Racism in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man - Research Paper Example

Racism in Ralph Ellison's “Invisible Man” Race: Racism has been there all through human history. It may be described as the hatred of one person by another or the impression that he or she is less human for the reason that their skin color, language, traditions, religious conviction, origin or any item that by all accounts reveals the essential nature of that person. This narrative is a social interpretation of the racism which occurs in the south and during 1960’s as the protagonist is growing old. There are dominant images of violence portrayed on the main character as well as in the antagonist in the setting of the story. The design of “Invisible Man” sums up the African American perception starting the period of Booker T. Washington till Second World War, through the experiences and exploitation of its representative protagonist-speaker. (Anelli et al.2012). The novel portrays “the hunt for personality and self-realization” (Sten), the struggles that are related to race, those of African Americans as Sundquist claims, the self-transformation starting from lack of knowledge to knowledge (Ellison) the worth contained in one's history and cultural legacy (O'Meally). (Anelli et al.2012) Similarly, in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, we find a case of an African American story dealing with racism against African Americans in the USA. The protagonist, in this case – the speaker, stays anonymous throughout the narrative which allows him to present his life familiarities with a relative lack of involvement while also offering the reader a hint into his opinion on the actions that take place all through the narrative. Analysis The narrator is an adolescent African-American male from the excluded Deep South. He recalls about his youthful days, when he had not yet known his identity or realized that he was an “invisible man” (Ellison, page 402) that he was an invisible man a black man whose individuality is unnoticed and complex to understand in the American society. The "invisible man" develops ethical, mental, and academic consciousness through a chain of encounters that test his suppositions about the humankind while at the same time he learns painful lessons (Anelli et al.2012). The action intensifies when, on his death bed, the narrator's grandfather tells the family that the life of blacks who live in a far-off “white" America had been and was still full of battles and hostility. The narrator is in dilemma having considered his grandfather the most humble as it turns out he was a spy (Ellison, page 403). The strategies of "agree 'em to death" as well as "undermine 'em with grins" (Ellison, page 413) are the instruments that allow the Negro to live on, in concentration approving invisibility until sightlessness slay white society. Therefore, Grandfather's words create and prefigure cultural values, for instance the racism and bias that the speaker will come across in a negative society as he find his way through the communal mine grounds of America. Racism is blatant in the venue in which the narrator is invited to give a speech. When he arrives, he discovers that he is to provide part of the evening's entertainment for a number of drunken white men as a competitor, together with nine of his classmates, in a blindfolded boxing match ahead of giving his speech. He attends the festival not knowing what stance he would take but later discovers that the comic action merely endeavors to highly oppress the blacks, lower their self-esteem, kindness and human rights in the complicated society. Everyone involved, including the audience contributed to the racist ploy without exception. It comprised of an erotic dance by a nude light-colored female with a flag tattoo on her belly, which he and his classmates are forced to look at. After enduring these humiliating experiences, the narrator is finally permitted to give his speech. The speaker’s instruction into the social particulars of the time, started from his high school graduation when he was invited by the school administrator to give his speech at a congregation of the "town's leading white citizens" (Ellison, page 403). Racism is portrayed in the narrator’s speech. His speech introduces a pattern of sarcasm and duality that spreads through the narrative. While the narrator confesses to oppose Booker T. Washington's opinions on race affairs, he presents Washington's pacifying 1895 Atlanta show address, influencing blacks to be tolerant and acknowledge "social responsibility" without "social equality,"(Ellison, page 411,412) at his high school graduation. In doing so, he ascertains an outline of merely doing what others anticipate of him, without scrutinizing his motivation; establish his own value system, or putting into account the consequences of his deeds the narrator's propensity to act with no thinking and to acknowledge others' decisions without questioning keeps him from finding out his true individuality. The narrator’s naive assumption of such attitude, though, proves beneficial to the certain point – he receives a scholarship to a college. There is hypocrisy of racism revealed in the novel. The calfskin briefcase stresses on the skin and the connection between the destiny of the calf and the narrator's possible destiny as on going to be surrendered on the altar of racism. Consequently, the speaker is given a scholarship, in consideration of the leaders of the town, to the state college for Negroes. The narrator provides the compliment “I was overjoyed” (Ellison, page 413), whose true implications can only be understood by the native speaker. As such, the festival-like ambiance only serves to enhance racial hostility. The author’s use of the words "blinded by the white." suggests the narrator being overwhelmed by white chauvinistic misinformation regarding the low standard of blacks; he then starts internalizing the unhelpful messages, though not seeing the truth in them. Ellison also uses the words “made of brass,” an alloy of copper and zinc, the symbol comprises a blend of two unpolluted elements, indicating the responsibility of black Americans, who symbolize a combination of African and American/black and white customs. Since, none of the boys can meet the expense of to buying the cars presented; the tokens emphasize the economic inequality between blacks and whites. The tokens also imply the valueless, empty signal inbuilt in tokenism: the practice choosing few blacks into white culture without compromising black social fairness in addition to social responsibility. The title of the story itself “Battle Royal” (Ellison, page 402) Signifies the social and political authority struggle portrayed all through the narrative. Key to this struggle, there are problems relating to race, gender, and class, the aspects the narrator ought to admit before he can recognize and accept his individuality as a black man in white America. Racism is seen in the form of betrayal in the narrator’s dreams. He dreams that he attended the circus with his grandfather, who declines to express amusement at the entertainers. His grandfather tells him to unveil the briefcase and read the message enclosed in the envelope he was given and in opening it, he discovers that every envelope holds so far an additional envelope. In the very last envelope, as a replacement for the scholarship, he finds a stamped paper that states: "To Whom It May Concern: Keep This Nigger-Boy Running." (Ellison, page 413). Conclusion In conclusion, it appears suitable to quote Larry Neal, who appropriately declared, "Well, there is one thing that you have to admit. And that is, dealing with Ralph Ellison is no easy matter. He cannot be put into any one bag and conveniently dispensed with". In my perspective, this is exactly the reason for Invisible Man lending itself to possessions of difficult and modern interdisciplinary advances (Anelli et al.2012). Work cited Ellison, Ralph. "A collection of stories." BattleRoyal. 0: 0, 2000. Page 402-413. Print. Anelli, Carol, and Richard Law. "An interdisciplinary examination of U.S. racism from The Mismeasure of Man to Invisible Man." Rocky Mountain Review 62.2 (2008): 82+. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.Gale Document Number: GALE|A206688555 Read More