Seeing the Invisible Man

"I heard the cover settle over the manhole with a dull clang."  It was dark, again. The police had the power and were above the narrator, again. Over and over again, we see the narrator's never-ending cycle of struggles throughout the novel. With small details hinting at unfair societal structures, power imbalances, and deeply rooted racism, Ellison subtly but successfully conveys the constant conflicts the narrator has - and more generally, Black people have - to struggle with.  "I tried to find the usual ladder that leads out of such holes, but there was none. I had to have a light, and now on my hands and knees, holding tight to my brief case, I searched the coal until I found the folder of matches the men had dropped..."  Hinting at unfair circumstances people are born into, but somehow have to navigate through. In this case, the narrator is literally in a hole. He's so much further behind than everyone else in society, yet has to reach their level to be...

Visibility: the state of being able to see or be seen.   In the novel, there's an interesting dynamic between the narrator's visibility with himself and his visibility to others. It's almost a proportional relationship. As the narrator furthers his connections to the Brotherhood, he gains more exposure, and he is well-known to the general public. In this way, he's definitely visible to everyone else. However, as a result, the narrator loses the ability to see his own reality. He's so blinded by all the exciting opportunities from the Brotherhood that he can no longer see his genuine self, morals, and the truth behind the ongoing racial issues. He's caught up in their ideology, following their orders and words to say instead of his own. Even his natural thoughts and actions change to align with the Brotherhood. As a result, his unawareness of the Brotherhood's effects makes him invisible to, or unable to see, his own identity. I feel like the narrator is almo...