The Narrator's Identity In Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man written by Ralph Ellison communicates the hardships that African Americans faced in a predominantly White society, while focusing specifically on one man who remains unnamed throughout the novel. The narrator’s identity is heavily influenced by other people’s perceptions of him. Only by being evicted from the comfortable life of a “home” can the narrator begin to understand himself. The narrator shapes his identity in order to please the white people, which causes him to lose sight of himself and minimize his capability to be his own person. When the narrator is exiled from the Negro College, he starts to become aware of his invisibility. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator identifies himself solely with education and …show more content…
Norton that far from being like any of the people we had seen, I hated them, that I believed in the principles of the Founder with all my heart and soul, and that I believed in his own goodness and kindness in extending the hand of his benevolence to helping us poor, ignorant people out of the mire and darkness” (page 99). The narrator is very naive in college, and possesses the belief that a certain level of education will separate him from the negative black stereotype, he believes this so wholeheartedly that he develops a sense of internal racism. When the narrator finds out that he can never return to college, he feels as if his identity has been stripped from him, and for the first time gets a glimpse at the racist ideology of society. “Everyone seemed to have some plan for me, and beneath that some more secret plan. What was young Emerson’s plan-and why should it have included me? Who was I anyway” (page 194)? The narrator becomes so comfortable in college life that he is blinded to the realities of civilization. The exile from the secluded and comfortable life of college, forces him to get out into the real world, and to transform his identity based on this newfound sight. This consciousness originates when the narrator …show more content…
What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what myself had wished to do” (page 266)? The yams symbolize his self-made identity that he has tucked away because of the belief that he isn’t good enough. Once he comes to see that he will never be good enough for the whites, he is able to taste how sweet his individuality is, and begin to understand and accept who he is. As the narrator looks back on his college experience he pronounces that, “they were all such a part of that other life that’s dead that I can’t remember them all. (Time was as I was, but neither that time nor that “I” are anymore)” (page 37). When the