Racial Stereotypes in 'Invisible Man': A Southern Perspective

The novel Invisible Man is set in the Southern part of the United States and takes place around the time period of the 1930’s. The United States abolishes slavery in the year 1865, but the racial criticism and the racial stereotypes against the black race are still an issue at the time this novel is set. Racial issues exist in both regions of the United States, however they are more prominent in the South (the home of the novel’s narrator). The stereotypes of the black people are all the whites are capable of seeing when looking at Invisible Man (the narrator), and they refuse to see him as anything more than that. Despite what people think, Invisible Man is more than just a poor black boy. He has a surplus amount of potential, but he is not

allowed to explore other options concerning his future. He will never be higher up in power than the white men.

In this novel readers view Invisible Man’s struggle under the power of the white man, how he is affected by racism, and they also view Invisible Man’s opinions on the racism and racial stereotypes he faces throughout the novel.
In the beginning of the novel Ellison introduces readers to the narrator of the novel, Invisible Man. He introduces Invisible Man as a high school graduate with a high level skill in public speaking (for a black person). After Invisible Man gives his tremendous speech as valedictorian, a group of white men ask him to attend a special event and present the same speech to them. After he gives the speech, the group of white men present Invisible Man with a scholarship to attend the black college as shown in chapter one, “My fingers a-tremble, I complied, smelling the fresh leather and finding an official-looking document inside. It was a scholarship to the state college for Negroes,” (Ellison 32). The fact that these white men present Invisible Man with a scholarship to the black college is a significant part of the relationship between the whites and blacks of the South. This scholarship represents the way white men still have a level of control over the black people even though they are considered free citizens by this time in America. The college Invisible Man attends is under the authority of several white trustees, and these men also have a black man helping oversee the college campus. The white men of this time have no desire to give the black people any chance at gaining more power/knowledge or raising above the white men. With the black race continuing to be at the bottom of the social ladder, it is virtually impossible for them to have higher level positions or to make a better life for themselves. The South was not an easy place to reside in for the black race. Even though slavery was over the blacks are still under the control of the whites no matter where they go in this novel.
The black culture of the South is an important aspect in this novel. The black slaves came from Africa to the United States, and their African culture does not stay intact. The African culture becomes very influenced by the culture they experience in America. In a literary criticism written by Thomas Heise, he discusses a few of Ralph Ellison’s essays on topics related to the ideas and themes used in his novel Invisible Man. In one of the essays discussed Ellison states, “The American Negro people is North American in origin and has evolved under specifically American conditions...” This quote supports the idea that black culture becomes very influenced by Americans (Heise). The blacks in America have many differences from the whites in areas such as: religion, music, food, and speech. Throughout the course of the novel Ellison brings these differences to light. The difference in religion can link to the church service Invisible Man attends while he is at the college, and the church service also connects to the difference in speech and music. Speech comes into play when Rev. Barbee gives his speech at the church when he talks about the college and its Founder, “ Oh, yes, my friends. I’m sure you’ve heard it time and time again; of this godly man’s labors, and his great humility and his undimming vision, the fruits of which you enjoy today…” (Ellison 119-120) Readers can see a visible difference in the way he talks as opposed to other people in the novel. Music also links to that same church service by the fact that blacks sing church songs in a more spiritual and more enthusiastic way than people in a white church, but it can also link to the very beginning of the novel when Invisible Man is listening to blues music in his hole (Bloom). The difference in food is found in this novel when Invisible Man is living in the North. One day he passes a man on the sidewalk selling yams. The yams are an important symbol for the novel. When Invisible Man eats the yams he no longer feels a need to hide his southern identity, and as he eats the yam he feels a wonderful sense of freedom.
In the Northern part of the United States the way the whites treat the black people is rather different than the way they are treated in the South.

When Invisible Man is sent North it is because he allows himself to get into a critical situation. He is given the assignment of driving one of the white trustees around town. It is important to Invisible Man that he does an impressive job and he even states, “I knew also that it was advantageous to flatter rich white folks. Perhaps he’d give me a large tip, or a suit, or a scholarship next year,” (Ellison 38). Unfortunately the trustee comes down with a terrible case of hysteria and Invisible Man is blamed for everything that occurs. Invisible Man is then expelled from the college and he is sent North to find work in an attempt to pay for school the next year. Upon arriving in the North Invisible Man notices many differences in the way he is treated by the other American citizens in New York. The white people were not rude to him, but they are not necessarily friendly. The North brings Invisible Man new freedoms that in the South he would never experience. He could display his skills in public speaking, he can eat the yams he enjoys so much without feeling shame, he can be proud of who he is, and he can decide his own fate. Being in the North, Invisible Man becomes his own person, until the Brotherhood comes along and everything changes. The Brotherhood is a group in the novel that supports uncommon ideologies. Brother Jack is

the leader of the Brotherhood, and he is a very important character in the novel. Ellison creates Jack as a character who understands the narrator and he uses his charm to convince the narrator to leave everything he has (which is not much) to join the Brotherhood and speak for them in public. This starts out as an wonderful change for Invisible Man, but eventually he figures out the underlying purpose of the Brotherhood. He realizes that Jack believes in the same prejudices as many other white people do, and he is also just as invisible to Jack as he is to everyone else. He has become a pawn in the game of the white man. The white men use him to attract the attention of the black community in Harlem, and then once they what they want from him, they have no need for him to stay around.
Throughout the novel, Invisible Man experiences many of the racial issues facing the United States in the time period this book is based in. The South is a place that is not yet fully opened up to the idea of black people being the same as the whites in this time. On the other hand, the North is more accepting and generous toward the African American race. Both regions play an important part in the novel. Both the North and the South help illustrate the way the blacks are treated in the years after they are freed. People in the North fought for the freedom of the slaves, but they did not necessarily treat them as the exact equals of the white race. The South continued to find ways of controlling the black. In Invisible Man the white men run the black college the narrator attends. They controlled what the students learned and they were able to insure that the blacks would never raise above what they viewed them as, poor black people. That is how these two regions contrast from each other. It is all about the way they treated the African Americans after they became legal citizens in the United States. In both regions it could be difficult for the blacks to be excepted, but then