My Invisibility Cloak

As I begin Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, I am astonished by the detail that the Narrator uses to explain his situation. He begins the book explaining to us not only that he is an invisible man but characterizes what that means for him. I feel that the narrator's description provokes a lot of imagery for the reader.

“In my hole in the basement there are exactly 1,369 lights. I’ve wired the entire ceiling, every inch of it.” and  “My hole is warm and full of light. Yes, full of light. I doubt if there is a brighter spot in all New York than this hole of mine, and I do not exclude Broadway. Or the Empire State Building on a photographer’s dream night”.

The Narrator relates his home to these bright, exciting, and even dreamlike settings. Meanwhile the irony being that in such brightness he is really the opposite of invisible. For me these images help contribute to the fact that the narrator himself is so clearly not invisible, not literally nor in the way he expresses himself. By extension this presents the idea that the speaker himself is not actually invisible but it truly is the eyes or others that make him so.

Based off of my experience reading the prologue of Invisible Man, I feel I can connect to the narrator in my personal experiences in various ways. Most relatable I would say is in my age. Many adolescents I think can relate to the fact that we feel kind of invisible. Because we are still children, we are automatically inexperienced, immature and innocent. On the other hand we are also nearing adulthood, which means that we are simultaneously expected to take on responsibility, and independence. The childish part of us is easy for adults to ignore, we are just children that are to be played with or entertained. But because we are also transitioning to adulthood we as teenagers feel that we should be treated as adults. This is a very simplified reason for why so often teenagers rebel, they desperately yearn to be seen and acknowledged as an individual.  Therefore when I think about my identity as a teen, until I start conversation with an adult I feel they have a hard time seeing me as more than a kid.

In terms of invisibility, I can also relate to the author in the context of my gender. As a woman I feel often feel like I am supposed to be invisible. In discussion I often feel I have to go a long way to be heard. Even in conversation I feel like I am often interrupted or ignored when I speak my mind. When I do speak up and shout loud enough for the “sleep walkers” to hear me they awake very angrily from their daze as the narrator describes. They are disgusted by my matter of fact tone and make me feel bad for speaking my mind. These effects have made me feel as if no matter what I do, I’ll be seen as a woman therefore meaning that I must be docile, quiet, small and most importantly invisible to stay in my place.

The final example of invisibility I can relate to the narrator with, and possibly the most prominent in my life is my identity as a black person. I think Ellison definitely focuses on this aspect of invisibility in the prologue. Though the narrator never right out says that race is the reason he is seen as invisible, it is alluded to.

“What did I do to be so black and blue”

The narrator seems to suggest he is nothing more than a bunch of predetermined actions based on his race, a stereotype and that makes him feel blue. As a black person I often feel that I am expected to fulfill all of these stereotypes. If I don’t, I’m acting white. If I do, I’m being black and almost worse because it is synonymous to being ghetto, ignorant, crazy, and what seems like an endless amount of set ideas about who I must be. Figuring out which direction I should go is a constant internal struggle. I feel like the choice between betraying myself and assimilating or being tortured in my own identity isn’t really a choice at all. The similarities I feel that I have with the narrator in terms of experience shows me just how invisible black people have been and continue to be in this country. No matter what I do, I cannot stop the prejudice of my children, or my people. No matter how I act, I cannot make you see me as a human instead of a social construct.

In combination, I have to deal with all three of these aspects of invisibility in my life. As a young black woman, I often feel invisible. But as for my future, I do not know what to do about that. Of course I will not always be young, so this suspended state of adolescence will pass. But as for my identity as a black female, that will most likely never change. Does this mean I should take the same road as the narrator? Live my life accepting the fact that invisibility is inevitable for me? Based on what I’ve read in the prologue the narrator seems confident that there is no “overcoming” his reality. As for me, I will continue to live my life as I have. But I will try to make note of those times when I do feel invisible (not to pretend they do exist as I am so accustomed) and continue to read Invisible Man for what may lead to a possible solution even if only temporary, to being invisible.