Invisible Man
The Invisible Man's head is constantly within the jaws of the lion's mouth. In Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man, a story of racial differences and confused individual identity, the main character, known as Invisible Man is living a scripted existence. The Invisible Man is, in many ways, an actor or entertainer in the game of life. Like a circus performer with his head in a lion's mouth, Invisible Man is acting for the crowd, trying to please them the best that he can even if the situation could possibly be personally harmful or degrading. His actions are treated as if they occur outside of reality, like something in a movie or television program. At the drop of a hat, Invisible Man can change character and believe something completely opposite from what he thought several hours before. Then, weeks, days, or even minutes later he may return to the ideas that he originally followed. Similar to a fictional performer, he has no true self-identity. Throughout his school!ing and his adventures to survive in the North, Invisible Man constantly finds himself on the "stage". On the stage or in the game of life, Invisible Man feels that he is gaining power or social status but he usually ends
the cloud of blue-gray smoke. For a moment the world wavered, unraveled, flowed...(25). up worse off and more confused than he was before. Is the Invisible Man playing the game, or is the game playing him? was taking effect"(18). The cigar smoke represents the haze of a dream or the fuzziness of an old film. Similarly, the affects of alcohol distort reality and change one's perception of events. Once Invisible Man engages in the battle the blows his body receives are compared to movie scenes and dreams: Throughout Invisible Man's speech he is a puppet of crowd. By the time he gives his speech, the white crowd is riled up from the fight and the carpet incident, along with the strong effects of alcohol. Invisible Man has taken a beating, both physically and mentally, but he is enthusiastic about giving his speech. Even though Invisible Man does not necessarily believe the content of the speech, he gives I with zeal: "I spoke automatically and with such fervor that I did not even realize that the men were still talking and laughing until my dry mouth, filling up with blood from the cut, almost strangled me"(30). He unconsciously spits out the words rather than speaking from the heart. Instead of saying what he truly feels, Invisible Man tells the white men what they want to hear. And even with this, the white men do not take him seriously because he is a black boy. The crowd continues to pull the "puppet's" strings by having Invisible Man repeat every sophisticated word ! several times and laughing at him each time as if he was a comedian. After the crowd orders Invisible Man to repeat the words "social responsibility" several times he blurts out "social equality" instead. The comment causes Invisible Man to plunge outside of reality once again: "The laughter hung smokelike in the sudden stillness. I opened my eyes, puzzled. They shouted hostile phrases at me. But I did not understand"(31). With the uneasiness, the dreamy smoke reference returns. Invisible man opens his eyes like a person waking up from a dream and attempts to cover up his statement. He no longer has the same confidence in his speech now as he did before the battle when he compares himself to Booker T. Washington. in away: "Ignoring the shock by laughing,...I discovered that I could contain the ele
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Approximate Word count = 1581
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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