American literature has been a primary source to connect readers of the present to characters of the past. As current themes of the present emerge, those of studious pursuit rely on the past works of authors for exquisite insight into the ambiguous meanings of present situations. As a child, one is taught that reading is a way to experience things of the past, things that no longer happen, teaching this to children is nothing less than ignorance to the social injustice of society. Important themes of past books are also important themes of current books and current society. Although this has been distinguished many times the question still lies as to if it is possible for history to repeat itself. When looking at past books of good merit it is possible to make the conjecture that history does indeed repeat itself. This thought is apparent as past book themes such as blindness/invisibility, identity, beauty, and race are still relative aspects of today’s society.
The book Invisible Man was written in 1952 it surrounded themes such as invisibility, blindness, and identity. Ellison exposed white society to purposely turning a blind eye to the black community. Ellison was a powerful
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Taking on a figurative approach in some ways white society still refuses to acknowledge the black community and the social injustices that the black community face. An example of that is the fact that “Black people are imprisoned up to six times the rate of white people” (Gailey 12). Mas incarceration is a huge problem in American society yet it is rarely addressed; it is a problem that is ignored so much that it is as if it doesn’t happen. This problem is pushed to the blind side of people’s conscious. Just as the narrator stated at the beginning of Invisible Man the reason this problem is invisible to certain people is simply because they refuse to acknowledge