Illusion, Deception, and Hiding Behind the Mask - Invisible Man

Richard Wright's Invisible Man entails overcoming illusions to reach the truth and at times, hiding behind your own illusion to deceive the world and further your own agenda. The first example of the narrator (the Invisible Man) using this "invisible power" is in the prologue, which is set in the future of the actual novel. The words of the prologue even start off with the words "I am an invisible man" (Wright 3). He goes on to explain how he is invisible in the sense that society refuses to see him and on the very next page, he employs this invisibility to beat up a random man on the street. He bumps into this man accidentally and the man proceeds to call him an insulting name, possibly a slur (it's not specified). Out of anger, the narrator beats the man. After almost killing him, he runs off into the dark of night, "laughing so hard [he] feared [he] might rupture [himself]" (Wright 5). This laughter may be a satirical way to undermine authority as illustrated in later chapters by the army veterans, where they use their laughter as a tool to undermine the authoritative figure of Mr. Norton. The following day, the local newspaper states that the man had been mugged, rather than beaten up. The narrator seems to find some humor in this fact, as the man was beaten up by an "invisible man." This scene reflects the fact that the narrator is invisible in the way that he is a product of people's biases. He is automatically categorized and this newfound power is a direct result of the ingrained racism in the city. There is no sense of individuality and by being grouped into a faction, he is rendered invisible in the eyes of the society.

On the other hand, in Chapter 1 of Invisible Man, this attitude and personality is flipped on it side. While he still seems to set up an illusion of some kind, the narrator doesn't seek to be invisible so that he may carry out his own agenda. He wants to be included. He wants to conform to this white society by pleasing everyone. He's not even affected by the racial insults that he had such a strong reaction to in the prologue. He's doesn't even seem to be aware that the white society around him doesn't really seem to care about him or his ideas. He's so intent on pleasing them, that he has to suffer by swallowing his own blood while delivering the speech that he waited so long for. The swallowing of blood to create this illusion while he's giving the speech is representative of his repression of his true feelings. Rather than  deceiving society by being categorized (as in the prologue), he instead creates an illusion that masks his true emotions, and gives white society his absolute obedience, believing it will help him in the end. In this same chapter, we also learn that the narrator's grandfather used this "invisibility power" shown in the prologue. The grandfather believes that they should uphold a "mask of meekness," a cover that represents the stereotypical black person, showing undying compliance. However, in their heart, the grandfather believes that they must hold onto the anger passed down from the generations. The narrator ignores this advice and grants the white people his obedience, believing it will help him. Although it does at first, the chapter ends with the narrator dreaming about his grandfather and himself reading an engraved document reading "To Whom It May Concern, Keep This N-Boy Running" (Wright 33). This dream provides foreshadowing for the future where Bledsoe literally keeps the narrator running, chasing after meaningless pursuits. The engraving also provides the message that one of the goals of white society, specifically the education department, is to maintain control of African-Americans by "lowering the veil" (metaphor explained in next paragraph). 

This idea of a control system within the American education system starts when the narrator notices the college statue in Chapter 2. This statue shows the founder of the state college lifting/lowering the veil of a kneeling slave. It is unclear to the narrator (and to us) whether "the veil is really being lifted, or lowered more firmly in place; whether [we are] witnessing a revelation or a more efficient binding" (Wright 36). This line suggests that the college system is one big deception, built to keep black people in line rather than empowering them. Of course, it is a little unclear at the moment whether it is an empowerment or a more efficient binding but this uncertainty certainly raises some red flags. This illusion at the college is even further confirmed where we see that Mr. Norton's (the man the narrator is driving around at the college) interests stem from personal desire rather than a genuine care for the college society. Mr. Norton further solidifies our idea of his intentions when he claims the narrator's fate as his own when he states that their "fates are intertwined" and when he says to the narrator, "you are my fate." Mr. Norton even refers to the narrator as a "defective cog," dehumanizing him and showing no care for the African-American college. 

This novel plays on a multitude of illusions and deceptions. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator is undeniably lost in the deceptions created by the people around him but as the story progresses, he learns to create his own illusions, harnessing his power of invisibility to release himself from the puppet master and do himself some good for once.