Ralph Ellisons Invisible Man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ralph Ellisons Invisible Man - Essay ExampleBecause he is black, the cashier automatically finds himself straddling racial barriers and prejudices yet he and begins to realize how he is regarded through the divisions of the equal rights hunting expedition by recognizing that he himself is both sacrificer and victim. (p. 506). This description is apt for every social circle that has accepted him, for the narrator has either been a tool or a symbol in each instance whether the congregation is white or black, the narrator is never a full member of any group, but only when included until sacrificed in the interest of the group. Ellison reinforces this notion that the narrator is a disembodied voice (p. 581) by never offering any real description of him to the point of never even giving the character a name, even when it is changed. The narrator at one point ruminates about his history of humiliations, observing that They were me they defined me. (p. 508). working form this basis, the narrators degree of invisibility can therefore also be measured by them and, since they attach upon racial issues, a closer examination of these instances and the people involved underscore the narrators ultimate lesson. Likewise, the narrator is not the only invisible character in the book, given that it applies to an outsiders view of another he is just the only one in the novel that suspects the enormity of the injustice. This paper will attempt to examine both these issues..The racial strata are divided into four rough categories bigoted whites, whites sympathetic to the black cause, blacks who seek to achieve solidarity crossways racial lines (equality with whites), and blacks seeking to uplift/aid their race without the help (or interference) of whites. The first and last tend to reckon the absolute worst stereotypes about the other race, while the border categories are often to blinded by their intentions to realize the full ramifications of their actions. The most ext reme case of bigoted whites occurs in the scene of the battle royal, where the big whites of the narrators hometown gather to witness a cruel brawl. The narrator, invited to give a speech, is instead forced to box ennead other men black men, all of them blindfolded. The fighter are paid after the fight with capital scattered across an electrified rug and they must adopt repeatedly shocked in order to get their reward. When the narrator is finally allowed to deliver his speech, which includes such platitudes as cultivating friendly relations with the southern white valet (p.30), under constant heckling form the audience, which results in his accidentally inserting the phrase social equality. By assure the crowd that it is a verbal slip, he is allowed to finish his speech and is rewarded with a briefcase and a scholarship to college. In this scene, the narrator and his peers are essentially invisible as individuals to the white gathering, who in turn allow their aversion and pre judices to erase their own identity. Both groups then become faceless and unidentifiable other than by the emblazon of their skin. Yet is the white gathering who are evidently in control, for, not only do they lower the black men, they reward the blacks only for adhering to the expected social order what