In the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison there are many ideas of invisibility that are explored through the idea of one making one’s self invisible by accepting certain standards and constructs that are set in place, allowing others to dictate how we conduct our behaviour, and becoming invisible because other people refuse to see through their own ignorance and look beyond what they are being told. Exploring these different interpretations of invisibility, will start to unravel the way in which “Invisible”, the protagonist of the story, views his world and how he has been made to see it. Invisible has spent his entire life believing that if he “kept unswervingly to the path placed before [him]” (p. 114 L.28) that he would reach some sort …show more content…
Invisibility has affected each one in a unique way that has formed who they are. Invisibles invisibility is due to his ignorance and inability to look past the surface of people and situations. He only seems to take the face value and this leads to him just becoming another black face in the crowed of black faces. He is blinded by the idea of goodness and the right behaviour leading to some great reward and acceptance from others, when in fact what he truly needs is acceptance of himself and discovery of an identity that he can be confident in. Bledsoe’s invisibility has lead him to become manipulative and power hungry. He has reached a point that he will not give up for anything and he has achieved this by playing the part of a humble black man, always trying to please the white master. This removes his identity and autonomy because he is constantly dependant on the help and approval of the white man to give his the power and position he so desperately craves and clings to. Both these characters are lost within their individual invisibility. One, however, eventually, tries to escape from it and finds an identity of his own, while the other is so set and comfortable in it, that he could not change, and will not