The story opens with the narrator participating in a "battle royal" prior to delivering a speech on humility, and

on the progress of the Black people. These a

After finally realizing that he is invisible, and that people see nothing in him other than what they want to see, the narrator sets out to undermine the Brotherhood that has used him for so long. His efforts, or lack thereof, coupled with Ras's constant agitation of the people of Harlem result in a full-scale riot. Though this was his general intent from the beginning, the narrator later realizes that it was also what Jack and the other Brotherhood members wanted as well, and that in trying to undermine them, he has only served them further. The story draws to a close with the narrator trapped in a sewer, where he finally realized that his past, imagined life would have to be abandoned, and that he would have to start anew as an invisible man. Throughout the story, the protagonist was constantly searching for his true identity, and in the end he realizes that he has no true identity. He is invisible, or more appropriately, he is a mirror which reflects only what other people want to see. The story of how he comes to realize his invisibility deals with a theme of self-discovery, of how other people cannot tell you

The narrator finds Clifton, selling paper Samba dolls a few moments before Clifton is gunned down by a policeman for resisting arrest. Outraged by Clifton's murder, and unable to reach any of his superiors in the Brotherhood, the narrator decides to turn Clifton's death into a funeral march, and delivers a speech which stirs the people of Harlem up quite a bit. This move angers the Brotherhood council, who consider Clifton to be a traitor, but was crucial in terms of the narrator's self realization. While being reprimanded for his actions, the narrator tries repeatedly to make the council see how things have fallen apart in Harlem, and that his speech was necessary and appropriate. His appeals were ignored however, and he later sees that he was ignored because the Brotherhood council didn't care what he had to say, because to them, he was merely a tool, a device to be used to further their own ends. They, again, saw in him only what they wanted to see. His final revelation was to come as he was wandering the streets in a large hat and dark glasses which he had purchased to avoid any run-ins with Ras's men. Several people mistake the narrator for a man named Rinehart, who is a numbers dealer to some, a briber to others, and a preacher to still others. Yet Rinehart's real identity eludes him, as well as everyone else, and the narrator finally

realizes that Rinehart's true identity is invisible, and that it is his invisibility that lets him be so many things at once to so many people and yet nothing at all at the same time. He is also able to see for the first time the Brotherhood has been using him, and sacrificing him for their own ends, and that to them, and everyone else, he was as invi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dr Bledsoe, Outraged Clifton's, Wrestrum Brotherhood, Jack Brotherhood, York City, Booker Washington, Ralph Ellison, Tod Clifton, Jim Trueblood, Afraid Norton, true identity, people harlem, dr bledsoe, true identity invisible, identity invisible, life abandoned, battle royal, york city, brotherhood council, story narrator, entire life,
Approximate Word count = 1916
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)