The Oppression Of Humanity In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, is a piece of nonfiction that tackles the rich themes of racism, power, discrimination, and fear. The book follows a narrator that is seemingly always looking for acceptance in every community. However, this text reflects the ideology and reality that all blacks still face in the modern day. That reality is fear of not being accepted and never finding out where they truly belong; hence the title of “Invisible Man”. In Ralph Ellison's, Invisible Man, the narrator experiences invisibility through his humanity, emotional state, and academics. Throughout Invisible Man, the narrator is constantly battling with the distortion of his humanity by other characters. He writes, “Do not go too fast… You are from the South

While the author is constantly trying to express his knowledge through his multiple speeches, forces such as the Brotherhood destroy his goal of success. Ellison writes, “‘To point out the dangerous nature of his speech isn't destructive criticism, it is from from it. Like the rest of us, the new brother must learn to speak scientifically. He must be trained’, said the brother with the pipe.”(Ellison, 351). This reveals the whitewashing that the narrator faced. This is the idea that individuals must learn everything exactly the way that the superior races wants them to. Any other information is considered obsolete. However, whitewashing is prevalent in the real world and is part of the reason that groups like the black panthers fought for education in their 10 point plan. In their 10 Point Plan, The Black Panther Party writes, “We Want Education For Our People That Exposes The True Nature Of This Decadent American Society. We Want Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role In The Present-Day Society”. This reflects the idea that blacks were being taught false information that diminishes the black image and reputation. It is an unfair and disheartening truth, however this is a leading problem in America’s school system. Inappropriate teaching of black history is a source of black self hate and a thirst for assimilation. Education can simply be the

In his piece, “The American Dream”, Jim cullen writes, “. The Puritans dreamt of freedom; so did African Americans. Both understood freedom to represent a loosening from coercive restraints, but the nature of the restraints was very different”. This exposes the idea that there are certain obstacles that everyone must face to experience freedom. For the narrator it was the same as any other black individual. They both struggle with oppression that stifles them from finding themselves. Black men and women will continue to experience increased dissatisfaction with themselves until they gain consciousness. While others might argue that this not real it is clear that this has caused an emotion of black self hatred that still exist today. Unless blacks adopt a nonconformist attitude, they will be confronted with a great amount of unappreciation from themselves and others. They will be