My Invisible Post

In discussing the Invisible Man and the feeling of invisibility of the narrator I have selected this passage:

"I felt that even when they (white people) were polite they hardly saw me, that they would have begged the pardon of Jack the Bear, never glancing his way if the bear happened to be walking along minding his business. It was confusing. I did not know if it was desirable or undesirable," (Ralph Ellison 168).

In this passage, Ellison defines what invisibility means in the context of the novel. The invisible man is invisible for two reasons: one being that the white people in society tend to think less of blacks at this time and disregard his presence as being in the way, for he causes them to run into him, and two being that the narrator is invisible because he is not doing anything important to draw attention or recognition to himself, by the blacks and whites alike at this point in the novel. The narrator is torn between wondering if this is a good or bad thing, and this is the beginning of his struggle with himself in figuring out what he wants. The passage comes from when the narrator is faced with unresponsiveness in finding a job from all of the trustees, but he still places hope in Mr. Emerson.

Therefore, I believe that the narrator's invisibility is equally due to his race and to his experiences, so I guess the latter can constitute the "generally applicable" section of the question. But, this is where I fall into confusion because I argue that the narrator's experiences are so distinct to himself because of his race. The narrator would not have been kicked out of college for showing a white man the immoral and impoverished situation of True Blood unless he was black because True Blood's existence conveys the true state of many Southern blacks at the time, but this was supposed to stay unknown to the white, rich trustees-- to Mr. Norton.

So maybe I have changed my mind, maybe the narrator's invisibility is solely due to his race. He cannot have his initial purpose in life fulfilled because of the constraints placed on blacks to act a certain way, which forces him into a position of invisibility in society because he does not feel as though (at least at this point in the book) that he knows what to do with his life.

Anyways, another part of the prompt was about if anyone else can be invisible as well, or must they be of a group that is subordinate. I think that, yes, invisibility will always stem from someone feeling subordinate or even inferior to others. I have even felt invisible before. I have felt invisible this week... but I don't really want to make this an entry in a personal diary so I will not disclose anything further. The point I am trying to make though is that invisibility can occur when someone feels unaccepted for who one is, and one is repressed by those that are in control, leaving one to feel inferior and confused about one's purpose and position in society. And this is exactly why the invisible man feels invisible: because he has basically been brainwashed to act a certain way in college, and he still believes in the goodness of whites, but upon coming North and realizing that he cannot find a job, he feels overlooked and useless in society-- he feels invisible.

Ellision, Ralph. The Invisible Man. New York: 1947.