Blindness in Invisible Man

A detailed Summary of Blindness in Invisible Man

Blinded by blindfolds, lights, fog, and nature. From beginning to end, blindness shines through as a prominent theme. Throughout Invisible Man, the black community refuses to see the way the white man treats them. Rather, they view the way whites treat them as a positive thing. The south's following of Booker T. Washington's way of advancing does not allow African Americans to see that by being a "yes" man they are continually fulfilling the stereotypes given to them. Even in the North, the narrator faces problems with not being able to see the prejudices put on him by the white man. For one man, it takes a lot of growth and experience to realize what is going on. Invisible Man teaches that not everything you see is real; much of it is covered in a gray mist that hinders you from understanding the realities of the world.

At the "Battle Royal," the black boys wear blindfolds, which are placed on them by white men. They wear them just for the fun of the white men watching. By doing this, they become powerless and they are demoralized. The "Battle Royal" deals with the black man's inability to see how the white men treat them. The white men tease the boys with a white female dancer, they blindfold them to fight each oth

The statue of the Founder shows the blindness of not only the black slave, but also the Founder. The narrator says, "...unable to decide whether the veil is really being lifted, or lowered more firmly in place; whether I am witnessing a revelation or more efficient blinding" (36). If it is a more efficient blinding, the school is aiding in keeping the truth out. It is teaching the black man to be a yes man for the whites, to follow Washington's theory. The "empty eyes" of the Founder portray his incapacity to realize that his ideology blinds people from the prejudices put upon them by the white society (36). "His programme of industrial education, conciliation of the South, and submission and silence as to civil and political rights" make the black man do what the whites want (Du Bois 43*). They remain silent about civil and political rights so that they can get help from white people to advance and after that has occurred, they will then worry about their own rights. "It silenced if it did not convert the Negroes themselves" (Du Bois 43). Even if a black man does not believe in what the founder taught, he remains silent because this is seen as the best thing for them. They allow the whites to keep power because they, themselves, are blinded to what the Founder's ideas really do.

Distorted vision and the inability to see everything around them is a dominating theme in Invisible Man.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Battle Royal, Reverend Barbee, Du Bois, Booker Washington's, African Americans, Throughout Invisible, , battle royal, civil political rights, allow narrator, founder sound, tragic heroes, prejudices white, yes whites, civil political, invisible teaches, du bois, political rights,

Approximate Word count = 946
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels