Invisible Man-Character Analysis

This shows how blacks were seen as expendable or considered a dead man walking. The white men wanted to ensure the other “property” was healthy and that the “dead man” was held accountable ;even at times thrown overboard to prevent contamination. The living conditions didn’t help with the prevention of contamination of others during the White Flux. It was said that “the deck, that is, the floor of their rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequence of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house. It is not in the power of the human imagination to picture itself a situation more dreadful or disgusting.” (Document C)

Mr. Hughes who is referred to by the interviewer as Uncle Fountain, talked about the conditions of Slavery for him. He called his master “B.”. His mother and father worked as slaves for this “B.” even though, he did not know

In Document E a seventeen year old Aztec is recounting of a warrior who was sacrificed. “Many of us became attached to this living god, and a terrible sadness, comes over some of the women when, at the end of the year, he is taken to Chalco and dismembered in public view.” It wasn’t actually considered a bad thing to be sacrificed, because you were making sure that everyone that you left behind was going to see another day. The only reason others may have been sad if you were sacrificed was if they were close to you. If sacrifices weren’t as important to the Aztecs, then warrior wouldn’t be sacrificed. However, since sacrifices are so important to the Aztecs they were willing to give some of their fine warriors.

Finally finding some type of pity they let them go to where they were first rounded up to get dressed, and receive the little money they won. Though covered in sweat and blood, the narrator continues to be concerned that he will not be allowed to speak until finally his wish comes true. As he speaks so proudly, the men only seem to ignore him as he quotes his idol Booker T. Washington in his speech until he gets to the phrase “social responsibility.” Drunk they make him repeat it many times until he “accidentally” switches the word “responsibility” for “equality.” At that time the infuriated drunks ask him to explain why he switched the words and he answers with it being a “mistake.” The white men dismiss the action by awarding him with a briefcase and a scholarship for a “nigger” college. Enthusiastically he leaves home and is recognized for his awards, but a nightmare returns to ruin his day where he is at a circus with his grandfather. His grandfather, not at all amused with his surroundings, commands him to open his reward and inside he finds a letter with the statement, “To Whom It May Concern

“These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty – to wit, the white man’s power to enslave black men. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (20).

The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute was a school that Washington longed to attend. So, in order to be able to afford to go there, he worked for a General Lewis Ruffner's wife, Viola. He worked for this very strict lady for about a year and a half until he was able to afford the Hampton Institute.

In some ways, Douglass’ message of the cruelty in slavery is most effectively portrayed through his word choice and language, rather than the actual presentation of evidence. At one point, after witnessing several acts of extreme violence towards slave, and even some murders, Douglass sums up the events with a common phrase among slave holders, “it was worth a half cent to kill a nigger, and a half cent to bury one.” While this may not be an actual fact, it is very logical, and shows why the courts would never convict a white man for murdering a slave. By choosing to use this statement, it shows how well Douglass understands his surrounding, and how corrupt and violent they are. This statement devalues an entire race of people, and that alone speaks to the reader’s heart. The logic of the statement

“A great wave of humiliation and shame swept over me. Shame that I belonged to a race that could be so dealt with; and shame for my country, that it, the great example of democracy to the world, should be the only civilized, if not the only state on earth, where a human being would be burned alive.”(137) Because of that day, the narrator made a decision that he felt was best for him at the time, which was to let the world make their own perception of him. “I argued that to forsake one’s race to better one’s condition was no less worthy an action than to forsake one’s country for the same purpose. I finally made up my mind that I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change my name, raise a mustache, and let the world take me for what it would; that it was not necessary for me to go about with the label of inferiority pasted across my forehead.” (139)

Society’s systematic dehumanization of slaves claims that their lives are not their own, but rather belong to their oppressors. For instance, Jacobs’s cousin Benjamin decides to escape from his masters who equate him and his people to “dogs, […] foot-balls, cattle, [and] everything that [is] mean” and taunts them by saying, “Let them bring me back. We don’t die but once” (27). By metaphorically comparing slaves to dogs and pieces of property, he reveals how little slave owners care about their charges. Rather than remaining under the control of such oppression, Benjamin decides to live and die on his own terms at the risk of capture and punishment, because

Atlanta Address of 1895. Too many politicians and the public in general, he was seen as a popular spokesman for African-American citizens.

Booker T. Washington is one of the most respected and influential African American figures in American history, Mr. Washington was born into slavery and was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. His peaceful personality along with his exceptional education in many different studies turned him into a well-rounded individual. Washington wanted blacks and whites to become partners and strive for both races to succeed. He delivered his most famous speech in 1895 known as the “Atlanta Compromise”. In Atlanta Georgia, Mr. Washington expresses himself with exceptional rhetoric and tone throughout his speech. He states that African Americans should take benefit of what they know and endeavor

“The Negro, too, for his part, has idols of the tribe to smash. If on the one hand the white man has erred in making the Negro appear to be that which would excuse or extenuate his treatment of him, the Negro, in turn, has too often unnecessarily excused himself because of the way he has been treated. The

In another occasion, Thomas Phelps preserves his honor by showing how he never lost his integrity even in the midst of captivity. He remained true to his Christian morals and never absorbed the lowly attitude of submission as a slave. In one occasion, the Moors pulled the ship along the shore and fell asleep. At this time, all the captives were unshackled and remained in the ship. Phelps felt the urge to be the hero and make a break for it, naming it the “Christian resolution” (Phelps, p.46). However, there was one captive, Will Robinson, who was fearful and did not comply. This spoiled Phelps’ plan, and many others decided against it in fear of this one “recreant”. “The slave’s name was Will Robinson. He professed himself a Christian in words, but indeed we found more civility from the Moors than him” (Phelps, p.46). It is obvious to see that Phelps made a clear distinction between himself being a Christian, and the fearful Will Robinson who he didn’t hesitate to call a “slave”, thus retaining his honor and integrity. This also shows that Phelps, being a slave, had a place in society. Patterson believed that slaves had no worth or position in society. Phelps voice is heard as an appeal to the Christian society, revealing his worth as a Christian. Once again he places

“I am black, I am black!” constantly sprinkles Browning’s 1846 narrative, “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point.” The phrase takes aim at American slavery and reminds us that its prisoners “had no claim to love and bliss,” (92) while in servitude. Boldly, the speaker asks us to bear witness to the human leftovers of this system of violence, especially in the case of a female slave at Plymouth Rock. Here, she debates existence, exposes deep emotion wounds, and murders her infant son. The act is done for “liberty,” but we find the mother’s violence difficult to digest. Starting from a point of respect, we suggest that the “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” really concerns a lack of respect for toward life that not only flaws her judgments

The period between 1865 and 1945 saw some of the most dramatic social, political and economic changes in America. The key issue of black civil rights throughout this period was advocated and led by a range of significant, emotive and inspiring leaders. Marcus Garvey was a formidable public speaker and is often named as the most popular black nationalist leader of the early twentieth century. He believed in pan-Africanism and came nearer than any other black leader in mobilising African American masses. He was hailed as a redeemer and a “Black Moses” who tried to lead ‘his people back to freedom’. However, arguably although