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Invisible Man Symbolism Essay

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Significant Symbolism Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man follows the black narrator who meets a great variation of people on his journey, all who are imperative as symbols in the plot. Wright Morris’s review of Invisible Man states that the representation of figures is “in a large symbolical frame, which makes for order, but diminishes our interest in their predicament as people.” Through symbolism shown with different approaches to Jim Crow etiquette, Ellison diminishes the uniqueness of characters Dr. Bledsoe, Ras the Destroyer. Dr. Bledsoe, the president of the college that the narrator originally attends, demonstrates an immense need for power. He makes this apparent when he states he “would see every black man in the country lynched” before giving up his position of authority (Ellison). Because Dr. Bledsoe is black, this power is even harder to attain due to Jim Crow laws such as, “Never overly demonstrate superior knowledge or intelligence” (Pilgrim). Bledsoe recognizes and advocates that the only way to attain power is to serve whites by following Jim Crow laws. He …show more content…

“Brothers are the same color, how the hell you call these white men brother?...You black, BLACK!...They sell you out…They enslave us-you forget that?” (Ellison). This shows that his view of the world is black-centered, and he sees whites as the enemy. Ras believes that black and white men should be equal in terms of power and should not have to sacrifice dignity to achieve that power. The characteristics and actions of Ras show that he represents the Black Nationalist Movement. This consisted of those who fought the injustice of the Jim Crow laws. Every time Ras is seen by the narrator, Ras is advocating his beliefs for equal rights through violence, riots, etc. However, Ellison fails to portray him as anything other than this

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