<h1> When is the Narrator of Invisible Man Happiest? (sorry I couldn't come up with a better title) </h1> <h2> John Brownridge </h2>

        Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a unique story in that the reader knows the fate of the main character before being able to read the beginning. In Chapter 1 of Invisible Man, the narrator (I’ll just use “Narrator” to refer to him from now on), aspires to one day be an important member of society, and is completely unaware of how invisible he is in the eyes of others. In the Prologue, however, which takes place twenty years later, Narrator is painfully aware of his invisibility, and his knowledge of it has turned him into a crazy person, who refuses to conform to or even interact with society. In class last week, we were prompted to talk about what we thought about Jr. Mr. Emerson and whether he was helping Narrator by revealing the truth about Emerson’s intentions. At my table, this turned into a discussion of whether it was more desirable to live like Narrator did in the beginning of the novel or like he did in the prologue. In this post, I will explore this question and give my opinion on the matter.

        One might say that Narrator was much happier when he was ignorant of his place in society. He had aspired to become like Dr. Bledsoe and be well respected. He had a goal, and was happy to work hard towards it. He may have been invisible to most, but he was still a functioning member of society. In the beginning chapters, it seems like Narrator was on a trajectory to live a somewhat normal life. After all, it's not like every black person from the South ends up being invisible. Dr. Bledsoe is a great example of this. He is in a position of power over almost everyone he comes into contact with, and can even manipulate powerful white people in a way that pleases him. Even if the Narrator really is invisible, he seems to live a much happier life when he is ignorant to it. It's almost as if the Narrator’s invisibility doesn’t matter, as long as he isn’t aware of it. It’s as the saying goes; “Ignorance is bliss”.

        The counterargument to this is that Narrator seems to believe his life is better now that his veil has been removed. To readers, his life seems sad and horrible, but I don’t think Narrator would agree. “The point now is that I found a home - or a hole in the ground, if you will. Now don’t jump to the conclusion that because I call my home a “hole” it is damp and cold like a grave [...] My hole is warm and full of light” (6). In this section of the prologue, Narrator is talking about where he lives, but it can be seen as a metaphor for his life. An outsider looking in on Narrator’s life would assume that is “damp and cold like a grave”, when in reality, his life is “full of light.” Everyone who reads Invisible Man is an outsider to Narrator’s life, and can’t fully understand it until they have read his entire story. “Since you never recognize me even when in closest contact with me, and since, no doubt, you’ll hardly believe that I exist [...] before that I lived in the darkness into which I was chased, but now I see. I’ve illuminated the blackness of my invisibility - and vice versa” (13). Narrator seems to think his invisibility doesn’t matter because he is aware of it.

        Now for my opinion on the matter. I started writing this post believing that Narrator was happier when he wasn’t aware of his invisibility. However, while writing the counterargument, I began to see that Narrator wasn’t truly happy in his time of being ignorant to his invisibility. Instead, he was working hard to achieve an unattainable goal of being truly important, and thus, truly happy. It was only when his veil was removed that he was able to let go of this goal and actually be happy. But then I realized that Narrator isn’t really happy in his current state either. On page 3, he says “It is sometimes advantageous to be unseen, although it is most often rather wearing on the nerves.” Now I am torn. With both of these perspectives in mind, I have come to the unsatisfying conclusion that it is undesirable to be invisible in the first place, whether you are ignorant to it or not.