Racial Stereotypes in 'Invisible Man': A Southern Perspective

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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 …show more content…

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

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