“I was naive. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I could answer” (Ellison, 15). All throughout our lives we are in a constant battle with ourselves; We are consistently trying to determine our place in this world. We struggle to discover our true identity in an overwhelming society that is telling us who and how to be. In the novel, Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, the narrator’s naiveness plays a significant role in his journey of finding himself; It is through the recognition of his ignorance and realization of reality that he is able to develop a greater perspective and grow as an individual. Ellison intentionally has the reader see the things that the narrator overlooks in order to assure
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Time and time again the narrator’s inexperience and innocence allows others to take advantage of him and determine his worth. The narrator is a young black man from the south who lives a life consumed by racial prejudice in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, where he struggles from being the inferior race. The novel begins with the narrator being invited to give a speech to the leading white men of his down due to his talent in public speaking. Before having the opportunity to present his speech, the white men force him to participate in the degrading “Battle Royal”. In the Battle Royal, he is blindfolded and demanded to fight other young black men as entertainment for the white audience. It is not until he is utterly humiliated that he is then allowed to give his speech. The men had not displayed any respect nor interest in the words spoken by the narrator, “I spoke even louder in spite of the pain. But still they talked and still they laughed, as though deaf with cotton in dirty ears”(Ellison, 30). The narrator witnessed the white men ignoring his speech and laughing at him, but he still thought very highly of them. After he finishes his speech, the white men hand him a briefcase that grants him a scholarship to
Time and time again the narrator’s inexperience and innocence allows others to take advantage of him and determine his worth. The narrator is a young black man from the south who lives a life consumed by racial prejudice in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, where he struggles from being the inferior race. The novel begins with the narrator being invited to give a speech to the leading white men of his down due to his talent in public speaking. Before having the opportunity to present his speech, the white men force him to participate in the degrading “Battle Royal”. In the Battle Royal, he is blindfolded and demanded to fight other young black men as entertainment for the white audience. It is not until he is utterly humiliated that he is then allowed to give his speech. The men had not displayed any respect nor interest in the words spoken by the narrator, “I spoke even louder in spite of the pain. But still they talked and still they laughed, as though deaf with cotton in dirty ears”(Ellison, 30). The narrator witnessed the white men ignoring his speech and laughing at him, but he still thought very highly of them. After he finishes his speech, the white men hand him a briefcase that grants him a scholarship to