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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Invisibility :
The title of Invisible Man is drawn from the metaphor of invisibility explored at various points in the novel. Reflecting upon his status as a Black man in America, whose interactions with others are structured by racialized stereotypes and inequalities, the narrator comes to feel that he is practically invisible, unseen by others. In the prologue, he expands upon this metaphor:
Nor is my invisibility exactly a matter of a biochemical accident to my epidermis. That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom I come in contact. A matter of the construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality. I am not complaining, nor am I protesting either. It is sometimes advantageous to be unseen, although it is most often rather wearing on the nerves. Then too, you’re constantly being bumped against by those of poor vision.
First, he notes that he does not mean that he has literally become invisible due to some “biochemical accident” that has afflicted his skin. Rather, he suggests that his own invisibility stems from a “peculiar disposition of the eyes” of those he interacts with. In other words, his invisibility is produced by the vision of others who refuse to acknowledge him as an individual. He clarifies, again, that he is not referring to the “physical eyes” of others, but rather, the “inner eyes” that filter everything that a person perceives. Though this state of invisibility can be “wearing on the nerves,” he does acknowledge that invisibility can sometimes be “advantageous.” Ellison explores this metaphor of invisibility throughout the novel.
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