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  • Essay / The Struggle for Identity - 1239

    The Struggles for IdentityThroughout global society, racism in others has made them “blind” or ignorant. Racism has been around since anyone can remember. In the context of racism in America, the struggle of African Americans seems to be the one that stands out the most. In The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the narrator struggles to find his own identity despite what he accomplishes throughout the book because he is a black man living in a racist American society. At the beginning of The Invisible Man, the narrator is part of this battle royale with other young African-Americans. This royal ceremony is held strictly to entertain the whites. The narrator is then blindfolded and forced to box himself. An electric current passes through the ground and shocks them. Electricity represents the shocking truth of the motivations of white men, who attempt to conform young African American boys to the racial stereotype that black people are violent and savage. The electric current sends the boys into contortions, which is the first time the string puppet metaphor is shown in the book. Even though the narrator's speech is the reason he thinks he is at the event, the battle royale becomes the real entertainment for the white people watching. The narrator ends up working at a paint factory called Liberty Paints. This company makes white paint. There is a lengthy process in which white is heavily dependent on black, both for paint mixing and factory labor. On his first day, he is injured due to an explosion. He then receives shock therapy. There are certain threads attached to it like the “strings” of the puppet that make the narrator dance whenever he is shocked. The do...... middle of paper ......d in. This society is represented by how white society views it during the novel. The stereotypes and expectations of a racist society force black people to behave only in a certain way, never allowing them to act according to their own will. The actions of the Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks equality, are manipulated as if they were puppets on strings. It always goes to a black man behind a white company, just like the painting process at Liberty Paints: Black under White. Throughout the novel, the narrator is faced with this struggle for society's identity, and although he strives to achieve this, he realizes that it is impossible. Works Cited Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print. Meyer, Michael. Bedford's compact introduction to literature. Eight. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 1542. Print.