Invisible Man

The narrator feels most visible, "more human" at the times when he has a voice (346). He experiences a surge of power and self importance as he makes his debut speech with the Brotherhood. Similarly, I feel most visible when I speak and most invisible when I have nothing to say.

As discussed in my first prompt, I believe that invisibility is a consequence of both the "subject and the viewer." There are times when I feel invisible because others such as my peers, acquaintances, strangers, or family, truly don't see me or try understand my thoughts. In these times, the "other" is at fault for their blindness or prejudice. However, in other instances, I feel invisible because I don't personally assert myself. As a relatively private person, I perhaps, don't voice my opinions enough. The narrator in the Invisible Man feels most confident in his identity when he is given a chance to rave. I feel that I need to have more faith in my own opinions so that I can articulate them openly.

In the epilogue, the narrator emphasizes he is an "invisible man" due to the "years of trying to adopt the opinions of others." (573). Indeed, there are certainly times when I try to embrace the beliefs of others, sometimes too much. School, for example, is an arena where the student who learns best how to think like the teacher will usually get the best grade. There are exceptions, but on average, most good students try to think like the teacher so that he or she may give answers that please. I feel that my peers and I sometimes lose track of our self beliefs because we have learned the easiest way is to appease. Therefore, I think it is important to establish a firm self identity in order to be a visible person.

Although the narrator discovers himself and his past mistakes, he is still hiding in a hole. This extended "hibernation" of his is possibly a result of fear. When he finally decides to "come up for breath," he claims it is because "even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play" (581). This can be interpreted to mean he still needs to define himself in relation to the outside world. He has accepted his past, but his future as a black man is yet to be determined.

As a minority myself, I can relate to the narrator's fear and hesitancy. When he refers to being "outside" of history, or stepping "off