Prior to reading Invisible Man, I found myself perplexed by its title and struggled with understanding the meaning of the “invisibility” in this context. Now, after finishing the novel, I am once again unsure about its true meaning, but in a different way. I wonder if the narrator experiences invisibility and blindness, or if the people he cannot see are simply invisible as well. I wonder if invisibility and blindness are mutually exclusive, or if they come hand in hand.
The narrator begins his novel with a complete acceptance of his role of invisibility. He explains how he has come to terms with his role in society, and as he tells his story, it is shown how this process happens. I am not sure if he is completely blind, but I do think that he is invisible. As a black man in his society, he is marginalized and this is beyond his control. Whether he chooses Dr. Bledsoe’s path of playing the game and following the role he’s given, or if he tries to make a mark with the Brotherhood, he has never been truly visible the way a white man is: something he comes to terms with.
However, one thing I think the narrator is more unaware of is his blindness. Yes, he is invisible, but so are others. There are other POC that he crosses paths with throughout the story, yet some of them remain invisible to him. An ironic yet interesting example is when the narrator literally does not see Tod Clifton selling dolls on the street, even though he is actively looking for him. Are characters like Tod Clifton so invisible that even the narrator, who is aware of this concept, cannot see them? Or is the narrator blind to a certain extent? And if he is, why?
These are such good points! I agree that the narrator seems to make invisibility all about himself, but if invisibility is about others' blindness to you/your identity/experiences, some other people in the novel would certainly seem to fit the bill, based on the narrator's interactions with them (like, as you pointed out, Clifton in the doll scene). I do think that the narrator hints to the possibility of others' invisibility in the last line of the novel, and in doing so possibly acknowledges his capacity for blindness towards the potential other invisible people...
ReplyDeleteI think your distinction between blindness and invisibility is really interesting. I also agree with your point that the narrator seems much more aware of his own invisibility than his own possible blindness. While reading Invisible Man, I tended to think of blindness more as a quality in white people (and I definitely think that blindness is much more apparent than white characters) but I think it can be argued that the narrator experiences blindness as well, as I don't think that he is the only invisible character.
ReplyDeleteGood point about his curious (and really inexplicable/surreal) "blindness" to his "best friend" Tod Clifton standing right in front of him, "performing" his "spiel" for a crowd, *While the narrator is actively looking for him*. It makes no sense that he would fail to see Clifton, unless we're thinking in metaphorical terms--it's as if the racist dolls create so much distortion in the air, they change Clifton's identity so fully that he can't be seen "as" the old Tod Clifton. He has *become* this fast-talking doll salesman on the street, and this new identity completely occludes the old one (at first). It reminds me of how the narrator is surprised that no one from his "old life" recognizes him in his role as a B'hood leader--he even speaks with the director of the Men's House who banned him for 99 years and a day, and the guy has no idea who he is.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog. I was also taken aback when the narrator looked past Clifton on the street, even though he is literally looking for him. I think this is a perfect example of how the narrator is affected by blindness, as instead of seeing Clifton, he sees just ‘someone’ selling the dolls.
ReplyDeleteThis is a rally interesting post, and it made me wonder whether you can be aware of your own blindness? Perhaps an awareness of the concept of invisibility and what it means is sort of a prerequisite for that, because you can't understand the concept of not being able to see someone without being able to understand that they're invisible. On the other hand, this also makes me wonder whether you could become aware of the concept of blindness first and then eventually come to understand invisibility. Maybe you could realize that you can't truly see someone's true identity, and subsequently realize that they are invisible. Either way, I agree that the narrator doesn't seem to be fully aware of his blindness yet, which I think is a great point!
ReplyDeleteI find this super interesting, because he never seems to mention his blindness in relation to toher people's invisibility. He always assumes he knows who people are and what they're capable of. Both before and after Bledsoe send the narrator away, he is sure of who Bledsoe really is, but clearly at least one of them has to be wrong. Even when Clifton is selling dolls, he doesn't consider what may have drove Clifton to do such a thing, he just gets angry. Clearly he's aware that other people are also invisible, but seems to be unaware of the part he plays in their invisibility.
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