Stereotypes In Invisible Man

I have felt invisible. Since I was born, I was raised Jewish. I do not keep that fact of my life private and I am extremely proud of who I am. However, some people find it enjoyable to make a joke that targets me for my religion without actually considering who I am. Others stereotype me as a wealthy, big nosed (even though they can see my nose), self-righteous snob. This is comparable to the idea of invisibility from Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me” (Ellison 3). This is exactly how I feel when I am the target of one of these jokes or stereotypes. Despite my involvement in academics, athletics, extracurriculars, and volunteering, it is humorous to only define me with the fact that I am Jewish. Like the narrator in the novel, stereotypes prevent me from being seen for who I am. My education has always been a major priority to me. Without my parents even having to implement strict rules that would force me to put school first, I was always focused on my work. One of the most significant memories that I have is from middle school when we first started going in depth into the Holocaust. A couple of kids in my class thought it was funny to look up Jewish jokes on their phones. One of the kids, who I was quite close …show more content…
Although hate jokes will never appeal to me, I can understand the group of people who do laugh at the ignorance of a joke that targets a group of people for what they believe in. It’s almost thrilling to push the boundaries of political correctness, and people find this amusing. I have had to remind myself that I am not defined by a joke made by people who fail to see who I really am. If they want to ignore my athleticism, scholarship, service, and leadership, I won’t stop them. The joke is on them. They are the ones who are really missing out. I will never feel invisible with my friends and family who know exactly who I