The Perception Of Oneself In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man reflects many profound philosophies that were centered on the society issues of that time era and that remain relevant to this day. One is the examination of how others perceive us and how we view ourselves. How we see ourselves is more important than how others see us since we may have higher expectations for ourselves. We may also have higher moral standards, and others may see us in terms of their self-interest, not what is best for us. Our own perceptions of ourselves are more significant because we may acquire greater expectations for ourselves than others tend to have for us. When Invisible Man gave his instantly thought-of speech during the eviction of the two elders, he attracted the audience’s attention. This greatly impacted Brother Jack and encouraged him to praise Invisible Man. Invisible Man knew he had to improve on his speech-making skills. However, Brother Jack thought he was brilliant already and thought he had obviously practiced before. Invisible Man understood that his own anticipation of improving was far better than the opinions of Brother Jack. People must follow their own criticism, regardless of what others think.

There are times when our integrity is greater than others. After the incident with Mr. Norton, Dr. Bledsoe was infuriated at Invisible Man. Invisible Man tried to explain that it necessarily wasn’t his intention to show Mr. Norton the awful neighborhoods; he did so, since Mr. Norton suggested he preferred to. Dr. Bledsoe would not tolerate it and told him that he should’ve lied to Mr. Norton instead. Invisible Man was shocked, but he knew the correct choice was to be honest. Invisible Man responded to Dr. Bledsoe saying “‘Lie sir? Lie to him, lie to a trustee, sir? Me?’” (Ellison, 139). Invisible Man wisely recognized the right path to