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Similarities Between Harry Potter And The Invisible Man

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The Man or the Cloak: Invisible Man compared to Harry Potter Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling are novels that, while diverse in subject matter and time period, share common themes and patterns. Invisible Man follows the journey of self-discovery of an unnamed “invisible man” as he journeys up North to find work. The well-known Harry Potter series follows a young wizard through the trials and tribulations of Hogwarts, the school of wizardry. Various symbols and influential events in their respective worlds shape the self-discovery journeys of these two heroes. While the narrator of Invisible Man’s tasks seem less significant compared to Harry’s adventures such as fighting a serpent or dueling …show more content…

This naive quality of the invisible man makes him unable to perceive the world as carefully as he can. One example of his blindness is that he does not see Dr. Bledsoe's real identity. The narrator is blind to the fact that Dr. Bledsoe is not the proper person that his image exerts. On the outside, Dr. Bledsoe appears to be well educated and appropriate. But on the inside, Dr. Bledsoe is a hypocrite motivated by power and his selfishness. While in front of the white donors to the college, Dr. Bledsoe is friendly, amendable, and caring of their needs. However, when these white men's backs are turned, Dr. Bledsoe is uncouth, offensive, and horrid towards them. " The white folk tell everybody what to think-except men like me. I tell them; that's my life, telling white folk how to think about the things I know about" (143). Dr. Bledsoe also tells the narrator "...the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie!" (139). Dr. Bledsoe creates this persona of a proper man and he puts on a mask to fit the demands of the important white contributors to the college. He is trying to pass off as someone he is not and the narrator is too blind to see this. In Harry Potter’s journey, there are also many symbols of vision and invisibility, especially his father’s invisibility cloak. He

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