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Power of Self

Throughout the novel, the narrator constantly struggled with his sense of self. Ashamed of his heritage and unsure of who he was, Invisible Man always let other people tell him who he should be. It never works out however, and Invisible man always leaves these interactions feeling used and useless. It’s after Invisible Man decides to embrace his heritage and joins the Brotherhood that things start changing. Invisible Man takes to activism like a fish to water, and he gains popularity and support quickly. By speaking from his heart and no one else’s, Invisible Man now has his own power. Brother Jack, fearing Invisible Man’s power, sends him away to another district. When Invisible Man comes back he finds Harlem a mess and the people divided. Invisible Man tries to exert his power again through speeches and marches, but the Brotherhood puts a stop to it and Harlem continues in disarray. Invisible Man tries to follow the Brotherhood’s rules while secretly conducting his own schemes, but as with anytime he tries to be something someone else wants him to be, things go awry and Invisible Man finds himself in a manhole under a riot. In the Epilogue, the power of self gets taken to a new level. Invisible takes time to look within himself without interference from outside forces, and through his introspection he finds that people have never hated him more than when he was honest. He also uncovers the meaning of his grandfather’s dying words and how he might use them to improve the world. Invisible Man decides that as long as he is visible to himself and as long as he can speak the truth, he can be content. Invisible Man is, essentially, a novel about existentialism. When Invisible Man finally accepts himself for who he is, his internal sufferings are lessened and he feels ready to tackle the world and all its troubles again. The Power of knowing yourself and deciding personal meaning is freedom from other people’s ideas of who or what you should be.

Here is an entertaining introduction to Existentialism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaDvRdLMkHs

-Elise He

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Power (final)

Throughout the last chapters of the Invisible Man the narrator finally begins to rebel against members of the Brotherhood and stand up to the white man after realizing that is nothing but a tool to the organization. The narrator decides to break free from this oppressive power dynamic in a stealthy manner, never making it apparent that he is attempting to rebel. He remembers his grandfather’s quote and decides to “Yes, agree and grin the Brotherhood to death”. He attempts to inflate the Harlem chapter membership by passing out more membership cards and even thinks about finding out more about the Brotherhood by seducing Emma, Jack’s significant other. The narrator uses his wits to quietly outsmart the Brotherhood and gain power, a stark contrast to his pandering personality towards the beginning of the novel. On the other hand, Tod Clifton, another black member of the brotherhood tries to dismantle the oppressive power dynamic by using more dramatic methods and ends up losing his life. The narrator spots Tod illegally selling Sambo dolls on the street and eventually witnesses Tod getting shot by a white police officer after striking out at him. Tod’s seemingly hypocritical actions highlight the complexity of racial power dynamics and his character almost serves as a foil to the one of the narrator’s. Both attempt break free from the oppressive power dynamics that hold them back, but they do so in opposite ways and end up having very different fates.

http://omeka.wustl.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/spectacularblackness/item/11293

This article/blog provides more insight and background into the Sambo dolls that Tod Clifton was selling.

- Juni Park

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The Use of Power (#3 Final Post)

In the book Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the theme of power in the form of words is ubiquitous. In the final chapters, the power of words through persuasion is present. When the narrator realizes that he was manipulated by the brotherhood, mostly brother Jack, to help the white man’s ideals, he understands that the work which he was doing that he had thought would help the black community had been slowly altered by brotherhood members to change how the narrator spoke and the contents of his speeches.  The subtle persuasion tactics that the brotherhood had used resulted in the narrator’s change, which changed the way how others that the narrator spoke to to also change. The cascade of persuasion setting off chain explosions in ideas and actions within the community led to events that neither the people nor the narrator truly believed in. This shows the power of groupthink as well, as people tend to feel the disassociation of morals when enforced in a group. Such tactics were used by KKK leaders, Hitler, the people burning innocents at witch trials, and more. Even the lingering effects of racism are attributed to groupthink, as ideas are amplified in a beacon effect when people believe that a part of their identity is a trait common in a group. This article https://sites.psu.edu/psy533wheeler/2019/04/17/unit-05-groupthink-in-nazi-germany/ covers how groupthink attributed to the systemic discrimination towards Jews, and draws striking resemblances to American racism towards blacks. -Rick Shi (2/11)

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Brother Jack and Power

The narrator first meets Brother Jack after escaping the scene of a riot caused by one of the narrator’s speeches. Well-versed in the terminology and doctrine, Brother Jack invites him to be a speaker at the Brotherhood, an organization dedicated to the equality of the races. Despite his first speech with the Brotherhood making many Brotherhood committee members unhappy, the narrator becomes well-known within the organization.

One day, the narrator receives an unmarked letter warning him to “not go too fast” or he may be “cut down”, which the narrator takes as a sign that someone is dissatisfied with his newfound power. It seems to be true, as the committee transfers him to a different location. The narrator is forced to leave Harlem, but when he returns, it seems like everything has changed. The Brotherhood’s influence has diminished, and sentiment has turned against it. When he finally is able to confront the committee, it is revealed that Brother Jack, despite his words, was only using his power within the organization for his own use. He says, “Our job is not to ask [the people] what they think but to tell them!” Later on in the story, it is revealed that Brother Jack was the one who wrote the letter, as he saw the narrator as a threat to his own power.

During his confrontation, Brother Jack shocks the narrator by displaying his glass eye. His single remaining eye is a metaphor for his half-blindness, as he can only see things from his own power-hungry perspective. While Jack is proud of his sacrifice, having lost his eye in the line of duty, it really represents how he sacrificed his humanity in the pursuit of power.

Relevant to this topic, this article from Harvard Business Review discusses the power structures present in large organizations.

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Power- Anu Lal

The display of a white savior complex shows up again towards the end of Invisible Man with the Brotherhood criticizing IMs actions when they do not fit the narrative of the Brotherhood. In my first blog post, I wrote about the white savior complex Mr. Norton embodied, with him believing that he was a God of sorts that has created a better life for the black people beneath him. Here, the committee of the Brotherhood does something similar. The committee, which mainly consists of white members, tells IM that they aren’t in Harlem to learn about what the people of Harlem think, but rather to tell them what to think. They want to be disassociated with Clifton because he sold racist toys to make a living, without attempting to understand why he did. The committee of the Brotherhood claims to not see color, but that’s exactly where the issue arises. By ignoring the color of their members, they also ignore what they’ve been through because of their color. IM stated earlier that it’s likely that none of the members of the Brotherhood ever even knew what Brother Tarp went through when he was in the south. The Brotherhood wants to puppeteer their black members, quite like the Sambo dolls Clifton sold, to establish the narrative they have created, believing that the black people are too stupid to think for themselves, and trying to implement their own beliefs into the community. Here, we see “The White Man's Burden”, where it is believed that white people must teach other less informed races the correct way. The committee establishes themselves as a god, IM going as far as saying that the people of Harlem should look at Brother Jack as a White Father. 

When IM's actions at Clifton’s funeral go against those of what the committee believes, they send him to learn from Brother Hambro, a white member, about what the black community needs. 

When meeting with Hambro IM learns that the committee realizes that their influence in Harlem has greatly diminished. They can no longer manipulate Harlem's population to meet their needs, so they have decided to leave Harlem altogether and move their efforts elsewhere.

The white people speaking more than listening about back issues are still quite prominent today. During the BLM movement, many people from the black community argued that while many white people wanted to help, their voices were often louder than those of the black community. They preached without completely understanding what the black community goes through in a form of performative activism. In this article, Courtney Ariel writes how people who want to be black allies can help: https://sojo.net/articles/our-white-friends-desiring-be-allies

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Power of Money

“And here and there I saw Negroes who hurried along with leather pouches strapped to their wrists.”

Throughout Invisible Man, power is always shown to be in the hands of white people, but power does not exist on its own. The power that whites hold over blacks is a systematic structure designed to keep black people from rising above their station, and the driving force behind that system is money. People need money to live, and since white people have all the money, they get to dictate who succeeds in society.

After Invisible Man's expulsion from college, he must rely on the letters Dr. Bledsoe gave him to find a reliable job that can support him for a few months until he can go back. Except the letters, addressed to some of the richest and most important men in the country, all requested the addressed men NOT to give Invisible Man a job and informs them that he would never be going back to the college. Invisible Man is now lost and stranded in New York with no job to support him and no college to go back to. The helplessness of the situation leaves him utterly hopeless and he even closes the door on someone trying to help him in his stupor.

Luckily, Invisible Man manages to find a job at Liberty Paints where he meets another black man who is a slave to money and desperately reliant on his white employers for a livelihood. Despite the seniority and experience he possesses in his job, he still feels threatened by Invisible Man and antagonizes him relentlessly. Brockway’s actions shows that there is no job security for him. For the people who give him his paycheck, Brockway is completely loyal and subservient.

Money puts white people in charge of society, and racism makes them close the doors to any black man who tries to rise above his station. This long history of employment discrimination creates a wealth inequality between whites and blacks and furthers racial stereotypes about a black person’s education and class. In reality, they suffer from a system of abuse by those with money. More can be found on the issue of systematic inequality here: 

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/

-Elise He

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The Use of Power (#2)

The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison shows the wide range where humans can be corrupted or harm others with their power. In chapter 13, the power of words to fight injustice is represented. The narrator finds a crowd witnessing an eviction, which shows the landlord’s power over the leaser to alter the course of their life. It is this use of power over someone in a seemingly helpless situation which sparks emotion in the narrator to give an impromptu speech to the crowd, which inspires the crowd to help defend those being evicted. This scene gives a problem of people using power to degrade the quality of other’s lives and a solution where people can use words to inspire others to help fight injustice. This theme is further enforced by the story, where the narrator decides to be his true self after tasting a yam which reminded of his past. It is because that the narrator was free to his own volition that he was able to help those that were being evicted. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/us/the-lasting-power-of-dr-kings-dream-speech.html#:~:text=King's%20%E2%80%9CDream%E2%80%9D%20speech%20would%20play,of%20the%20Voting%20Rights%20Act.

This article explores the lasting impact of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, primarily his “I Have a Dream” speech. This resonates with how the narrator of The Invisible Man was able to combat injustice with his words.  -Rick Shi        (2/1)

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Brockway and Power

In the narrator’s quest for a job, he finds himself mixing paint at the Liberty Paint factory. After a mishap with doping the Optic White paint with ten drops of paint remover instead of ten drops of black paint, he is sent to be the assistant of Lucius Brockway instead. Brockway is a black man that works in the basement of Building No. 2, singlehandedly managing all of the equipment and machinery that runs the factory, despite multiple attempts to replace him with a white worker. 

Brockway is unique here in that, although he has the sole power to maintain the factory and produce its paint, he remains willingly subservient to the white owner. Vehemently opposed to the union, he believes it is immoral for black workers to act against the white people who gave them the job. He uses this power only to stay in his position, even going as far as attempting to kill the narrator for accidentally meeting with the union.

The actions of Brockway here showcases not the power he himself holds in the factory, but the power of the white over black in the racial hierarchy in the North at this point in history. Brockway is old, having grown up in an age where resistance to white control was beyond unthinkable. He is valuable to the owner, even being personally visited by the “Old Man” to bring him out of retirement and continue working, but his upbringing prevents him from recognizing how he is being manipulated.

A historical precedent for this can be read in the first chapter “The Demand for Black Labor” in the book Workers' Struggles, Past and Present available here that details the history of black workers in America. In this, the racial oppression can clearly be seen; while black workers were seen as equal to whites in production capacity despite the common stereotypes, white people were quick to push them out of their jobs.

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Power- Anu Lal

In chapter 10, IM gets a job at Liberty Paints, as suggested by the son of Mr. Emmerson. Ellison here debunks the belief that the North was a land without a racial hierarchy.  Despite Liberty Paints’ inclusive name, when IM goes to work for Kimbro, he seems to only care about IM’s labor, more than him as a person. When IM mixes the paint, he adds black droplets to it to make it more effective. Then, when he is sent to work in the basement, Brockway boasts about how the paint is so white that if painted over coal, it would have to be broken to be identified. This serves as a metaphor for the industry in America-- white products cannot be made without black labor, yet the whiteness in the industry will always overshadow the hard work of the black workers.

This racial hierarchy is still very much present in the United States today. This article talks about wage gaps between races, and how Black and Latino Americans are still heavily affected by this: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/racial-hierarchy-is-the-biggest-threat-to-america/

Also, despite Brockway being essential to the company, he is always in fear that he may lose his job, and has no power in the company. This here combats the belief that Booker T. Washington (ironically) bodied about how economic advancement and gratitude towards the whites that helped black workers will eventually lead to freedom. Many people to this day believe that hard work is a road to respect and power, but that still isn’t true. Hard work cannot even guarantee economic freedom. 

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Power Chapters 8-17

The theme of power in the form of hypocrisy is a major part of the novel during chapters 8-17, specifically in the relationship between the narrator and brother Jack. The narrator meets brother Jack while trying to escape the police. At first, he is wary of the white man, but brother Jack introduces himself as an ally, and the narrator ends up becoming a spokesperson for the brotherhood. At first, joining the brotherhood seems promising, but the narrator soon becomes skeptical, realizing that to them, he only exists to further their radical political agenda. He overhears Emma telling Jack his skin is not “black” enough, and when he gives his first speech, he is rebuked for not following Brotherhood terminology. Despite feigning support and alliance for the black community, the members of the Brotherhood only see the narrator, a black male, as a tool that exists to expand the power of their group.

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/ally-or-accomplice-the-language-of-activism 

This website goes over white ally-ship and how one’s good intentions may do more harm than good.

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The Effortless Power of Mr. Norton

In chapter 2-3, the narrator, a black teenage boy, is tasked with showing Mr. Norton, one of his college’s white millionaire founders, around campus. Mr. Norton gets faint at one point so the narrator drives him to get some alcohol at the Golden Day, a bar and brothel. There, the narrator finds that today, black, shell-shocked veterans were visiting the bar.

This entire time, the narrator is sweating in fear at disappointing or failing Mr. Norton. He is trying his best to give Mr. Norton a good impression of him and the school, and he curses everyone who gets in his way, from the veterans to the bartender.  Mr. Norton’s mere act of existing puts the narrator in an anxious, subservient mode. This is the effortless power of Mr. Norton: White Supremacy. 

During this time period, everyone has an unconscious belief ingrained in them by society that the white man is above the black man, and their interactions and relationships are carried out as such. Mr. Norton himself seems mostly unaware of this power, or rather he just doesn’t acknowledge it. He follows the narrator through sketchy places and talks to people as he pleases and enjoys a treatment not afforded to the narrator. While the narrator has to fight to be heard, everyone quiets down for Mr. Norton. Unlike the narrator, Mr. Norton does not have to worry about not being heard, and Mr. Norton does not have to worry about being trampled and tossed aside, even when completely out of his depth and in his weak, light-headed state during his trip. In fact, Mr. Norton’s presence at the bar, makes the war veterans calm down (mostly) from their previous spouts of religious mania, regular mania, and bar brawls, and they give Mr. Norton their full attention. The black men treat him with curiosity, intrigue, and respect, and are gauging him as much as he is gauging them. The black men try to associate with him while the black women fawn over him. Mr. Norton walks through life without a care and enjoys an invisible type of power one would not be able to see unless they looked more closely. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zDo_TkSnA

This video essay goes over white supremacy and its effects in modern times. The background, invisibility, and privilege of white supremacy explains the nature of the relationship between the whites and blacks in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, and brings understanding to interesting interactions. 

- Elise He

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Dr. Blesdoe and Power - Jason Zhuang

In Chapter 4 of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, the narrator meets Dr. Blesdoe, the president of the all-black college the narrator attends. At first glance, he is everything the narrater ever wished to be: influential, wealthy, and powerful even among the white people. He had risen from his humble beginnings to someone who could casually converse with white millionaires. However, it soon becomes clear that Dr. Blesdoe was infatuated with power. He insists that he is the one with control over the white millionaire donors, and tells the narrator that "the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie". It becomes clear to the narrator that he holds power over the entire college, and he would do anything to keep that power.

Dr. Blesdoe represents a unique figure in this time in history: a black man with power. His action in the story can be seen in this paper on the effects of power on people. He shows characteristic traits of harshly enforcing his own personal values in disciplining the narrator over showing the white trustee Mr. Norton the slums instead of lying to him, while acting in a self-serving manner to preserve his own power. Many of the same ideas in the paper are seen through the actions of others Invisible Man, showing that power is a driving motif of the book.

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Power- Anu Lal

IM takes a job chauffeuring Mr. Norton, a founder of the college IM attends. During a drive, Mr. Norton talks about how his destiny and fate is shaped by the Black Americans he helps through the college. Here, Mr. Norton establishes a hierarchy, in which he makes clear that he is above IM. He emphasizes how he has donated money and created this institution to create a legacy, allowing us to imply that he has no will to actually help the black people, but rather to view himself as a God of sorts, who is giving these people a better life. All of his donations fuel his superiority complex that establishes him as a white savior. 

Later when Mr. Norton wants to meet Mr. Trueblood, this same need to fuel his superiority complex comes into play. Mr. Trueblood complains about how people of his own community have turned their back on him after his horrendous act, but white people have become more helpful. The actions of Mr. Trueblood have been condemned by the Black community, as they see it as moving backwards.  This is because this behavior further solidifies the stereotype white people have created of Black people being sex-crazed savages that must live separate from them. White people want to help these “charity cases”, and view them like zoo animals that need white people’s help to improve their lives. This further plays into this social hierarchy they’ve created in their heads, and their narcissism  makes them believe that without them, black people would be ruined. Mr. Norton does exactly that here, giving $100 to Mr. Trueblood to help with his family. 

The idea of a white savior is incredibly prevalent in stories. One of the most popular American novels, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is a white savior story. In the story, Atticus Finch is shown as this mighty man that is able save a black man that was unjustly accused of rape. The whole point of the story is to show how Atticus Finch is a wonderful savior, fueling the white savior complex many people craved. Though To Kill A Mockingbird came out in the 1960s, every year at the box office and at the Oscars, dozens of white savior stories are released and awarded. Take the film 12 Years a Slave, a critically-acclaimed film that came out in 2013. The film won 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and numerous other acclaims. But the film is about a solicitous and kind white Canadian (played by Brad Pitt) that saves the poor slaves, because he is such a wonderful person. The white savior complex is still just as present today as it was during Ralph Ellison’s time as POC are often still viewed as savages that need white people to show them the right way. 

This list shows many films with a White Savior narrative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_savior_narrative_in_film

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The Use of Power

The Invisible Man tells the stories of a unnamed young black man who grows from his life experiences. In chapter 5, the narrator attends a evening service at a chapel. At this service, Reverend Barbee tells the story of the Founder who escaped slavery through work and dedication. The Founder eventually sets up a college to educate others, providing the path to salvation. After the sermon, the narrator realizes that Rev. Barbee is blind. The sermon had inspired the narrator, and the realization that the educated Reverend was blind is important to the theme of power. The power that the reverend and the Founder both possessed was one to spread and help others through their work. Barbee used his words to inspire the people while the Founder had used his intelligence to help others out of poverty. This chapter brings a heavy contrast to most of the other chapters where the abuse of power is described, showing the evils of man. This chapter brings light to what people with good intentions can do for others on a first hand account. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-power-corrupts-37165345/

This article is on why power corrupts and brings insight onto why many of the events in the book took place. It also exposes that people always have the choice whether to do the right or wrong thing. -Rick Shi

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Power Chapter 1

Power, especially one of the white man, is a theme that is constantly interwoven throughout the chapter of Invisible Man. Specifically in chapter one, the narrator is invited to his town hall to give a speech in front of the town’s “leading white citizens”. Instead of letting him recite his speech and leave, the white men force him into a group of several black boys, making them box each other until a winner is declared. After the boys are bloodied and bruised, the men toss gold coins on the carpet as their reward. Several of the boys dash to the ground in a scramble, only to discover that the carpet has been electrically charged. As the boys cry out in pain after being electrocuted, the men laugh and jeer, even placing bets on who would get the most coins. This whole scene serves as an analogy to the power dynamic between white and black people during the time period. Many white people viewed African Americans as lesser beings who existed solely for labor and entertainment purposes, leading to the creation of games like African dodger, where African American men would be used as live targets. In this example, readers can see that the white men use their social and financial power to hold influence over the African American boys, successfully dehumanizing and degrading them.

https://dalebrumfield.medium.com/non-lethal-lynching-f9ee5bbbfbcc

This article covers the racist origins of the carnival dunking booths we are familiar with today, and provides more historical background into the game of African Dodger.

- Juni Park (01/14/2021)