What Was The Narrator's Role In The Invisible Man

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In the novel, Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, the narrator considers himself an invisible man because of the fact that he is dark skin and says that the world does not appreciate him. At many times the narrator felt alone and lost because he believed the world was always against him and no one ever noticed him. Throughout the novel the narrator's role as a character shows that the society in which he lived looked down on blacks and treated them as if they were worthless, leaving him to isolate himself. Throughout the novel the narrator was more concerned with living up to people's expectations more than anything. He wanted to prove to the white people that he was not an ordinary black man. However, while trying to do this the narrator …show more content…
We see the narrator taking on his new identity when Jack tells him, “This is your new identity...Inside I found a name written on a slip of paper”(Pg 309). The narrator was forced to take on another name in order to be a part of the Brotherhood. He tried so hard to not be himself that he even ended up looking different. This is shown when he says, “The new suit imparted a newness to me. It was the clothes and the new name and the circumstances… I was becoming someone else”(Pg 335). The narrator knew that the only way for him to be something or “someone” he had to act and even look different, he needed a new identity. However, all this change only led him into losing himself. Towards the end of the novel the narrator ends up with nothing and all alone. He says, “I’m an invisible man and it placed me in a hole⎯or showed me the hole I was in”(Pg 572). The narrator finally realized the hole in which he placed himself, he realized that by him trying to live up to society’s expectations he only ended up losing himself and was left all alone. After finally only trying to live up to others expectations, he decided to speak up for himself, although it left him alone and feeling invisible, he was able to understand who he