Blindness and Identity Crisis Within Invisible Man

Ellison s chapter 1 of Invisible Man depicts a sad but all too common reality for Black men in 1952 America. The unnamed main character is dehumanized and humiliated simply because he is Black, yet praised for being a good Negro. He and his classmates are first beaten down and harassed then given money as compensation for a show in which they were forced to be participants. The saddest thing is not what these white men put them through, but that these black boys, the invisible man in particular, accept their humiliation and powerlessness. They accept their place in society, a place that was given to them and not chosen for themselves. Ellison gives us an explanation for their acceptance of these roles in the passage concerning the†¦show more content†¦This imaginary, yet all too real blindfold takes away the invisible one s own identity of himself. It takes away the dignity that can come only with self-acceptance. When speaking of being blind folded, he says, I have no dignity (1921). This white society of 1952 America, by blindfolding this black boy and thousands like him, has stolen their identity and dignity without them even realizing or acknowledging it. Instead of holding his head high simply because of who he his, the invisible one can only see his self worth because of who white America says he is. He fights his own classmates and even feels superior to them (1919) solely because he is better than them in the white men s eyes. Some critics may say that the white men are blind in that they are incapable of seeing the black boys for whom/what they areÂâ€"real human beings. I disagree. I think the white men see these black boys, the invisible one in particular, as humans who share the same goals and aspirations as they do. Otherwise, why present the invisible one with a briefcase and scholarship? They simply don t want to fully acknowledge that he is capable of accomplishing the very same things that they have accomplished; to do so would mean social equality and of course they did not want that. Ellison points out that they don t even want black males to think of themselves as men as they only refer to these eighteen year old as boys (whereas males from their ownShow MoreRelated`` Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison : A Black Man s Search For Identity2068 Words   |  9 Pageseyes, our general beliefs, what we like and don’t like, etcetera. In psychology, identity is the qualities, beliefs, personal ity, looks and/or expressions that make a person or group; identity can also be defined as one’s name. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a story about a black man’s search for identity in a racist, 1930s America. 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