Stereotypes In Invisible Man

In Tim O’Brien’s “Speaking of Courage,” Norman Bowker, a Vietnam veteran, encounters a town that perceives war differently than he does. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the narrator faces a counterman at a diner that sees the narrator differently than the narrator does. When these two texts stand next to each other, it is reminiscent of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, when Willy Loman and his family perceive Willy differently. The same idea is present in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “Yellow Wallpaper,” when the woman and her husband John view her malady differently. Although everyone knows people perceive things differently, these varying perceptions cause communication to fail. Norman, the narrator, Willy, and the woman are all unable

This comfort also appears in Invisible Man, when the narrator attacks a blonde man, the blonde man feels comfortable. The town and the blonde man feel comfortable because the narrator and pirates confirm their preconceived notions of the world. However, people can also feel comfortable when stereotypes are broken. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway labels three successful black people as exceptions to confirm his idea that anything can happen in New York and keep his stereotypical beliefs about the world. In Invisible Man, rich white men label the narrator as an exception to maintain their notions about black people. As we can see from these examples, when one follows stereotypes, people feel comfortable because it affirms what they believe; however, when one breaks stereotypes, people still feel comfortable because they label this instance as an exception. Moreover, when people perceive things differently, communication fails; therefore, people feel invisible because no one will empathize with them. Furthermore, stereotypes make people feel comfortable when they are followed, and if they are broken; people still feel comfortable because they label the anomaly as an

For example, in Scarlet Letter and Invisible Man, when the captain and narrator follow stereotypes associated with them, the other characters are pleased because it affirms their preconceived beliefs. In Scarlet Letter, the puritan, grey clad town believes that the captain will break all of their rules and dress daringly. For example, the “gallant” captain dons “ a profusion of ribbons… gold lace on his hat… a gold chain” and “a feather” (209). This is remarkably similar to Invisible Man, when the blonde man assumes that the narrator will attack him. The man “called [the narrator] an insulting name,” so the narrator “[springs] at him” and “kick[s] him” until the man is “profusely bleeding” (4). The captain’s garb comforts the townspeople because he labels himself as an outsider and confirms their assumptions; similarly, the narrator’s aggressive actions comfort the blonde man because the man already believes that the narrator is aggressive. Just as “the Puritan elders… [smile] unbenignantly at the clamor and rude deportment” of the pirates because they follow their stereotypes, the blonde man feels comfortable when the narrator attacks him because his view of the world is confirmed, even though all the narrator wants him to do is “apologize” (209,4). Thus,