very prevalent, and in my opinion wrong, in our society. As Elysha mentions, to live in a society where race and the color of your skin dictates how people view you sheds light on a subtopic of racism, known as stereotyping. In our society today, stereotyping is prevalent, expanding further beyond the idea of racism towards blacks. The novel references the idea of blindness, and how people often blindly follow the unspoken "rules" of their society without question, judging people and grouping them by their outward appearance before even getting to know who they are on the inside. For instance, at the beginning of the novel, the narrator is forced to participate in the "battle royal" in which he was blindfolded while the white men watched with laughter and amusement while they forced these blacks to fulfill their stereotypes of being barbaric, less than human, creatures. The blindfold serves as a symbol of not only the narrator's metaphorical blindness to the white men forcing him to succumb to such stereotypes, but also serves as a symbol of the white men's metaphorical blindness, as they go along with these "rules" set in place by society without even questioning them. In our society, it is evident that people still follow these societal "rules" of stereotyping, especially in regards to not only various races and groups of people but also the mentally ill. Though we have improved as a group of people with treating those with mental illnesses rather than locking them up in an insane asylum, these illnesses are still stereotyped. People loosely use the word "bipolar" for instance, sometimes even as a joke, without understanding what a person with bipolar disorder struggles with and what bipolar disorder even is. The same is true for those with Attention Deficit Disorder, as many people often joke about having ADD whenever they get distracted easily, or deem others as having it, but ADD is much more than that. Another stereotype in our society is the idea of beauty to fit and be crammed to one sole idea expressed by society. That a beautiful women, for example, is one who is extremely underweight, as glorified by the modeling industry. Showing these women with extremely low BMI's as the role model for what a beautiful person looks like is extremely sickening and people believe this idea without even questioning how skinny relates to happy and pretty because in reality skinny, to the degree that these models are, relates to unhealthy and in a sense it is as though our society is glorifying anorexia, a mental illness that often results in the physical emaciation of a person's body. These are just a few examples, however, of stereotypes and blindess, two ideas presented in the Invisible Man, that are relevant to our society in America today.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:31 AM
What really fascinates me the most about this novel is the narrator’s blind ignorance in the beginning of the novel and his ability to grow out of it and into a new version of himself which is both self aware as well as socially aware. In a way the Invisible Man himself can represent two different types people, ones that follow others and others that branch out from everyone else and are their own person. This being said, the narrator essentially acts as a symbol for any generation of people where any social change is occurring that can stimulate different views. The narrator begins the story explaining how he is brought up to be so naïve in that he believes the myth of White Supremacy. He is never taught of the countless contributions of African Americans to American history, only Whites. He is taught that Whites are dominant and that they are the only race that has succeeded so, being the young naïve boy that he is, the invisible man believes it. In the beginning of the novel, Ellison illustrates an image of the detrimental affects of being naïve and following a crowd without any common knowledge. The Invisible Man urges to seek approval from a crowd of sinful white men on his speech that he makes at his school; this is because he feels that the approval of White men is the only one that matters. No matter how much the Invisible Man wants these White men to approve of him, to make him seem important he will never be important to them (in the instance of this story). He is attempting to make his voice heard into a culture where a majority of the populous will not appreciate him, he will not be able to be heard or have an impact on the crowd that he is following. By giving making the Invisible Man out to be naïve in the beginning it can be implied that Ellison is showing that, people that blindly follow a crowd and believe every single word they say without questioning it will not be able to stand out and be heard, if they have potential to create change they should speak out to people that will listen to them and be a leader and have their own voice. What I took from this novel is that to be a leader one must not have a large audience, just to be heard and to move somebody to change and that is what the invisible man does once he realizes that his own voice needs to be heard, that others will not mold him into their ideal version of a black man, he will be whoever he wants to be. When the Invisible Man joins the brotherhood and is forced to talk about their ideology on how a black man should be perceived he realizes that he does not like this idea of following somebody and abiding by everything they do and says, “What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” (Ellison 266). In today’s society young people are trying to either find themselves and create their own views on the world or are blindly following a crowd out of sheer ignorance, there are also in the world trying to sculpt these young people into what they think they should be, as society did to the Invisible Man in telling him what a black man “should be”. By being introduced to the Invisible Man the reader is encouraged to be a leader and be their own person, no matter what generation is reading.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 9:46 AM
It almost seems like in today's society, race controls everything. Although we have spent so many decades trying to break away from that, almost everything in the news these days has a race motive behind it whether we like to believe it or not. While reading the Invisible Man, I was taken back with how closely the events that took place in the 50's relate to today. Watching the news, I am devastated at how there is always tension between the races and this is extremely evident throughout the Invisible Man. One of the most obvious events in the novel that relates to today is Clifton's death. While others have already mentioned this in their comments, this completely baffled me when I read it because I instantly had images of all the headlines that have been appearing in the news lately involving struggles between African Americans and White police. At fault or not, an excessive amount of violence on the officers' side is always reported when dealing with someone of color. Whether these accusations are correct or not, it was mind-blowing seeing the same incident occur in the Invisible Man. Of course events like that happened all the time in the 1950's due to the fact that African Americans were viewed as criminals more times than not, it was surprising to me that we are still dealing with the same issues today!! It almost frustrates me that I am sitting home reading a book written about the 1950's and I am relating it to 2015, a time that should be free of racial profiling and violence specifically between races.
While Clifton's death was a major event that linked this novel to today, it was certainly not the only one. One thing that was extremely fascinating to me was that the African Americans in this story were very mistreated but everything that happened to them was instantly related to race. For example, when the woman was getting evicted from her house, everyone was in uproar because they were kicking an elderly African American woman out of her house and refused to let her enter to pray. The workers try to explain that they are just doing their job and that it has no race motive, but the woman is convinced it is because ALL the white folk are against the colored. I understand that many people were racist and prejudice during this time, but not ALL white people were. I often see this a lot today especially through social media. Whenever something occurs where race is a factor, whether it be the incidents involving police or someone appropriating another culture, it is as though all the races are categorized and stereotyped as a whole. It was often seen in this story that ALL the blacks were looked at one way and ALL the whites were looked at one way. As society is changing and advancing, it horrifies me that racial profiling and stereotyping is STILL a thing just as it was in the 1950's.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 9:46 AM
I love the fact that this book is called the Invisible Man and that the narrator's name is never revealed. It really shows how people are profiled. Last year, we read a short story called An Episode of War and this same concept amazed me. Just like how the lieutenant became his wound in that story, the Invisible Man became his skin color. When author's withhold personal information like a name for a main character, it gives the reader a sense that the main character is embodying something much bigger than a name, such as a race. When watching the news and hearing stories about people, it is not the name you remember, it is the story and what the story embodies. It really makes me wonder how little our names mean and how invisible we really are. By not sharing the name of the main character, Ellison truly made him an invisible man.. Just a man portraying what it was like to be black in the 1950's. Everything about this novel intrigued me whether it be the relation to today's society or the thought put into the actual invisibility of the main character. This novel has taught me that despite all the change we say we have been through, the society we live in is not much different from the one that was present in the 1950's and that we are all truly invisible when it comes to matters such as race. We are no longer individuals but groups stereotyped as one whole being.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 10:14 AM

One of the most important and still relevant aspects of “The Invisible Man” is the question of how to achieve equality, not just for all races, but as for all people as a whole. Throughout the story the narrator finds himself plagued by this question, first believing that submission and humility is the way to achieve racial equality, then seeing the ideology of the brotherhood, where all people assimilate in brotherhood to be equal, and then following his grandfather’s advice, which had plagued him since the beginning. He also sees the extremist views of Ras the exhorter, who believes in black separation from the evil interests of whites. He dismisses all these, defining himself individually through his invisibility, rather than being part of a group. This struggle the narrator faces is still an ongoing issue, as one must wonder how it will be possible for mankind to eradicate racism, and discrimination as a whole. Should people assimilate together, abandoning their cultural identities to create a new unified one, as the brotherhood wanted? Or is it better for people to learn to respect cultural differences, no matter how alien or wrong they appear, even if they have to compromise their own beliefs to accept those of others? Furthermore, this question retains relevance because this same question can be addressed to finding one’s identity. How does an individual fit in society, whether it is their own or a new one they are thrust into, like the Gangulis in the Namesake? People are told you should always be yourself, but at the same time they are expected to fit into the standards of society. In essence, this is the same struggle the narrator faces in The Invisible Man, and he finds in the end that the only way to be himself is to live in invisibility. It appears to say that individuals can only truly be themselves when they withdraw from society as whole. Not that I agree or disagree with that statement, but it says a lot about how people live together and treat one another. Is the only way to be a part of society is to give up your individuality? I find that question incredibly intriguing, but a definite answer to it I can’t find.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 11:10 AM
The first thing I would like to point out is how Mr. Bledsoe is a colored man, just like the narrator, however he treats the narrator like he is inferior because of his skin color. In a society struggling to end racism, the two of them should band together, however Mr. Bledsoe instead punishes the narrator to keep his high status position and look good to the wealthy white shareholders. The influence of the white men thus pins blacks against blacks, making it difficult to make any racial gains when they are not working together. This reminds me not of something that is happening today, but of the holocaust and the concentration camps. The Nazis inflicted the same type of mental brain wash over the Jews that the wealthy white men inflict on the black. The Nazis would choose one person to be in charge of al the other Jews. This made it so that they got to sit back and watch how men of the same standing would turn their backs on each other and do some of the dirty work for the Nazis. The motivation behind the Jews doing this may have been something like a little extra food that night, or maybe they didn't receive as much physical torture the next day. Receiving a reward of some sort made them turn on each other, and think they had some sort of control, when in reality they did not have any control at all. The white men use this same trick on Bledsoe. They give him a high position in the college, pay him well, and it causes him to turn against his own race, all while the white men benefit. Realistically Bledsoe has no power although he believes that he does. The vet at The Golden Day where Mr. Norton and the narrator stop says, "you cannot hear or smell the truth of what you see... to you he is a mark on the scorecard of your achievement" (Ellison 95). This highlights the fact that the powerful white men give blacks little opportunities to make themselves look like they did something good for the community, which is what they are doing with Bledsoe, when all in all, they don't care about the advancement of colored men. At the same time as the whites are doing this, the blacks are going along with it, completely blind to the fact that they are getting taken advantage of. In todays society, people are taken advantage of all the time because it is a selfish world. The people that are out for themselves seem to stop at nothing to get what the want, so it is important to learn how to rise above and be self aware so you too are not blind to what is happening right in front of your eyes.

When the narrator begins working in the factory at Liberty Paints, he notices that there is still discrimination and that the men in charge are all white. To symbolize this, Ellison describes how the white paint wouldn't be as perfect and as "optic white" without the chemical that happens to be black. A black man working in a factory controlled by white men reminds me of stereotypes that occur today. It is often that Mexican-Americans are landscapers, working for a white owner of the company, but America has stereotyped it that all Mexicans are just landscapers and belong doing yard work. Other stereotypes, such as women belonging in the kitchen are not race related, but connect very well with this novel because any sort of stereotyping is discriminating, and often the people who fall subject to such stereotypes are invisible, just like the narrator throughout the course of the novel.
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GretchenSeptember 1, 2015 at 12:01 PM
Not only does this novel resonate in today's society, highlighting racism and racial abuse of power, but it represents all forms of political and social inequality. As written in the book, it shows inequality between different races. For example the narrator was excluded from groups and stereotyped for being black. However this can also be applied on different levels. The "white people" in the books can be replaced strictly with men and the blacks can be replaced with women and the general plot can remain the same and be believable by today's society. The same holds true for people's sexuality. The white people can be the majority (heterosexuals) and the blacks can be the minorities. It can go further to relate to social classes. The whites in the novel equate to the wealthy upper class in the US while the blacks equate to the lower and even middle classes. In all these cases of inequality still prevalent in American society there in a majority and minority, a strong and a weak. In all cases we see the strong taking advantage of the weak. In the novel the rich whites put the narrator into a boxing ring blindfolded to fight for a scholarship to college. Later in the story the narrator is played again and excluded from the brotherhood, only to realize he was being taken advantage of as a black man. The novel and society also parallel in the fact that the two groups depend on each other. Many people realize that the weak depend on the strong. Women stereotypically depend on men, the poor depend on the rich, and so on. In the novel the narrator was aware of his inequality and dependance on the white majority (they sent him to college and got him a job). However the strong also depends on the weak. As Mr. Norton said, "I had a feeling that your people were somehow connected with my destiny. That what happened to you was connected with what would happen to me". This man understands that while their blacks depend on him, he depends on the blacks. In all cases of the inequality within society both groups are dependent on one another.
I find this connection between the different kinds of inequality interesting because I never quite realized that all the inequality in America is actually the same, but with different titles. I had always thought that all the fights for equality were different because it was always different people. Fundamentally however the fights are all the same.
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BridgetSeptember 1, 2015 at 1:30 PM
In the Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison describes countless situations that correspond to all that has sparked change in society, from the era of the novel, succeeding World War I to the present day. One of the most precedent issues in the novel is the purpose of the group the narrator joins called, “The Brotherhood”, that primarily focus on “working for a better world for all people,” (304). At the end of the novel it becomes clear that, that the Brotherhood was not working for the benefit of that particular cause, but today many people are still fighting for equal rights; and not just based on race, but gender as well. There are many parts of the world that still struggle to provide a safe, accepting habitat to certain individuals for reasons that seem silly when are generalized and voiced aloud; simply because people are not all the same. Differences in appearances, cultures and interests are what make the world an interesting and exciting place; it allows for not only variation, but learning and progress to take place. Ellison’s nameless narrator although naïve, in retrospect, had good intentions. He wanted to make the world a little better of a place from that of which he entered. And that is what makes this plot a shame, because as the character so desperately wanted to be something more, everyone just tried to hold him back. All he wanted was to be something more than a farm boy, to be someone his parents would be proud of and as reality would have it, everyone still knocked him down for their own benefit; a concept very much still in-line with today’s society.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 2:24 PM
The "Invisible Man" focuses on many issues that are still prevalent in todays society. Racism is obviously a main focus in the novel and is also still occurring today. A lot of attention has been drawn to the subject with the recent acts of police brutality directed at African Americans. In the novel, the narrator is frequently told that he is "invisible"; immediately before expelling him, Dr.Bledsoe says "You're nobody son. You don't exist- can't you see that?". He was saying that due to his race, the narrator will never be considered a "real" person, that his opinions will never be taken into account, that he does not matter. This comes back later in the novel during the narrators job at the paint factory where he was forced into joining a union without being allowed his own opinion on the matter. The narrator was never allowed to have his own opinion or his own life which caused a major struggle with his self identity. As in with the union, people felt that, maybe due to his race, he was unable to make decisions for himself and they had to take it upon themselves to tell him what to do and how to live his life. The narrator frequently questions whether he is "part of a game". Many people whom he trusted had used him for their own advantage. Essentially, the narrators race limited him in terms of self identity and life choices and some of the isolation and maltreatment directed at the narrator still continue to occur today.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 3:12 PM
Whether it be regarding race, religion, sexuality, etc., the superiority of one group to another remains a steady theme in society. Taking place in America during the 1930s, Invisible Man shines a light on the issue of racism which remains prevalent in today’s world. Although laws have been passed and wars have been fought, Whites are still seen and still see themselves as the superior race. This belief is not justified, as it is not what color skin a person has but it is who they are as a person. The issue of racism certainly plays a role in self-image and self-purpose as noted in Invisible Man. As others didn’t notice him and he questioned his existence, the narrator faced aggravation. He lived in the basement of a building only allowing whites and resorted to stealing electricity. He was forced to participate in “battle royal” with his fellow African American peers. He is threatened by a slave’s leg shackle and warned to be disciplined. And he receives a reminder that he is a black man in a white world. Whites have and continue to treat African Americans like they are something less than human living in a white world.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 4:03 PM
"...Now that I no longer felt ashamed of the things I had always loved, I probably could no longer digest very much of them. What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” is what runs through the mind of the narrator from Invisible Man by Ralph Emerson after he indulges himself in yams, coated in melted butter (266). The entirety of the novel rotates around the idea of this very quote- naivety, or a “blindness,” as some may call it. The narrator, like many in our society today, exhibits this blind following of something in his submission and fear of those “above” him, including whites and people of apparent power such as Dr. Bledsoe. Until he is released from the hospital and finds himself eating yams on a street corner, the narrator of this novel had never thought twice to do what he wanted, never thought to stop fearing what others thought of him. Today, society as a whole blindly follows the undertones of racism, sexism, corruption, and gender and sexuality inequalities, to name a few. Without incorporating their own apparent morals or standards into everyday decisions, people everywhere will view women as inferior to men, think of gays and members at all ends of the gender spectrum as taboo, and follow many more discriminating aspects of our world even if they do not intend to. What will it take for our society to come to this realization? That all men and women and members of the LGBTQ+ community are created equal, and deserve equal rights, respect, and freedom to be themselves and live in a world free of the plague of discrimination that our blind world is branded with today.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 5:14 PM
In today's society, I believe the goal is STILL to become one, yet many. The narrator in "Invisible Man" comes to a personal conclusion that the fate of humans as a whole is to be free together, not controlled. It's astonishing that this novel dates back to the 50s, and the hope one character has for the future of race relations, many citizens still hope for today. America is known as the "Melting Pot", blending all different types of cultures, however our country still struggles with racism. Compared to the time this novel was set in place, our society certainly has improved as far as equality, however our society is still not cured, or anyone near diminishing racism and prejudice as a whole. The narrator looks at himself as invisible due to others failure to look past the color of his skin.

Unfortunately controversial events today are still looked at differently, depending on race. It seems as though the kind of reaction many people have to certain cases or issues in this day and age still depends on which race the victim is. With the Sandra Bland case that Olivia has previously mentioned, if Sandra was Caucasian, the cop most likely would not have responded with so much anger. If the races were swapped, the cop being black and Sandra white, and the cop reacted the same way, the general public would immediately look towards African American/Caucasian stereotypes. People would most likely react in an uproar, discussing the dangers of that situation much more than they probably did with the actual case. The Sandra Bland case makes me think of the eviction case with the elderly black couple, held for everyone to see on the streets. In the novel, the elderly woman was literally taken out of her home while still sitting on her own chair. Imagine the chaos that would result if blacks intruded on a white home and threw all their belongings on the street? The result would be painfully worse both in the novel, AND today.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 6:06 PM
The novel portrays a lot of truth on the matter of racism. The reader often times feels like he or she is close to getting a very vivid and clear depiction of it. Racism, as a topic, is both very interesting and of course, very serious as well. But what makes it interesting is that it has been around since the beginning of time for humanity; from the Israelites in Egypt to just a few decades ago to now, racism is alive(though thankfully has lost some severity). The reason I bring this up is because while reading the part of the book where Clifton is shot by the white cop, I couldn't help but to be reminded of the case of Ferguson. In that story, 18 yr. old Michael Brown (black man) was shot dead by 28 yr old Darren Wilson, a white cop. I myself havent formed an opinion about whether or not the cop may have acted out of racism or his duty, but there are indisputably many people who believe racism was at the core and solely the reason for his death. Not only this case, but as you all know, there have been many other similar stories. It just goes to show that racism is alive and prevalent. Though some feel it and other don’t, it is definitely still prevalent.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 6:09 PM
Inequality is unfortunately still relevant in todays society. Obviously we have progressed in some ways in regards to racism, but we now have more ways to discriminate and continue our stereotypical beliefs. This is a result of people from every race, financial status, culture and age.

One specific quote from the novel that really sparks my attention would be on page 16 when the narrator states to himself "When I was praised for my conduct I felt guilty in some way I was doing something that was really against the wishes of white folks, that if they had understood they would have desired me to act just the opposite, that I should have been mean and sulky, and that that really would have been what they wanted, even thought they were fooled and thought they wanted me to act as I did." He is stating the white people claim these Africans are of less value, but they almost want him to appear that way, almost as the enemy to justify their actions. He also feels guilty because he is reminded of his grandfather. He wants to make everyone proud and be successful, but he finds himself guilty. He is almost hopeless, he has all the positive qualities, thriving for education, ambitious, dedicated and dependable, yet he still is of less value because of his color. Although things have changed thoughtout the years many individuals still have not let go of their old racist mind set and make decisions based ethnicity.
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Ella TrainerSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:09 PM
The events that take place during the novel accurately represent how different life as a colored person was as opposed to life as a white in that time period. Whites believed that they were superior to blacks, sometimes causing blacks themselves to believe in the idea of white supremacy (like the narrator did at the beginning of the novel). Although slavery was no longer in effect, the mindset that whites’ had remained the same. They were fixated on the idea of keeping the blacks in the lower class, not allowing them to be in any ways equal to that of a white person. One example of this in the novel is when Mr. Norton gives Trueblood money, even after he sat and listened to the DISGUSTING story of what he had done to his own daughter! Trueblood was essentially supported by the whites of town, who wanted him to stay and not flee the country so that he would help keep the image of how blacks were seen at the time. In the eyes of a white man, this made their race look even better than they already thought they were. On the other hand, the blacks wanted him to leave… in fear that it would further lower their reputation.
The idea of “whites vs. blacks” has always been a thing and (sadly) probably always will be. The media has been going crazy lately with stories that involve a black person and a white person, and that is how the news is headlined. The people are defined by their skin color, still to this day! Once news breaks of yet another story involving two different races everyone goes into a frenzy. The idea that a white cop shot a black person causes people to argue about whether or not it was because of the victim’s skin color… and who really knows the answer. I’m sure that every time an incident occurs between two people of different races it isn’t always because of their skin color, but it is very saddening that in the year 2015 there still has to be issues with race. Although the issues aren’t as extreme as the ones depicted in the novel, they are still relevant. We have clearly made some enormous strides since then; for example in the workforce we see blacks doing the same high up executive jobs as whites and we see blacks attending universities that aren’t just meant for them. Issues with race will never be COMPLETELY resolved but one can only hope that more and more people become understanding of the idea of equality in all aspects of life… and that eventually events will stop being looked at based on the races of the people involved.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:18 PM
Through "Invisible Man" Ralph Ellison gave me new understanding of segregation that changed my perspective on discrimination against African Americans, but also on equality as a whole. The public can see a race being treated unfairly in the media and say it is "wrong" or "not just" but still may not understand how one feels in that position. One of the very important themes in this novel truly gives one insight into the ideology of the narrator as well as any other ostracized group. This theme is that the narrator of this novel feels separated from the rest of the world to the point that he feels being invisible is the most comparable metaphor. Throughout reading this novel, I felt it remained very important to not read this book as if the narrator was strictly African American, but instead a symbol for any race, gender, religious affiliation, or any other group that has become simply become a neglected set of people shrouded in stereotypes and labels.This new perspective on equality that i have developed from reading this novel makes me realize that especially in an age when communication has become so simple, we all must avoid adding labels and stereotypes even if we believe it may bring equality.
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Tyler KruszSeptember 1, 2015 at 7:55 PM
In The Invisible Man, there are countless events and moments where we see a difference in the lives, treatments, and impacts on society between blacks and whites. The contrast between blacks and whites was a reoccurring and major focus point in the story. Obviously these relationships are present in some areas of our society today, although not as common and not as severe. The events in this novel not only reminded me of racism in society, but also sexism. When Lucius Brockway stated, “Our white is so white you can paint a chunka coal and you’d have to crack it open with a sledge hammer to prove it wasn’t white clear through,” it showed that no matter how much effort a black citizen put into a business, no matter his/her education, progress, or overall advantages, he/she would be overlooked for a white person. This relates to the struggles of women in the workplace regarding salaries, leadership positions, and respect from higher ranked officials. In our current society today, men, on average, collect more than women, hold different/better positions than women, and are more apt to be selected for a high ranking position than a woman would be. As Ellison described certain problems with blacks in The Invisible Man, women are experiencing and fighting for these issues today.

(I had commented from my phone a few days ago but it did not go through)
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:32 PM
The way "Invisible Man" is written allows the reader to gain a new understanding of the inner feelings of one who has become victim to racism. A point is made to never reveal the main characters name, and I think this is done to further point out the true treatment of African Americans. They were, and still are, made to feel like they don't exist in society, and if at all, they are lesser and without worth. Although it is not as severe it is still prevalent in small incidents.
A particular similarity I noticed is the police brutality towards blacks. When Clifton was caught selling sambo dolls un-permitted by several white policemen, he was shot dead after only a small scuffle.
Similarly, in recent months a woman named Sandra Bland was pulled over for the simple misuse of a traffic signal. After rightfully refusing to get out of her car or put out her cigarette, she was threatened to be "lit up," by the officer and dragged from her car. The audio reveals her head being smashed onto the concrete and after crying out about her epilepsy, the officer replies "good." She died while in incarnation, and due to her appearance to be dead already in her mugshot, it is speculated she did not die from the claimed "suicide." It is likely she died from an epilepsy episode triggered by the officer.
In conclusion, racism and inequality may not exist through law, but however it still does in personal lifestyles and everyday encounters. The fact that there are similarities to be drawn from a book set in such a deep time of racism and inequality and modern times says a lot in my opinion. Racism inequality, and injustice still seeps in, however is much quieter and easier to forget in these times, and still needs to be countered by future generations as our society develops.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:34 PM
I forgot to add, both Clifton and Sandra Blands incidents likely would have had a different outcome had they not been African American.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:40 PM
While reading Invisible Man I found that the Brotherhood reminded me of Communism, although one is a social ideology and another a political ideology, in that both attempt to unite or equalize different groups of people. Both work very well on paper-providing everybody equal rights and opportunities-but not so well in practice, as they strips each member of their individual identity, making them “invisible” on a larger scale, a cog in the machine, and just like everybody else. Furthermore, there are some that do not want this equality , such as Bledsoe and other prominent Communist leaders. Those who have been able to rise to positions of power by conforming to the social (or political, in the case of Communism) rule and roles, values and expectations become the only ones to successfully free themselves from these ideals, and lose their invisibility.
Also, immediately after raping his daughter, Trueblood wishes to become invisible in his own way-he hopes that if he doesn’t move, and pretends he doesn’t exist, he will not have sinned, he will not have raped his daughter-although of course he knows that he already has. This is representative of the overall unwillingness of both individuals and societies to accept responsibility for their actions-to push the blame onto someone else, or to try and justify their actions, just as Trueblood does. He attempts to justify his actions in an attempt to remove his own guilt. By accepting aid from the whites, he is allowing himself to become invisible physically, through the location and seclusion of his home, and socially, as he becomes known for this one action. (Although this does not justify take away from what he did by any means.)
It is interesting how, while he is in the South, and during the beginning of his time in New York the white Founders (who I am assuming are meant to represent all white supremacists) are able to keep the hatred and distraction between the narrator and other black men-he is angry at Trueblood for receiving more aid and attention from the whites and the Founders, but he is not angry at the whites or the Founders for awarding it. He is angry at Bledsoe for expelling him from the school and sending him to New York, but not at the white men who refuse to hire him or made his position in the South what it was. It is as though they are causing the narrator to focus on smaller issues rather than the larger, overlying ones (although neither Bledsoe or Trueblood’s actions are acceptable and Trueblood’s in particular are horrific). This reminds me of the recent controversy concerning New York’s $15 an hour minimum wage for fast food workers. An argument was made by a group of paramedics that also make $15 an hour, who believe that they, as the more educated group with a more difficult job and a skillset that is harder to acquire, should make more than fast food workers. They were among those that opposed the bill. While this issue was not motivated by race, it is similar in that these two smaller groups spent more time fighting with each other over the scraps than with the greater enemy. For the New Yorkers, that is the CEOs of their industries that make millions of dollars a year; for the narrator in Invisible Man it is the founders and other white men that oppress him and his race.
I also found the issue of Optic White paint interesting-in order for the paint to completely cover the sample the way it was supposed to, 10 drops of black dope needed to be mixed into the paint. Without it, as the narrator discovered, the paint turned grey and the wooden sample showed through the paint. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I saw this as how the white population could not maintain their control and supremacy without the immersion and submission of blacks into their version of society, both then and now.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:52 PM
Through out Invisible Man, our nameless narrator struggles on his search for his identity. He is pressured by society to conform to act as a person he is not. The narrator experiences many different opinions as to how he should act as an African American man in the society in which he is a part of. He is influenced by his grandfather and his curse, Brother Jack and the Brotherhood, Ras the Exhorter, Dr. Bledsoe and Trueblood. He struggles to find his true self throughout the novel as he faces conflicting opinions on how he should act. However he eventually finds himself to be an "invisible man." By deeming himself as invisible, the narrator is able to discover himself. Today, many (especially teenagers) are pressured to conform to what society tells them to be. I believe high school students feel this stress most cruelly. Society often tells teenagers how they should act and dress and what they should like and dislike. We struggle to fit in and be our own person at the same time. Usually, one's true self becomes lost inside of the person attempting to conform to society. I believe that more should follow the narrator's lead and decide that society is blind and that they are invisible. By being invisible, one does not worry of others opinions because they cannot be seen. On the first page of the prologue, Ellison writes, "That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with I come in contact. A matter of the construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality" (Ellison 3). By blaming his invisibility on others, the narrator is able to discover himself as I believe many should today.
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 9:55 PM
Although Invisible Man is a testament to the time in which it was written, it is still as relevant today as it was in the 1900’s. As Foster reiterates multiple times, “There is only one story” and history is really a long record of repetitions. Ellison points out, “what is commonly assumed to be past history is actually as much a part of the living present.” (Ellison xvi) Matters of racism, sexism, gender, and sexuality have been and will continue to be topics of contention in society. That’s the sad and ugly truth. No matter how much we try to deny it, they have become so ingrained into the public psyche they seem impossible to overcome.
In the prologue of the novel, the narrator explains his state of invisibility, a definition that really stuck with me. He says, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” (Ellison 3) He explains his acceptance of this fact, saying that while he doesn’t complain nor does he protest it, it does wear his nerves at times. Thus, very clearly the narrator points out that his invisibility arises from the refusal of others to see him, perhaps more specifically as a human, as an equal, as made of the same flesh and blood. He also describes his anger at being so invisible, saying that sometimes he needs to convince himself that he does exist. Even after striking out, cursing, and swearing to make others recognize him, he sees the futility in his efforts, as they are seldom successful. This anguish at being rendered so invisible can be seen in today’s society as well. The uproar over the shooting of Michael Brown led to days of protest and unrest in Ferguson, MO. After the decision of the Grand Jury not to indict Officer Wilson, the residents of Ferguson set fire to buildings and looted local businesses. This sounds eerily familiar to the race riots at the end of the novel. Upon realization that the Brotherhood relinquished its influence in Harlem to Ras the Exhorter/Destroyer, the narrator sees that this race riot was what the Brotherhood intended for all along, especially after the death of Clifton. During the confrontation with Ras, the narrator tries to explain to the people what is really going on, that the Brotherhood planned for the people to be guilty of their own murder, their own sacrifice: “they want the streets to flow with blood; your blood, black blood, white blood, so that they can turn your death and sorrow and defeat into propaganda.” (Ellison 558)
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UnknownSeptember 1, 2015 at 9:56 PM
(Continued)
Paradoxically, this self-destruction, this sacrifice, is now seen as the only way to bring visibility to the issues pushed aside as invisible. It is interesting to ponder whether those riots in Ferguson had nothing to do with the national coverage and social media backlash that followed. Would the rallying cry ‘Black Lives Matter’ have been as effective without the reaction of the public to the shootings in the first place? Would the public have reacted as strongly if it were a black police officer in place of Wilson or a white kid in place of Michael Brown? Sadly, it is race that has underscored this issue, perhaps not for the right reasons. Nevertheless, it seems that riots are the only way to gain visibility in this day and age, and sadly such was the case throughout history as well, form the founding of America to the civil rights movement.
In addition to the matters of race, this novel deals with the fundamental question we spend our lives trying to find an adequate answer to: Who am I? Not only have we read about this in countless other books (even in The Namesake with Gogol’s journey of coming to terms with not only his name but also his background), this is something each and every person struggles to understand. It is a lifelong process with oftentimes an ever-changing multitude of answers. Ralph Ellison demonstrates this through the narrator’s eventual awareness of his invisibility. The narrator realizes that all his life he has been told who he is, looking for the answer not within himself but through outward affirmation. Whether it be his schools administrator and the partakers in the battle royal, Norton, Bledsoe, Kimbro and Brockway of Liberty Paints, doctors in the Factory Hospital, Mary (albeit in a good-natured manner), and Brother Jack and the committee, they all “attempted to force [their] picture of reality” upon him. (Ellison 508). Although the Brotherhood preaches against dispossession, ironically what they have done to Clifton and the narrator is much worse than dispossession. They aimed to make them sacrifice their individuality ‘for the greater good’ on their terms. Upon realizing this, Clifton takes to selling Sambo dolls, to symbolize his manipulation at the hands of the Brotherhood. For the narrator, his final step towards understanding his invisibility lied in understanding his grandfather’s deathbed advice. He realizes that yessing ‘em to death and destruction did not mean to give up ones identity and conform, instead it meant to stand by one’s own principle, not to compromise one’s identity, as the narrator had fell prey to many times in the novel. This dedication to stay true to ones ideals is a difficulty for everyone, and undoubtedly is a part of growing up. The narrator even points out in the closing words of the epilogue, “Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?” Indeed, we are all invisible, whether we are aware of it or not.
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Stephanie CastagliuoloSeptember 2, 2015 at 5:35 PM
Although the book was extensive, with its ever changing plot and countless important themes, what resonated most with me was the Invisible Man’s prologue. I felt that from the beginning I understood exactly what the narrator meant about his invisibility because of what he divulged in his opening monologue, I found myself continuously thinking back to his words during each racist scene through out the book. The nameless man put the racism of the white individuals of his time period into the simplest of terms; “That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom I come in contact. A matter of the construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality.” (Ellison 3). Blinded by their own prejudice the white people are unable to see him for anything more than another African American, he can not be seen for who he truly is thus making him invisible. This blindness has an airy resemblance to today’s society; African American individuals still live with the exact same issue, judged prematurely due to the color of their skin. The stereotypes surrounding their culture have left an impression on the minds of those outside their community, permanently blinding societies “inner eyes” from all other truths.
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