Invisible Man

Trying to find one symbol in Ellison's Invisible Man is almost impossible, but I will limit myself to the snow in the eviction scene. The snow is mentioned several times, each describing it's degree of cleanliness. Snow is, of course, white, therefore it represents the white society. It is first described as "dirty snow" (271) when the old couple's things are scattered in it. Here it is contaminated; white society is stained by the intrusion of blacks. Later a drawer from the couple's house "spilled its contents into the snow" (272) because the white workers knocked into it. In a way, this represents white society forcing the blacks to assimilate, join the sophisticated white society and abandon their roots. It is next described as "trampled snow" (280) as the blacks attack the marshal. The angry people finally stand up for themselves and attack the marshal, or trample over the law. Finally, as the narrator tries to escape the scene when the police come, he most jump over the "snow caked walls" (285). These are white obstacles, hurdles, getting in the narrator's way as he tries to protect himself.

"In my mind's eye..." (Ellison 36)

Although the remainder of this sentence is incredibly significant (the description of the bronze statue, unveiling or more efficiently blinding the kneeling slave), I believe the first four words tell the reader a lot about the narrator. We were first exposed to I.M. in his passion-filled explanation as to why he is invisible, because of others' blindness. His exact words are "A matter of the construction of their inner eyes," (3) meaning those eyes with which society judges reality upon, whereas their physical eyes see everything without bias. The fact that I.M. would then begin a sentence this way is ironic, for it exposes the fact that he also has these "inner eyes" which are capable of judging and persecuting. Word choice is key in this instance, for I.M. specifies it is his mind's eye that is viewing something, not his unbiased physical eyes. This quote, however, works in favor of I.M. The view described following the four words is one that portrays both sides of an issue: whether or not the slave is being blinded or unveiled by the founder. Had I.M. possessed the same "peculiar disposition of the eyes," (3) as the majority of society does, he would have described the statue in one way, most probably that the slave was being blinded.

For some reason, one that I cannot seem to put my finger on, I did not enjoy Invisible Man very much. I most definitely appreciate Ellison's creativity and incredible use of symbolism, however the story itself was not one of my interest. Let's focus on the positive, though, for this is a masterpiece when it comes to the use of literary devices. Every single page could have been torn apart word for word and discussed for hours on end. My favorite scene that we analyzed was the eviction scene. Each household item listed had some significance, and there was a lot of stuff in that house! What captured my attention the most was the curling iron, straightening comb, and the switches of false hair, which show the African-American's loss of culture and heritage, as they attempt to conform and assimilate into the white society. It is impossible to overlook Ellison's genius in this novel.