“Invisble man” is the story of an unnamed black narrator and his journey to find identity and individuality in a world dominated by racism. After being kicked out of college, the narrator begins work at a paint plant called Liberty Paints. Ralph Ellison uses a series of objects and devices in the paint factory to symbolize the power and traddgic effects of institutionalized racism in America.
The company's signature paint is "Optic White." This white color is symbolic of whiteness in America. IM describes it as having a brilliant hue, and inquires what goes it such radiance. According to the overseer, the government demands a powerful, bright white color. This suggests that whites in America do not have something making them inherently superior, …show more content…
Appearing on a gigantic electric billboard is the Paint factory slogan, reading “Keep America pure with Liberty paints”. Because Liberty Paints is a company famous for its signature optic white paint, the slogan suggests that only whites and white superiority in the US can purify the country. In short, the very motto of the factory is preaching the gospel of white supremacy in America. But the slogan has even more dire undertones. The plant itself is located in New Jersey, the American Northeast. Many, Including the narrator himself, believed that racism is alive only in the south, but the plants presence there suggests otherwise. In fact, the slogan says keep America pure, suggesting liberty paint’s racism is keeping the whole nation pure, not just the south. In fact, IM’s overseer states that the plant makes "a lot of paint for the government." Because the plant makes paint for the government, IM indicates that that United states government is buying into the same racist ideologies of the American south, and by enforcing Jim crow laws and other forms of segregation, the government smothers the whole nation with a thick film of white supremacy, both North and South alike. This is the reason why the Liberty paints sign is described as being obscured by fog. People, like narrator, see the north as a land of liberty, but a “fog” of their hopes and expectations obscure all the flaws of the north, causing them to ignore the Northern racism almost entirely. This means that although white supremacy and racism may be more hidden in the north, its grip is just as
The company's signature paint is "Optic White." This white color is symbolic of whiteness in America. IM describes it as having a brilliant hue, and inquires what goes it such radiance. According to the overseer, the government demands a powerful, bright white color. This suggests that whites in America do not have something making them inherently superior, …show more content…
Appearing on a gigantic electric billboard is the Paint factory slogan, reading “Keep America pure with Liberty paints”. Because Liberty Paints is a company famous for its signature optic white paint, the slogan suggests that only whites and white superiority in the US can purify the country. In short, the very motto of the factory is preaching the gospel of white supremacy in America. But the slogan has even more dire undertones. The plant itself is located in New Jersey, the American Northeast. Many, Including the narrator himself, believed that racism is alive only in the south, but the plants presence there suggests otherwise. In fact, the slogan says keep America pure, suggesting liberty paint’s racism is keeping the whole nation pure, not just the south. In fact, IM’s overseer states that the plant makes "a lot of paint for the government." Because the plant makes paint for the government, IM indicates that that United states government is buying into the same racist ideologies of the American south, and by enforcing Jim crow laws and other forms of segregation, the government smothers the whole nation with a thick film of white supremacy, both North and South alike. This is the reason why the Liberty paints sign is described as being obscured by fog. People, like narrator, see the north as a land of liberty, but a “fog” of their hopes and expectations obscure all the flaws of the north, causing them to ignore the Northern racism almost entirely. This means that although white supremacy and racism may be more hidden in the north, its grip is just as